The title
bey ( ) was also called or
bek () – from Turkish () – in North Africa, including Egypt. A bey could maintain a similar office within Arab states that broke away from the
High Porte, such as
Egypt and
Sudan under the
Muhammad Ali Dynasty, where it was a rank below
pasha (maintained in two rank classes after 1922), and a title of courtesy for a pasha's son. Even much earlier, the virtual sovereign's title in Barbaresque North African 'regency' states was "Bey" (compare
Dey). Notably in
Tunis, the
Husainid Dynasty used a whole series of title and styles including Bey: • Just
Bey itself was part of the territorial title of the ruler, and also as a title used by all male members of the family (rather like Sultan in the Ottoman dynasty). •
Bey al-Kursi "Bey of the Throne", a term equivalent to reigning prince. •
Bey al-Mahalla "Bey of the Camp", title used for the next most senior member of the Beylical family after the reigning Bey, the Heir Apparent to the throne. •
Bey al-Taula "Bey of the Table", the title of the Heir Presumptive, the eldest prince of the Beylical family, who enjoyed precedence immediately after the Bey al-Mahalla. •
Beylerbeyi (or Beglerbegi) "Lord of Lords", was the administrative rank formally enjoyed by the ruler of Algiers and by rulers of parts of the Balkans in their official capacity of Ottoman Governor-General within the Turkish empire.This title was also used in Safavid empire.
Bey was also the title that was awarded by the Ottoman Sultan in the twilight of the Ottoman Empire to
Oloye Mohammed Shitta, an African merchant prince of the
Yoruba people who served as a senior leader of the Muslim community in the kingdom of
Lagos. Subsequently, he and his children became known in
Nigeria by the
double-barrelled surname Shitta-Bey, a tradition which has survived to the present day through their lineal descendants. In the
Ottoman period, the lords of the semi-autonomous
Mani Peninsula used the title of
beis (μπέης); for example,
Petros Mavromichalis was known as
Petrobey. Other Beys saw their own
Beylik promoted to statehood, e.g.: • in
Qusantina (Constantine in French), an Ottoman district subject to the
Algiers regency since 1525 (had its own Beys since 1567), the last incumbent, Ahmed Bey ben Mohamed Chérif (b. , in office 1826–1848, d. 1850), was maintained when in 1826 the local
Kabyle population declared independence, and when it was on 13 October 1837 conquered by France, until it was incorporated into
Algeria in 1848. Bey or a variation has also been used as an aristocratic title in various Turkic states, such as
Bäk in the
Tatar Khanate of Kazan, in charge of a Beylik called
Bäklek. The
Uzbek Khanate of Khiva,
Emirate of Bukhara and The
Khanate of Kokand used the "beks" as local administrations of "bekliks" or provinces. The
Balkar princes in the
North Caucasus highlands were known as
taubiy (taubey), meaning the "mountainous chief". Sometimes a Bey was a territorial vassal within a khanate, as in each of the three
zuzes under the
Khan of the Kazakhs. The variation
Beg,
Baig or
Bai, is still used as a family name or a part of a name in South and Central Asia as well as the
Balkans. In
Slavic-influenced names, it can be seen in conjunction with the Slavic
-ov/-ović/ev suffixes meaning "son of", such as in
Bakir and
Alija Izetbegović, and
Abai Kunanbaev. The title is also used as an honorific by members of the
Moorish Science Temple of America and the
Moorish Orthodox Church.
Bey is also used colloquially in
Urdu-speaking parts of
India, and its usage is similar to "chap" or "man". When used aggressively, it is an offensive term. The
Hungarian word originates from an Old Turkic loanword, cognate with Ottoman 'bey', that used to mean 'clan leader' in Old Hungarian. Later, as an adjective, it acquired the meaning of "rich". Its contemporary meaning is "ample" or "baggy" (when referring to clothing). In the Armenian
Melikdoms of Karabakh, the younger brothers and sons of the
meliks (local rulers) were addressed as
bek, which was placed after their given names. ==Notes==