• The word
monarch is derived from the
Greek ,
monárkhēs, "sole ruler" (from ,
mónos, "single" or "sole", and ,
árkhōn, "
archon", "leader", "ruler", "chief", the word being the present participle of the verb ,
árkhein, "to rule", "to lead", this from the noun ,
arkhē, "beginning", "authority", "principle") through the
Latinized form . • The word
sovereign is derived from the
Latin ("above"). •
Autocrat is derived from the Greek : ("self") and ("to hold power"), and may be translated as "one who rules by himself.” Many titles listed may also be used by lesser nobles – non-sovereigns – depending on the historical period and state. The sovereign titles listed below are grouped together into categories roughly according to their degree of dignity; these being: imperial (Emperor/Empress, etc.), royal (King/Queen, Grand Duke, etc.), others (sovereign Prince, sovereign Duke, etc.), and religious.
Imperial titles •
Emperor (in
English), '
(in Portuguese), ' (in
Spanish), ''
(in Italian), Împărat'' (in
Romanian), and '
(in French), from the Latin ', was originally a military title. Soldiers would salute the leader of a victorious army as
. In English, the feminine form is Empress
(the Latin is ). The realm of an emperor or empress is termed an Empire''. Other words meaning Emperor include: •
Augustus, a Roman honorific title which means "venerable" or "majestic", used by Roman Emperors from the beginning of the Empire onwards. The feminine form is
Augusta. •
Caesar, the appellation of
Roman emperors derived from the Roman
dictator Julius Caesar, whose great-nephew and adopted son
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus became the first emperor of Rome. Augustus' four successors were each made the adoptive son of his predecessor, and were therefore legally entitled to use "Caesar" as a constituent of their names; after
Nero, however, the familial link of the
Julio-Claudian dynasty was disrupted and use of the word
Caesar continued as a title only. •
Kaiser, derived from Caesar, primarily used in Germanic countries. The feminine form in German is
Kaiserin. •
Tsar / Tzar / Csar / Czar, derived as shortened variant of the Slavic pronunciation of Caesar (
tsyasar), the feminine form is
Tsaritsa, primarily used in Bulgaria, and after that in Russia and other Slavic countries, although in English
Tsarina was also sometimes used. •
Keizer, the Dutch word for Caesar. The Dutch and Portuguese gave the rulers of
Sonbai the title of "emperor" (
keizer,
imperador). •
Kaysar-i Rûm, claimed by the Ottoman monarchs •
Basileus kai Autokrator,
Medieval Greek title meaning "sovereign and autocrat", used by the
Greek Byzantine Emperors from the 9th century onwards. •
Huēyi Tlahtloāni, the
Classical Nahuatl term for the ruler of multiple , a
pre-Hispanic city-state in
Mesoamerica, commonly referring to the head of the
Aztec Triple Alliance, or
Aztec Empire. It is variously translated in English as "Great Speaker" or the equivalent to the European "
great king" or "
high king", though more usually as "
emperor". •
Sapa Inca, The
Sapa Inca (Hispanicized spelling) or
Sapa Inka (
Quechua for "the only Inca"), also known as
Apu ("divinity"),
Inka Qhapaq ("mighty Inca"), or simply
Sapa ("the only one"), was the ruler of the
Kingdom of Cusco and, later, the monarch of the
Tawantinsuyu (called
Inca Empire by historians) and the
Neo-Inca State. •
Samrat, (Sanskrit: samrāt or ) is an
ancient Indian title meaning "king of all lands". The feminine form is
Samrājñī ("queen of all lands"). •
Chakravarti, the
universal monarch in the
Indian cultural sphere. The feminine form is
Chakravartini. •
Chakravartigal, the equivalent of the northern Chakravartin. Used by the emperors of the
Chola Empire. •
Tribhuvana-Chakravartin, literally "emperor of the three worlds", used by the
Cholas •
Cakkavattin,
Pali for Chakravartin. Claimed by the Siamese, Khmer, Lao, and Burmese monarchs. •
Chakkaphat, the Thai/Lao version of Cakkavattin •
轉輪王 ("wheel-turning king") or
轉輪聖王 ("wheel-turning sacred king"), the Chinese characters for Chakravarti, used in East Asia •
金輪王 or
金輪聖王, meaning "cakravartin of the golden wheel", used by the Chinese empress
Wu Zetian, the Japanese emperor
Go-Daigo, etc. •
Emperor Manjushri, one of the titles for the
Qing emperors. Related to the wheel-turning king (
Chakravarti). •
Padishah, Persian
pād "master" and
shāh "king". Used in the
Ottoman Empire and the
Mughal Empire. •
皇帝 is the title of emperors in
East Asia. An emperor is called
Huángdì in Chinese,
Hwangje in Korean,
Hoàng đế in Vietnamese, and
Kōtei in Japanese, but these are all just their respective pronunciations of the Chinese characters
皇帝. •
Huangdi (皇帝), the
Imperial monarch during
Imperial China. •
Da Huangdi (大皇帝), literally "great emperor", one of the titles for the
Qing emperors •
Hwangje (황제; 皇帝), title used for emperors of the
Korean Empire •
Seonghwang (성황; 聖皇), literally "holy emperor", one of the titles for the rulers of the
Goryeo. 帝 (
mikado) is an abbreviation of 皇帝 (
kōtei). •
King of Kings, the style of monarchic title used in a number of empires •
Khagan, derived from "khan of khans", used by the
Central Asian
nomads. The feminine form is
Khatun. •
Tian Kehan (天可汗), meaning "
heavenly khagan", given to
Tang Taizong and
Tang Gaozong by Turkic nomads •
Šar Šarrāni, Akkadian for "king of kings" •
Shahanshah, Արքայից Արքայ, Armenian for "king of kings" •
Mepe-Mepeta, მეფეთა მეფე, Georgian for "king of kings" •
Rajadhiraja, In ancient India it was an imperial title, but it later became a royal title. •
Malik al-Muluk, Arabic title meaning "king of kings"
Royal titles •
King, from the Germanic
*kuningaz, roughly meaning "son of the people." (See:
Germanic kingship) The realm of a king is termed a kingdom (sovereign kings are ranked above vassal kings). The female equivalent is
queen, with a distinction between
queen regnant and
queen consort, from the Germanic
*kwoeniz, or
*kwenon, "wife"; cognate of
Greek γυνή,
gynē, "woman"; from
PIE *gʷḗn, "woman". Regardless of a ruler's sex, their realm is known as a
kingdom. •
Rex, Latin for king, the feminine form is
Regina. •
Rei (in
Portuguese and
Catalan),
Rey (in
Spanish),
Re (in
Italian),
Roi (in
French),
Rege (in
Romanian) - Derived from Latin
Rex, meaning "ruler". Rex is cognate with Raja,
Rí, Reign, Regina, Arqa (Armenian Արքա), etc. •
Basileus, from
Mycenaean Greek meaning "chieftain", used by various Ancient Greek rulers. •
Bretwalda, title given to some of the rulers of
Anglo-Saxon kingdoms from the 5th century onwards who had achieved overlordship of some or all of the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. •
Arka or Arqa (Արքա) is a royal title (king) in
Great Armenia and various Kingdoms of Armenia. Another used name was
Tagavor or
Thagawor, which also appeared later in
Cilician Armenia. •
Melech, Hebrew word for king. The word for queen is
Malka. •
王 is the title of kings in East Asia. A king is called
Wáng in Chinese,
Wang in Korean,
Vương in Vietnamese, and
Ō in Japanese, but these are all just their respective pronunciations of the Chinese character
王. •
Wáng (王), the
head of state of
Ancient China. In ancient China it was a royal title, but later became a princely title. •
(霸王), meaning "
Hegemon-King" •
Tian Wang (天王), meaning "heavenly king" •
(異姓王), meaning "different surnamed king/prince". This title was granted to subjects as a peerage. •
Wang (왕; 王), Korean, meaning "king" •
Daewang (대왕; 大王), Korean title meaning "great king" •
Taewang (태왕; 太王), literally "greatest king", a Korean title for the rulers of the
Goguryeo •
Seongwang (성왕; 聖王), meaning "holy king", used by the
Balhae monarchs •
Sinseongjewang (신성제왕; 神聖帝王), literally "holy emperor-king", one of the titles for the rulers of the
Goryeo •
Vương (王), Vietnamese, meaning "king". In ancient Vietnam it was a royal title, but later became a princely title. •
Đại vương (大王), Vietnamese, meaning "great king/prince" •
Ō (王), Japanese, meaning "king", or "sovereign". Also the title for the rulers of the
Wakoku. In ancient Japan it was a royal title, but later became a princely title. The female title is
Joō (女王). •
Okimi (大王), Japanese title meaning "great king" •
Król (in
Polish)
Král (in
Czech),
Király (in
Hungarian),
Король (in
Russian and
Ukrainian),
Кароль (in
Belarusian),
Краљ /
Kralj (in
Croatian and Serbian),
Крал (in
Bulgarian),
Crai (in
Romanian),
Korol – Derived from Old East Slavic Король
king, used in Kazakh, Tatar, and Kyrgyz languages. The
korol,
krol,
kral,
крал and
kiraly versions used in
Central Europe and
Eastern Europe derive from the name of
Charlemagne. •
Tsenpo, also known as
Ihase or "Divine Son", was the title of the monarchs of
Tibet. •
Chanyu, short for
Chengli Gutu Chanyu (撐犁孤塗單于) was a title used by supreme nomadic rulers of Inner Asia. Meaning "Son of Heaven, Ruler of the North", it was later superseded by the title
Khagan. •
Rí,
Gaelic title meaning
king, of which there were several grades, the highest being
Ard Rí (high king). Cognate with Indian
Raja, Latin
Rex, and ancient Gaulish
Rix. • Arasan (அரசன்), Vēndhar (வேந்தர்), Kō (கோ) are the various titles referring to the King in Tamil. •
Raja, Sanskrit, later
Hindustani, for "king". Cognate with Latin
Rex, Irish
Rí, Armenian
Arqa, etc. The female equivalent is
Rani. The Filipino feminine equivalent is
Hara. •
Devaraja, literally "god king". A title in the
Khmer Empire and throughout
Java •
Raya, a regional variation of
Raja. •
Devaraya, literally "god king", used by the
Vijayanagara monarchs •
Rai, a regional variation of
Raja. •
Rao, a regional variation of
Raja. •
Rana, a regional variation of
Raja. •
Rawal, a regional variation of
Raja. •
Racha / Rachini written in
Thai as ราชา or ราชินี. deriving from the sanskrit राज (
rāja, “king”). King is ราชา (Racha), Queen is ราชินี (Rachini). Typically refer to the person, not necessary a title. •
Khosi a king in Lesotho, Botswana and other Sotho speaking communities. •
Kamonteng Ansi (กมรเตงอัญศรี) deriving from Old Khmer, used for
Sukhothai kings. Meaning: "Lord of Our Lives." Used for king
Kamonteng Ansi Inthrabodinthrathit, and Phrabat Kamonteng Ansi
Rammarat. In which, following the latter's reign, the title became defunct •
Khun (ขุน) an archaic
Thai term referring to a leader. •
Pho Khun (พ่อขุน) derivation of
Khun. Used during the Sukhothai kingdom era. An example is
Pho Khun Ban Mueang •
Khun Luang (ขุนหลวง) derivation of
Khun. Used during the Ayutthaya kingdom era. This title is not used with names, only to refer to the person only. For example, to refer to the King. One says Khun Luang, never Khun Luang Ekkathat. If one wishes to refer to a king, one must either say the regnant name:
Somdet Phra Borommaracha III or a personal (formal) name: Somdet Phra Chao
Ekkathat. •
Chao (เจ้า) means Lord or Master. •
Phra Chao (พระเจ้า) informal version of
Somdet Phra Chao. A derivation of
Chao. •
Somdet Phra Chao (สมเด็จพระเจ้า) a derivation of
Chao. •
Chao Fa (เจ้าฟ้า) a generally use title for chieftain, lord, and kings among the Tai people. This is also used for personal names of Thai Kings. A derivation of
Chao. Though in modern Thailand, this might be refer to a prince or princess. •
Sao Möm, a derivation of
Chao used among Tai peoples in the Shan State. •
Sao, a derivation of
Chao used among Tai peoples in the Shan State. •
Nai Luang (ในหลวง) informally referring to a king, the King of Thailand. •
Phraya (พระยา) an archaic title referring to a Thai King. This was used during the Sukhothai era. Later on during the
Ayutthaya,
Rattanakosin/Siam, and
Thailand era, this was used to refer to a duke instead of a king. •
Great King, a royal title suggesting an elevated status among the host of kings. •
High King, a king who holds a position of
seniority over a group of other kings, without the title of emperor. •
Maharaja, Sanskrit, later
Hindustani, for "
Great King". It is the title of high kings in the
Indian subcontinent. The feminine equivalent is
Maharani. •
Maharao, a regional variation of
Maharaja. •
Maharawal, a regional variation of
Maharaja. •
Maharana, a regional variation of
Maharaja. •
Mepe, მეფე, Georgian word for king and queen regnant. •
Eze, the
Igbo word for the King or Ruler of a kingdom or
city-state. It is cognate with Obi and Igwe. •
Oba, the
Yoruba word for King or Ruler of a kingdom or city-state. It is used across all the traditional Yoruba lands, as well as by the Edo, throughout Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. •
Alaafin, or "Man of the Palace" in the Yoruba language, was the title of the ruler of the medieval
Oyo Empire in northwestern
Yorubaland. He is considered the supreme overlord of the empire and expected to keep tributaries safe from attack as well as mediate disputes between various kings (Obas) and their people within the Empire. •
Kabaka, ruler of
Buganda, a realm within Uganda in East Africa. •
Omukama is a title associated with the
Bunyoro-Kitara in
Uganda. It is also the title of the
Omukama of Toro. •
Shah,
Persian word for king, from Indo-European for "he who rules". Used in Persia, alongside
Shahanshah. The feminine form is
Shahbanu •
Boqor,
Somali for King. However, in practice, it is the
primus inter pares or "King of Kings". The title is etymologically derived from one of the Afro-Asiatic Somali language terms for "belt", in recognition of the official's unifying role within the greater society. Furthermore, Boqor is linguistically related to the style
Paqar, which was employed by rulers in the early Nile Valley state of
Meroe. •
Sultan, from Arabic and originally referring to one who had "power", more recently used as synonym for a king. The feminine equivalent is a
Sultana. •
Suratrana, Sanskrit for Sultan •
Khan, from the
Turco-Mongol word for "ruler" or "king". The feminine equivalent is a
Khanum. A Khan's realm is called a Khanate. • '''' (마립간; 麻立干), literally "highest khan", a Korean title for the rulers of early
Silla •
Bogda Khan, one of the titles for the
Qing emperors •
Malik, Arabic for "king". The feminine equivalent is a
Malika. •
Mwami in
Rwanda and neighbouring regions in the Congo. The female counterpart is
Mwamikazi. •
Almamy, King of
Futa Toro, a pre-colonial kingdom of the
Toucouleur people. From the old
Pulaar title
"Almamy" (king). •
Maad a Sinig, King of
Sine, a pre-colonial kingdom of the
Serer people. From the old Serer title
"Maad" (king). •
Maad Saloum, ruler of
Saloum, a pre-colonial kingdom of the Serer people. •
Negus, Ethiopian for king. •
Susuhunan, "he to whom homage is paid", title of the Javanese monarch of the
Surakarta Sunanate. •
Teigne, ruler of
Baol, previously a pre-colonial Serer kingdom. •
Tlahtloāni, the
Classical Nahuatl term for the ruler of an , a
pre-Hispanic city-state in
Mesoamerica, variously translated in English as "king," "ruler," (or
"speaker" in the political sense). A is a female ruler, or
queen regnant. •
Lugal, is the
Sumerian term for "king, ruler". Literally, the term means "big man." •
Anax, from Mycenaean
wanax for "high king". Outranked
Basileus in Mycenaean usage. •
Pharaoh,
"Man of the Great House (Palace)" used in
Ancient Egypt to denote the kings of
Upper Egypt and
Lower Egypt in the
Nile river valley. •
Faama, title of the rulers of the
pre-imperial Mali, meaning "king". •
Mansa, title of the rulers of the
Mali Empire •
Omanhene or
Ohene, an Akan title meaning
King of the Nation, with Ohene simply meaning
King.
Ohemaa, the maternal counterpart (his mother, sister, aunt (
referred to as a 2nd mother), cousin (
referred to as sister)), has equal power and selects which son she wants to lead the people. The Akan king rules on behalf of his mother who is the true power of the land. If the Ohemaa doesn't select any male relative to lead on her behalf, then she can take the role as King or Omanhene. •
Mwenematapa, title of the rulers of the
Kingdom of Mutapa. It means "Prince of the Realm" in Shona. Also spelled
Mwene Mutapa or in Portuguese transliteration
Monomotapa. •
Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the official title of the
Malaysian head of state, and means "He who is Made Supreme Lord" and is generally glossed in English as "king". The officeholder is elected from among the heads of the nine royal states. •
Lamane,
"master of the land" or
"chief owner of the soil" in old
Serer language were the ancient hereditary kings and
landed gentry of the
Serer people found in
Senegal, the
Gambia and
Mauritania. The Lamanes were guardians of
Serer religion and many of them have been canonized as Holy Saints (
Pangool). •
Otumfuo, literally "the powerful one", an
Akan title to mean a king. It is thought to originate with the Akan state of
Akwamu. It is still used amongst the Akwamu and now the
Asante people. •
Qhapaq, written as
Capac in Spanish texts, the Inca word for "king"
Princely, ducal, and other sovereign titles •
Grand Vizier was the title of the effective head of government (
prime-minister) of many sovereign states in the
Muslim world. The office of Grand Vizier was first held by officials in the later
Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the
Ottoman Empire, the
Mughal Empire, the
Sokoto Caliphate, the
Safavid Empire and
Morocco. In the Ottoman Empire, the Grand Vizier held the imperial seal and could convene all other viziers (ministers) to attend to affairs of the state; the viziers in conference were called "Kubbealtı viziers" in reference to their meeting place, the Kubbealtı ('under the dome') in
Topkapı Palace. His offices were located at the
Sublime Porte. Today, the
Prime Minister of Pakistan is referred to in Urdu as Wazir-e-azam, which translates literally to Grand Vizier •
Khedive (/kəˈdiːv/, Ottoman Turkish: خدیو, romanized: hıdiv; Arabic: خديوي, romanized: khudaywī) was an honorific title of Persian origin used for the sultans and grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire, but most famously for the
viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1914. •
Sovereign Duke, from the Latin
Dux, meaning "leader," a military rank in the
Late Roman Empire. Variant forms include
Doge and
Duce; it has also been modified into
Archduke (meaning "chief" Duke),
Grand Duke (literally "large", or "big" Duke; see above under royal titles),
Vice Duke ("deputy" Duke), etc. The female equivalent is
Duchess. •
Grand Duke is considered to be part of the reigning nobility ("Royalty", in German
Hochadel; their correct form of address is "Royal Highness"). The feminine form is
Grand Duchess •
Veliki Vojvoda, derived from
Voievod. The title of the
Bosnian Grand Duke (, ) appeared at the beginning of the 14th century as different type of this title, unique for the
Bosnian medieval state. It was a court title, bestowed by the monarch to the highest military commander, usually reserved for the most influential and most capable among the highest Bosnian nobility. To interpret it as an office post rather than a court rank could be equally accurate, and although it was retained for life by a nobleman who gained it, it was not meant to be hereditary, at least not at first. However, in the last several decades of the Bosnian medieval state it became hereditary, which means it became more than just an office or a court rank. •
Didysis Kunigaikštis, derived from kunigaikštis which itself is a derivative of kunigas (King). It was the title used in the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania, also translated as "Grand Prince". •
Archduke, ruler of an archduchy; used exclusively by the
Habsburg dynasty and its junior branch of
Habsburg-Lorraine which ruled the
Holy Roman Empire (until 1806), the
Austrian Empire (1804–1867), the
Second Mexican Empire (1863-1867) and the
Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867–1918) for imperial family members of the dynasty, each retaining it as a subsidiary title when founding sovereign
cadet branches by acquiring thrones under different titles (e.g.,
Tuscany,
Modena); it was also used for those ruling some Habsburg territories such as those that became the modern so-called "Benelux" nations (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg); The title was created
by forgery in 1358 by the Habsburgs themselves to establish a precedence of their princes over the other titleholders of high nobility of the era; therefore the rank was not recognized by the other ruling dynasties until 1453. The feminine form is
Archduchess. •
Petty king, a medieval title found predominantly in western Europe was a title of king that was subordinate to a higher sovereign or the king of a minor kingdom and not part of a larger unified state often accompanied by other small petty kingdoms. •
Duce, an Italian dictatorial title used by
Gabriele D'Annunzio and
Benito Mussolini •
Doge, elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states •
Ealdorman,
Old English for "elder man", rendered
Dux in Latin. •
Sovereign Prince, from the Latin
princeps, meaning "one who takes first [place]". The feminine form is
Sovereign Princess. Variant forms include the German
Fürst and Russian
Knyaz (князь) and the feminine form
Knyaginya (княгиня). •
Grand Prince or
Great Prince (feminine:
Grand Princess or
Great Princess) (Latin:
Magnus Princeps; Swedish:
Storfurste; German:
Großfürst; Greek: Μέγας Αρχών, romanized:
Megas archon, is a title of nobility ranked in honour below
Emperor, equal to
Archduke,
King,
Grand Duke and
Prince-Archbishop; above a
Sovereign Prince and
Duke. •
Velikiy knyaz (великий князь), ruler of a grand principality; a title primarily used in the medieval
Russian principalities and claimed by the most important ruling prince, e.g. the ruler of the
Grand Principality of Vladimir; •
Elector Prince (
Kurfürst in German), a rank for those who voted for the
Holy Roman Emperor, usually sovereign of a state (e.g. the Margrave of Brandenburg, an elector, called the
Elector of Brandenburg) •
Datu in the
Visayas and
Mindanao which, together with the term
Raja ( in the
Rajahnate of Cebu and
Kingdom of Maynila) and
Lakan (title widely used on the island of
Luzon), are the
Filipino equivalents of "sovereign prince" and thus, glossed as "ruler". The female equivalent is a
Dayang. (Cf. also
Principalía – the hispanized and Christianized
Datu class during the Spanish colonial period in the
Philippines.) •
Nizam, the word is derived from the Arabic language Nizām (نظام), meaning order, arrangement. Nizām-ul-mulk was a title first used in
Urdu around 1600 to mean Governor of the realm or Deputy for the Whole Empire. •
Despot, Greek for "lord, master", initially an appellation for the Byzantine emperor, later the senior court title, awarded to sons and close relatives of the emperor. In the 13th–15th centuries borne by autonomous and independent rulers in the
Balkans. The feminine form is
Despotess. •
Voievod şi domn, title held by the sovereign princes of
Wallachia and
Moldavia.
Voievod (from Slavic) means in this context supreme military commander while
Domn (from lat.
dominus) means master, lord, autocrat. The "civilian" title of
domn holds a kind of primacy. The office/authority is called "domnie" (roughly "lordship") rather than voievodship (as is the case of similar named but lesser Slavic titles). The prince is called upon as "doamne" ("mylord")
. •
Tuanku, literally "My Master" (Tuan Ku), the title of the rulers of the nine Royal states of
Malaysia; all princes and princesses of the Royal Families also receive the appellation
Tunku (literally "My Lord" (Tun Ku) or spelt
Tengku) or
Raja. •
Shogun, officially
Sei-i Taishōgun (Commander-in Chief of the Expeditionary Force Against the Barbarians), the Japanese word for
generalissimo, who acted as the
de facto military
dictators of Japan of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. •
Emir, often rendered
Amir in older English usage; from the Arabic "to command." The female form is
Emira (Amirah). Emir is the root of the naval rank "
Admiral". Is usually translated as prince in English. •
Amir al-umara, Emir of Emirs. •
Mir, according to the book
Persian Inscriptions on Indian Monuments,
Mir is most probably an Arabized form of
Pir.
Pir in
Old Persian and
Sanskrit means the old, the wise man, the chief and the great leader. It was Arabized as Mir then, with
Al(A) (
Arabic definite article), it was pronounced as Amir. • In the
Ottoman Empire,
Mir-i Miran was used as the Persian equivalent to the Turkish title
Beylerbey ("Bey of Beys"), alongside the Arabic equivalent
Amir al-Umara ("Emir of Emirs"). •
Bey, or
Beg/Baig, Turkish for "Chieftain." The feminine form is
Begum. •
Beylerbey, Bey of Beys. •
Atabeg, word is a compound of two Turkic words: ata, "ancestor", and beg or bey, "lord, leader, prince". •
Beg Khan, concatenation of Baig and Khan. •
Khagan Bek, title used by
Khazars. •
Derebey,
feudal lord in
Anatolia and the
Pontic areas of
Lazistan and
Acara in the 18th century. •
Dey, title given to the rulers of the
Regency of Algiers and
Tripoli under the Ottoman Empire from 1671 onwards. •
Sardar, also spelled as
Sirdar,
Sardaar or
Serdar, is a title of nobility (
sir-,
sar/sair- means "head or authority" and
-dār means "holder" in
Sanskrit and
Avestan). The feminine form is
Sardarni. •
Pati, Sanskrit for "lord, master" •
Chhatrapati, title of the rulers of the
Marathas Tribal titles •
Cacique, derived from the
Taíno word
kasike, for
pre-Columbian monarchs. •
Chieftain, a Lineage or Clan chief. the feminine form is
Chieftainess. •
Sheikh is often used as a title for Arab royal families. It commonly designates a tribal chief, royal family member or a Muslim
scholar. The feminine form is
Shaykhah. •
Tadodaho, derived from the name of the first "keeper of the council fire" of the
Iroquois Confederacy,
Haudenosaunee, or
Five Nations, refers to the individual with the highest authority in both their modern territory and their spiritual way of life. •
Taoiseach () means leader. An Irish
clan chief. Since 1937, this has been the title for the elected
prime minister of Ireland, in both Irish and English. •
Tánaiste () is the second in command of an Irish clan. Since 1937, this has been the title in both Irish and English for the deputy head of the Irish government, nominated by the serving Taoiseach to act in that role during the Taoiseach's temporary absence. •
Tòiseach, the Scottish Gaelic for clan chief. •
Tywysog (), in modern
Welsh, means "
Prince" and is cognate with Taoiseach and Tòiseach. Derived from the proto-Celtic "chieftain, leader". •
Rí ruirech, "king of over-kings", or
rí cóicid, a provincial King in Ireland. •
Corono, leader of a large tribe in Celtic
Gallaecia. In later Latin inscriptions, they would sometimes be referred to as
Princeps. •
Fon, the regional and tribal leaders in Cameroon. •
Jarl, an Old Norse title for a chieftain in Scandinavia during the Viking and Middle Ages. •
Odikro, an Akan chieftain.
Obahemaa female maternal counterpart. •
Lonko, chief of several
Mapuche communities. •
Ratu, a
Fijian chiefly title that is also found in Javanese culture. •
Aliʻi nui, was the supreme monarch of various
Hawaiian islands. They are the supreme high chiefs (chief of chiefs). This title would later be used by rulers of the entire Hawaiian chain of islands. •
Ajaw, in Maya meaning "lord", "ruler", "king" or "leader". Was the title of the ruler in the Classic Maya polity. A variant being the title of K'inich Ajaw or "Great Sun King" as it was used to refer to the founder of the
Copán dynasty,
K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo'. The female equivalent is a
Ix-ajaw. •
Kaloomte, in Maya meaning "
high king" or "emperor". •
Halach Uinik, in Maya meaning "real man", "person of fact" or "person of command". Was the title of the ruler in the Post-Classic Maya polity (
Kuchkabal).
Religious titles •
Pope, also "
Supreme Pontiff of the
Universal Church and
Vicar of
Christ", is considered the
apostolic successor of
Saint Peter, one of the
Twelve Apostles (primary
disciples) of
Jesus Christ. Once wielding substantial secular power as the ruler of the
Papal States and leader of
Christendom, the Pope is also the
absolute ruler of the sovereign state
Vatican City. Also the title of the leader of the
Coptic Church, considered to be the successor of the Apostle
Saint Mark the Evangelist. The word
pope is derived from Latin and Italian
papa, a familiar form of "
father". •
Pontifex maximus, formerly one of the titles of the Roman emperors •
Catholicos is the Chief Bishop, Patriarch of the
Armenian Orthodox Church. The earliest ecclesiastical use of the title Catholicos was by the Bishop of Armenia, head of the Armenian Orthodox Apostolic Church, in the 4th century. •
Patriarch is the highest ecclesial title used in the
Eastern Christian tradition. Some patriarchs are also styled as popes. •
Caliph means 'successor' (to
Muhammad), both a religious and a secular leader. The ruler of the
caliphate was the secular head of the international Muslim community, as a nation. To claim the Caliphate was, theoretically, to claim stewardship over Muslims on earth, under the
sovereignty of
Allah. (See ''Amir al-Mu'minin
above). This did not necessarily mean that the Caliph was himself the supreme authority on Islamic law or theology; that still fell to the Ulema''. The role of the Caliph was to oversee and take responsibility for the Muslim community's political and governmental needs (both within and beyond the borders of his territorial realm), rather than to himself determine matters of
doctrine. • ''
Amir al-Mu'minin'', or "Commander (
Emir) of the Faithful," a title traditionally held by the
Caliphs of
Islam to denote their suzerainty over all Muslims, even (theoretically) those beyond their territorial borders. Currently, the
King of Morocco and the
Sultan of Sokoto hold this title, although neither officially claims the
Caliphate. •
Imam, Imam (/ɪˈmɑːm/; Arabic: إمام imām; plural: أئمة aʼimmah) is an Islamic leadership position. For
Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a
mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, serve as community leaders, and provide religious guidance. Thus for Sunnis, anyone can study the basic Islamic sciences and become an Imam •
Dalai Lama, the highest authority in Tibetan (or more specifically
Gelug) Buddhism and a symbol of the unification of
Tibet, said to belong to a line of
reincarnations of the
bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. Among other incarnate Tibetan lamas, the second highest Gelug prelate is the
Panchen Lama. From the time of the
Fifth Dalai Lama until 1950, the Dalai Lamas effectively ruled Tibet. The chief of the rival
Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism is the
Karmapa. •
Saltigue, the
high priests and priestesses of the
Serer people. They are the
diviners in the
Serer religion. •
Jathedar, a title of a
Sikh general, commander, the leader of a
Jatha or
Takht, literally means "holder of troops". The feminine form is
Jathedarni.
Dual titles •
Emperor at home, king abroad •
King-Emperor, is a sovereign ruler who is simultaneously a king of one territory and emperor of another. •
Imperial and Royal / Imperial–royal •
King-Grand Duke •
King in Prussia ==Other sovereigns, royalty, peers, and major nobility==