Sultan

Sultan (ˈsulˈtˤɑːn; ) is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar
Verbal noun
In linguistics, the verbal noun turns a verb into a noun and corresponds to the infinitive in English language usage. In English the infinitive form of the verb is formed when preceded by to, e.g...

سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who claimed almost full sovereignty in practical terms (i.e. the lack of dependence on any higher ruler), without claiming the overall caliphate

Caliphate

The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...

, or it was used to refer to a powerful governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

of a province within the caliphate.

The dynasty

Dynasty

A dynasty is a sequence of rulers considered members of the same family. Historians traditionally consider many sovereign states' history within a framework of successive dynasties, e.g., China, Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire...

and lands ruled by a sultan are referred to as a sultanate .

Muslim ruler under the terms of shariah (King/Prince)

The title carries moral weight and religious authority, in the Qur'an

Qur'an

The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...

. The sultan, however, is not a religious teacher

Imam

An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...

himself, and in constitutional monarchies, the sultanship can be reduced to a more limited role.

The first to title of Sultan was the Ghazni

Ghazni

For the Province of Ghazni see Ghazni ProvinceGhazni is a city in central-east Afghanistan with a population of about 141,000 people...

ruler Mahmud Ghaznawi (ruled 998 - 1030 CE

Common Era

Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...

). Later, "sultan" became the usual title of rulers of Seljuk and Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

Turks and Ayyubid

Ayyubid dynasty

The Ayyubid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origin, founded by Saladin and centered in Egypt. The dynasty ruled much of the Middle East during the 12th and 13th centuries CE. The Ayyubid family, under the brothers Ayyub and Shirkuh, originally served as soldiers for the Zengids until they...

and Mamluk

Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)

The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt was the final independent Egyptian state prior to the establishment of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty in 1805. It lasted from the overthrow of the Ayyubid Dynasty until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. The sultanate's ruling caste was composed of Mamluks, Arabised...

rulers in Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

. The religious validation of the title was illustrated by the fact that the shadow Caliph

Caliph

The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...

in Cairo

Cairo

Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

bestowed the title "Sultan" on Murad I

Murad I

Murad I was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1361 to 1389...

, the third ruler of the emerging Ottoman Empire in 1383; its earlier sovereigns had been bey

Bey

Bey is a title for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. Accoding to some sources, the word "Bey" is of Turkish language In historical accounts, many Turkish, other Turkic and Persian leaders are titled Bey, Beg, Bek, Bay, Baig or Beigh. They are all the same word...

s or emir

Emir

Emir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...

s, a lower rank in the orders of protocol

Protocol (diplomacy)

In international politics, protocol is the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state.A protocol is a rule which guides how an activity should be performed, especially in the field of diplomacy. In diplomatic services and governmental fields of endeavor protocols are often unwritten guidelines...

.

At later stages, lesser rulers assumed the title Sultan, as was the case for the earlier leaders of today's royal family of Morocco

Royal Family of Morocco

The royal family of Morocco is from the Alaouite dynasty. They have been ruling the kingdom of Morocco since the 17th century. Family members include:*HM King Muhammad VI*HRH Princess Lalla Salma*HRH Crown Prince Moulay Hassan*HRH Princess Lalla Khadija...

. Today, only the Sultan of Oman

Sultan of Oman

-List of Imams :-Nabhan Dynasty :-Ya'ariba Dynasty :-Banu Ghafir Dynasty :-Ya'ariba Dynasty :-Al Said Dynasty :-See also:...

, the Sultan of Brunei (both sovereign nations), the Sultans of Johor

Johor

Johor is a Malaysian state, located in the southern portion of Peninsular Malaysia. It is one of the most developed states in Malaysia. The state capital city and royal city of Johor is Johor Bahru, formerly known as Tanjung Puteri...

, Kedah

Kedah

Kedah is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km², and it consists of the mainland and Langkawi. The mainland has a relatively flat terrain, which is used to grow rice...

, Kelantan

Kelantan

Kelantan is a state of Malaysia. The capital and royal seat is Kota Bharu. The Arabic honorific of the state is Darul Naim, ....

, Pahang

Pahang

Pahang is the third largest state in Malaysia, after Sarawak and Sabah, occupying the huge Pahang River river basin. It is bordered to the north by Kelantan, to the west by Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, to the south by Johor and to the east by Terengganu and the South China Sea.Its state...

, Perak

Perak

Perak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...

, Selangor

Selangor

Selangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...

and Terengganu

Terengganu

Terengganu is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Iman...

(within the constitutive states of the federation) in Malaysia, and the titular sultans of Sulu, Maguindanao

Maguindanao

Maguindanao is a province of the Philippines located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao . Its capital is Shariff Aguak. It borders Lanao del Sur to the north, Cotabato to the east, and Sultan Kudarat to the south....

, and Lanao Provinces in the southern Philippines

Mindanao

Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...

and Java (Indonesia) regions still use the title or the Maharaja

Maharaja

Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great king" or "high king". The female equivalent title Maharani denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajamata...

title. The sultan's domain is properly called a sultanate.

A feminine form, used by Westerners, is sultana

Sultana (title)

The term Sultana is an Islamic title reserved for a few Muslim women rulers in history. It is sometimes mistaken for the title of the chief wife of a Sultan.-Overview:The most famous Sultana was Razia Sultana of India....

or sultanah; the very styling misconstrues the roles of wives of sultans. In a similar usage, the wife of a German Field-Marshal might be styled Feldmarschallin (in French, similar constructions of the type madame la maréchalle are quite common). The rare female leaders in Muslim history

Muslim history

Muslim history is the history of Muslim people. In the history of Islam the followers of the religion of Islam have impacted political history, economic history, and military history...

are correctly known as "sultanas". In the Sultanate of Sulu, the wife of the Sultan is styled as the "Panguian", not "sultana".

Among those modern hereditary rulers who wish to emphasize their secular authority under the rule of law

Rule of law

The rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...

, the term is gradually being replaced by king

King

- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...

(i.e., malik
Malik
Malik is an Arabic word meaning "king, chieftain".It has been adopted in various other, mainly Islamized or Arabized, Asian languages for their ruling princes and to render kings elsewhere. It is also sometimes used in derived meanings...

in Arabic).

Compound ruler titles

These are generally secondary titles, either lofty 'poetry' or with a message; e.g.:

Mani Sultan = Manney Sultan, meaning 'the Pearl of Rulers', or less poetically Honoured Monarch, was a subsidiary title, part of the full style of the Maharaja
Maharaja
Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great king" or "high king". The female equivalent title Maharani denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajamata...

of Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
Sultan of Sultans
Sultan of Sultans
"Sultan of Sultans" is the literal English translation of the original Turkish Sultan es-Selatin or Sultan us-Selatin. It is similar to the title Great Sultan, which is translated from Arabic....

is the 'sultanic equivalent' of King of Kings
King of Kings
King of Kings is a title that has been used by several monarchies and empires throughout history. The title originates in the Ancient Near East. It is broadly the equivalent of the later title Emperor....
Certain secondary titles have a devout Islamic connotation, e.g., Sultan ul-Mujahidin as champion of jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...

(To strive and to struggle in the name of Allah)
Sultanic Highness was a rare, hybrid western-Islamic honorific style, exclusively used by the son, daughter-in-law and daughters of Sultan Hussein Kamel of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

(a British protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...

since 1914), who bore it with their primary titles of Prince or Princess, after 11 October 1917. They enjoyed these for life, even after the Royal Rescript regulating the styles and titles of the Royal House after Egypt's independence in 1922
Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence
The Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence was issued by the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 28 February 1922...

, when the sons and daughters of the newly styled King were granted the title Sahib(at) us-Sumuw al-Malaki, or Royal Highness
Royal Highness
Royal Highness is a style ; plural Royal Highnesses...

.

Former Sultans and Sultanates

Near East and Central Asia

Ghaznavid Sultanate
Ghaznavid Empire
The Ghaznavids were a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic slave origin which existed from 975 to 1187 and ruled much of Persia, Transoxania, and the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent. The Ghaznavid state was centered in Ghazni, a city in modern-day Afghanistan...
Sultans of Great Seljuk
Seljuk Sultanate of Rum
Sultanate of Rûm
The Sultanate of Rum , also known as the Anatolian Seljuk State , was a Turkic state centered in in Anatolia, with capitals first at İznik and then at Konya. Since the court of the sultanate was highly mobile, cities like Kayseri and Sivas also functioned at times as capitals...
Sultans
Ottoman Dynasty
The Ottoman Dynasty ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1299 to 1922, beginning with Osman I , though the dynasty was not proclaimed until Orhan Bey declared himself sultan...

(becoming Padishah
Padishah
Padishah, Padshah, Padeshah, Badishah or Badshah is a superlative royal title, composed of the Persian pād "master" and the widespread shāh "king", which was adopted by several monarchs claiming the highest rank, roughly equivalent to the ancient Persian notion of "The Great" or "Great King", and...

s) of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

, the Osmanli
House of Osman
House of Osman was the name of the administrative structure of the Ottoman Dynasty, part of the state organization of the Ottoman Empire but nonetheless directly linked to the dynasty...

Arab World

in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

: sultanate of Tuggurt
in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

:
- Ayyubid Sultans
  Ayyubid dynasty
  The Ayyubid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origin, founded by Saladin and centered in Egypt. The dynasty ruled much of the Middle East during the 12th and 13th centuries CE. The Ayyubid family, under the brothers Ayyub and Shirkuh, originally served as soldiers for the Zengids until they...
- Mamluk Sultans
in present-day Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....

, various small sultanates of the former British Aden Protectorate
Aden Protectorate
The Aden Protectorate was a British protectorate in southern Arabia which evolved in the hinterland of Aden following the acquisition of that port by Britain in 1839 as an anti-piracy station, and it continued until the 1960s. For administrative purposes it was divided into the Western...

and South Arabia
Federation of South Arabia
The Federation of South Arabia was an organization of states under British protection in what would become South Yemen. It was formed on 4 April 1962 from the 15 protected states of the Federation of Arab Emirates of the South. On 18 January 1963 it was merged with the crown colony of Aden...

:

Audhali

Audhali , or the Audhali Sultanate , was a state in the British Aden Protectorate. It was a founding member of the Federation of Arab Emirates of the South in 1959 and its successor, the Federation of South Arabia, in 1963. Its capital was Zarah...

, Fadhli

Fadhli Sultanate

Fadhli , or the Fadhli Sultanate , was an independent sultanate on the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula from at least the 15th century until 1967...

, Haushabi, Kathiri

Kathiri

Kathiri was a sultanate in the Hadhramaut region of the southern Arabian Peninsula, in what is now officially considered part of Yemen and the Dhofar region of Oman....

, Lahej, Lower Aulaqi

Lower Aulaqi

Lower Aulaqi , or the Lower Aulaqi Sultanate , was a state in the Aden Protectorate, the Federation of Arab Emirates of the South, and its successor, the Federation of South Arabia...

, Lower Yafa

Lower Yafa

Lower Yafa, Lower Yafa'i , or the Sultanate of Lower Yafa , was a state in the British Aden Protectorate. Within its area were the sheikhdoms of Al Saadi, Yaher, Kalad, Thi Nakheb, and Yazidi. It was a founding member of the Federation of Arab Emirates of the South in 1959 and its successor, the...

, Mahra

Mahra Sultanate

The Mahra Sultanate of Qishn and Socotra or sometimes the Mahra Sultanate of Ghayda and Socotra was a sultanate that included both the historical region of Mahra and the Indian Ocean island of Socotra in what is now eastern Yemen...

, Qu'aiti

Qu'aiti

Qu'aiti , officially the Qu'aiti State in Hadhramaut Qu'aiti , officially the Qu'aiti State in Hadhramaut Qu'aiti , officially the Qu'aiti State in Hadhramaut (Arabic: (الدولة القعيطية الحضرمية) or the Qu'aiti Sultanate of Shihr and Mukalla (Arabic:سلطنة الشحر والمكلاا ), was a sultanate in the...

, Subeihi, Upper Aulaqi

Upper Aulaqi Sultanate

The Upper Aulaqi Sultanate was a state in the British Aden Protectorate and the Federation of South Arabia. Its capital was Nisab.-History:...

, Upper Yafa

Upper Yafa

Upper Yafa, Upper Yafa'i , or the Sultanate of Upper Yafa , was a state in the British Aden Protectorate and the Protectorate of South Arabia. It was ruled by the Harharah dynasty and its capital was Mahjaba...

and the Wahidi

Wahidi

Wahidi is a former sultanate in South Arabia, now part of Yemen. In the 19th century it was subdivided into several sultanates. These included:*Wahidi Balhaf **Wahidi Azzan*Wahidi Bir Ali*Wahidi Haban...

sultanates

in present-day Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...

:
- Sultans of Nejd
- Sultans of the Hejaz
  Hejaz
  al-Hejaz, also Hijaz is a region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia. Defined primarily by its western border on the Red Sea, it extends from Haql on the Gulf of Aqaba to Jizan. Its main city is Jeddah, but it is probably better known for the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina...
Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...

Sultan of Oman
Sultan of Oman
-List of Imams :-Nabhan Dynasty :-Ya'ariba Dynasty :-Banu Ghafir Dynasty :-Ya'ariba Dynasty :-Al Said Dynasty :-See also:...

(authentically referred to as Hami), on the southern coast of the Arabian peninsula, still an independent sultanate, since 1744 (assumed the formal title of Sultan in 1861)
Sultanate of Zanzibar two incumbents (from the Omani dynasty) since the de facto separation from Oman in 1806, the last assumed the title Sultan in 1861 at the formal separation under British auspices; since 1964 union with Tanganyika part of Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

)
in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

, till Mohammed V
Mohammed V of Morocco
Mohammed V was Sultan of Morocco from 1927–53, exiled from 1953–55, where he was again recognized as Sultan upon his return, and King from 1957 to 1961. His full name was Sidi Mohammed ben Yusef, or Son of Yusef, upon whose death he succeeded to the throne...

changed the style to Malik
Malik
Malik is an Arabic word meaning "king, chieftain".It has been adopted in various other, mainly Islamized or Arabized, Asian languages for their ruling princes and to render kings elsewhere. It is also sometimes used in derived meanings...

(king) on 14 August 1957, maintaining the subsidiary style Amir al-Mu´minin (Commander of the Faithful)
in Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

:
- Darfur
  Darfur
  Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
- Dar al-Masalit
- Dar Qimr
- Funj Sultanate of Sinnar
  Sinnar
  Sinnar is a city and a municipal council in Sinnar taluka of Nashik district in the Indian state of Maharashtra.-Geography:Sinnar is located at . It has an average elevation of 651 metres . Sinnar is one of the major industrial zones built around city of Nashik. It lies 30 km southeast of...
  
  (Sennar)
- Kordofan
in Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...

:
- Bag(u)irmi (main native title: Mbang)
- Wada'i
  Ouaddai Kingdom
  The Ouaddai Empire was originally a non-Muslim kingdom, located to the east of Lake Chad in present-day Chad...
  
  (main native title: Kolak
  Kolak
  Kolak or Kolek is an Indonesian dessert made with palm sugar and coconut milk, with pandanus leaf for flavour. In some versions, mung beans are also used, and cooked till soft. Banana may be added to this base, the dish then being known as kolek pisang...
  
  ), successor state to Birgu
- Dar Sila
  Dar Sila
  Dar Sila is the name of the wandering sultanate of the Dar Sila Daju, a multi-tribal ethnic group in Chad and Sudan. The number of the persons in this group exceeds 50,000. They speak the Sila language, a Nilo-Saharan language. Most members of this ethnic group are Muslims.-Location:Geographically,...
  
  (actually a wandering group of tribes)

Horn of Africa

Adal Sultanate
Adal Sultanate
The Adal Sultanate or the Kingdom of Adal was a medieval multi-ethnic Muslim state located in the Horn of Africa.-Overview:...

, in northwestern Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

, southern Djibouti
Djibouti
Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...

, and the Somali
Somali Region
Somali Region ; is the eastern-most of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia. It is often called Somalia, though it is not to be confused with the independent country of the same name. The capital of Somali State is Jijiga...

, Oromia
Oromia Region
Oromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...

, and Afar
Afar Region
Afar is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, and is the homeland of the Afar people. Formerly known as Region 2, its current capital is Asayita; a new capital named Semera on the paved Awash - Asseb highway is under construction....

regions of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
Ajuuraan State
Ajuuraan State
The Ajuuraan state or Ajuuraan sultanate was a Somali Muslim empire that ruled over large parts of East Africa in the Middle Ages. Through a strong centralized administration and an aggressive military stance towards invaders, the Ajuuraan Empire successfully resisted an Oromo invasion from the...

, in Somalia
Afar Sultanate, in northeastern Ethiopia
Geledi Sultanate
Gobroon Dynasty
The Gobroon dynasty or Geledi sultanate was a Somali royal house that ruled parts of East Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries. It was established by the Ajuuraan soldier Ibrahim Adeer, who had defeated various vassals of the Ajuuraan Empire and established the House of Gobroon...

, in Somalia
Harar Sultanate, in eastern Ethiopia
Ifat Sultanate, in eastern Ethiopia
Majeerteen Sultanate
Majeerteen Sultanate
The Majeerteen Sultanate , also known as Migiurtinia, was a Somali ruling house in present-day northern Somalia. Ruled by King Osman Mahamuud during its Golden Age, it controlled much of northern and central Somalia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The polity had all of the organs of an...

, in northern Somalia
Marehan Sultanate, in northern Somalia
Shewa Sultanate, in central Ethiopia
Sultanate of Hobyo
Sultanate of Hobyo
The Sultanate of Hobyo was a 19th century Somali ruling house in present-day northern Somalia. It was carved out of the former Majeerteen Sultanate by Yusuf Ali Kenadid, cousin of the Majeerteen Sultanate's ruler, Boqor Osman Mahamuud....

, in Somalia
Warsangali Sultanate, in northern Somalia

Angoche Sultanate
Angoche Sultanate
The Angoche Sultanate was established in 1485 along an achepeligo off the Northern Mozambique coastline. Centred on the cities of Angoche and Moma, the sultanate also had a number of vassal territories surrounding them. They were finally removed from power by the Portuguese colonial government in...

, on the Mozambiquan
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

coast (also several neighbouring sheikdoms)
various Sultans on the Comoros
Sultans on the Comoros
Several Sultanates on the Comoros, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean with an ethnically complex mix, were founded after the introduction of Islam into the area in the 15th century. Other uses depending on the island could also be styled fani, mfaume and ntibe. Unlike sultans in many other Arab...

; however on the Comoros
Comoros
The Comoros , officially the Union of the Comoros is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar...

, the normally used styles were alternative native titles, including Mfalme, Phany or Jambé and the 'hegemonic' title Sultani tibe
the Maore (or Mawuti) sultanate on Mayotte
Mayotte
Mayotte is an overseas department and region of France consisting of a main island, Grande-Terre , a smaller island, Petite-Terre , and several islets around these two. The archipelago is located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, namely between northwestern Madagascar and...

(separated from the Comoros)

Maliki

This was the alternative native style (apparently derived from malik

Malik

Malik is an Arabic word meaning "king, chieftain".It has been adopted in various other, mainly Islamized or Arabized, Asian languages for their ruling princes and to render kings elsewhere. It is also sometimes used in derived meanings...

, the Arabic word for king) of the Sultans of the Kilwa Sultanate

Kilwa Sultanate

The Kilwa Sultanate was a Medieval sultanate, centered at Kilwa , whose authority, at its height, stretched over the entire length of the Swahili Coast. It was founded in the 10th century by Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi...

, in Tanganyika

Tanganyika

Tanganyika , later formally the Republic of Tanganyika, was a sovereign state in East Africa from 1961 to 1964. It was situated between the Indian Ocean and the African Great Lakes of Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika...

(presently the continental part of Tanzania).

Swahili sultan

Mfalume is the (Ki)Swahili

Swahili language

Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...

title of various native Muslim rulers, generally rendered in Arabic and in western languages as Sultan:

in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

:
- Pate
  Rulers of Pate
  List of Rulers of PateLocated at Pate Island, Kenya.-References:*Martin, Chryssee MacCasler Perry and Esmond Bradley Martin: Quest for the Past. An historical guide to the Lamu Archipelago. 1973....
  
  on part of Pate island
  Pate Island
  Pate island or Paté island is located in the Indian Ocean close to the northern coast of Kenya, to which it belongs. It is the largest island in the Lamu Archipelago, which lie between the towns of Lamu and Kiunga, close to the border with Somalia....
  
  (capital also named Pate), in the Lamu Archipelago
- Witu
  Witu
  Witu may refer to*Wituland*Vitu language *Wiru :**Wiru people**Wiru language...
  
  , came under German, then British protectorate
  Protectorate
  In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
in Tanganyika
Tanganyika
Tanganyika , later formally the Republic of Tanganyika, was a sovereign state in East Africa from 1961 to 1964. It was situated between the Indian Ocean and the African Great Lakes of Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika...

(presently part of Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

): of Hadimu, on the island of that name; also styled Jembe

West and Central Africa

in Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

:
- Bamoun (Bamun, 17th cent. founded uniting 17 chieftancies) 1918 becomes a Sultanate, but in 1923 re-divided into the 17 original chieftancies.
- Bibemi
  Bibemi
  -References:* * - Thèse de Donation Avele, Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV * Charles Nanga, , Mémoire ENA....
  
  1770 founded- Rulers first style Lamido
  Lamido
  Lamido is the Anglicisation of a term from the Fula language or Fulfulde, used to refer to a ruler. In the language it is properly laamiiɗo , derived from the verbal root "laam-" meaning "to rule or to lead", and hence may be translated more specifically as "leader"...
  
  to ...., then Sultan
- Mandara Sultanate since 1715 (replacing Wandala kingdom); 1902 Part of Cameroon
- Rey Bouba
  Rey Bouba
  The Palace of Rey Bouba was the seat of power for the Lamidat of the same name. It is located within the city of Rey-Bouba in the North Province of Cameroon.- Site Description :...
  
  Sultanate founded 1804
in the Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...

:
- Bangassou
  Bangassou
  Bangassou is a city in the south eastern Central African Republic, lying on the north bank of the Mbomou River. It has a population of 24,447 and is the capital of the Mbomou prefecture. It is known for its wildlife and its market and is linked by ferry to the Democratic Republic of Congo on the...
  
  created ca.1878; 14 June 1890 under Congo Free State
  Congo Free State
  The Congo Free State was a large area in Central Africa which was privately controlled by Leopold II, King of the Belgians. Its origins lay in Leopold's attracting scientific, and humanitarian backing for a non-governmental organization, the Association internationale africaine...
  
  protectorate
  Protectorate
  In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
  
  , 1894 under French protectorate; 1917 Sultanate suppressed by the French.
- Dar al-Kuti - French protectorate since December 12, 1897
- Rafai
  Rafaï
  Rafaï is a town on the Mbomou River, located in the Central African Republic prefecture of Mbomou at . Its estimated population is about 14,000 people.Rafaï has a small civil airport with an unpaved 4,200 feet runway....
  
  ca.1875 Sultanate, 8 April 1892 under Congo Free State protectorate, March 31, 1909 under French protectorate; 1939 Sultanate suppressed
- Zemio
  Zemio
  Zemio is a town and sub-prefecture in the Haut-Mbomou Prefecture of the south-eastern Central African Republic.-Transport:The town is served by Zemio Airport....
  
  ca.1872 established; December 11, 1894 under Congo Free State protectorate, April 12, 1909 under French protectorate; 1923 Sultanate suppressed
in Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...

: Arabic alternative title of the following autochthonous rulers:
- the Amenokal
  Amenokal
  Amenokal is an autochthonous title for the highest Tuareg traditional chiefs.-History:Before the colonization by the French of the North African and Sahel countries they dwell in, the nomadic Tuareg federations elected a chief among the wise men of the tribes to rule the loose union of closely...
  
  of the Aïr confederation of Tuareg
- the Sarkin Damagaram since the 1731 founding of the Sultanate of Damagaram
  Sultanate of Damagaram
  The Sultanate of Damagaram was a powerful pre-colonial state in what is now southeastern Niger, centered on the city of Zinder.- Rise :The Sultanate of Damagaram was founded in 1731 by Muslim Kanouri aristocrats, led by Mallam...
  
  (Zinder
  Zinder
  Zinder is the second largest city in Niger, with a population of 170,574 by 2005 was estimated to be over 200,000...
  
  )
in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

most monarchies previously had native titles but when most in the north converted to Islam, Muslim titles were generally adopted such as Emir
Emir
Emir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...

; Sultan has also been used.
- in Borno
  Sayfawa dynasty
  Sayfawa dynasty or more properly Sefuwa dynasty is the name of the kings of the Kanem-Bornu Empire, centered first in Kanem in western Chad, and then, after 1380, in Borno ....
  
  (alongside the native title Mai)
- since 1817 in Sokoto
  Sokoto
  Sokoto is a city located in the extreme northwest of Nigeria, near to the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River. As of 2006 it has a population of 427,760...
  
  , the suzerain (also styled Amir al-Mu´minin and Sarkin Musulmi) of all Fulbe jihad states and premier traditional Muslim leader in the Sahel (according to some once a Caliph)

Southern Asia

In India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

Bahmani Sultanate
Bahmani Sultanate
The Bahmani Sultanate was a Muslim state of the Deccan in southern India and one of the great medieval Indian kingdoms...
Sultanate of Bengal
Sultanate of Bengal
The Sultanate of Bengal was a state that existed from the 14th through the 16th centuries. It was eventually absorbed into the Mughal fold. The Sultanate was ruled by a series of dynasties with both local and foreign origins.-Origins:...
the Deccan sultanates
Deccan sultanates
The Deccan sultanates were five Muslim-ruled late medieval kingdoms—Bijapur, Golkonda, Ahmadnagar, Bidar, and Berar—of south-central India. The Deccan sultanates were located on the Deccan Plateau, between the Krishna River and the Vindhya Range. These kingdoms became independent during the breakup...

: Berar
Berar Sultanate
-Berar in Ancient History:Subah Berar and Gondwana the Vidarbha region known as Gulshan-e-Berar in medieval period since Khilji dynasty to mughal period according Aine-Akbari and Alimgeer Namah report the berar is hole Fourteen sarkar...

, Bidar
Bidar Sultanate
Bidar sultanate was one of the Deccan sultanates of late medieval India. Its founder, Qasim Barid was a Turk, domiciled in Georgia. He joined the service of the Bahmani sultan Muhammad Shah III. He started his career as a sar-naubat but later became the mir-jumla of the Bahmani sultanate...

, Bijapur, Golconda and Ahmednagar
Sultanate of Delhi
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate is a term used to cover five short-lived, Delhi based kingdoms or sultanates, of Turkic origin in medieval India. The sultanates ruled from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty...

several dynasties, the last (Mughal) became imperial Padshah-i Hind
Sultanate of Gujarat
Sultanate of Jaunpur
Sultanate of Kandesh
Sultanate of Malwa

In the Maldives

Maldives

The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...

Maldives Sultanate
Maldives
The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...

Southeast and East Asia

In Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

(formerly in the Dutch East Indies

Dutch East Indies

The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....

):
.
.

On Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
- Sultanate of Banjar
  Banjar people
  The Banjar are a coastal, native ethnic group that settled in Tanah Laut and Banjarmasin in the south and in Hulu Sungai in the north of South Kalimantan, Indonesia, the second largest city on the island of Borneo. Several centuries ago, some of them had travelled to many places in the Malay...
- Sultanate of Berau
  Berau Regency
  Berau Regency is one of the ten regencies in East Kalimantan province in Indonesia. The capital is Tanjung Redeb. It has an area of 34,127.47 km² and a population of 179,444 at the 2010 Census....
- Sultanate of Bulungan
- Sultanate of Gunung Tabur
- Sultanate of Kubu
  Kubu
  Kubu may refer to:* Contraction for Jüdischer Kulturbund* Kubu people, indigenous people in central Sumatra, Indonesia* Kubu Raya Regency, regency in West Kalimantan, Borneo* Kubu Sultanate, a former sultanate in West Kalimantan, Borneo...
- Sultanate of Kutai Kartanegara
  Kutai Kartanegara Regency
  Kutai Kartanegara Regency is a regency of East Kalimantan province, Indonesia. It has an area of 27,263.10 km² and water area of 4,097 km². The population of the regency was 626,286 at the 2010 Census...
- Sultanate of Mempawah
- Sultanate of Paser
- Sultanate of Pontianak
  Pontianak, Indonesia
  Pontianak is the capital of the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan. It is a medium-size industrial city on the island of Borneo. Pontianak occupies an area of 107.82 km² in the delta of the Kapuas River...
- Sultanate of Sambaliung
- Sultanate of Sambas
  Sultanate of Sambas
  Sambas was a traditional state in Indonesia in modern Borneo.-History:At first governed by governors, Sambas became kingdom in 1609 with the descendant of Sepudak. She married one of her daughters to a descendant of the Sultan of Brunei...
On Celebes Island
- Sultanate of Buton
  Buton
  Buton , is an island in Indonesia located off the southeast peninsula of Sulawesi.-History:In the precolonial era, the island, then usually known as Butung, was within the sphere of influence of Ternate...
- Sultanate of Bone
  Bone state
  Bone was a sultanate in the south-west peninsula of Sulawesi , now part of modern-day Indonesia...
- Sultanate of Gowa
- Sultanate of Luwu
  Luwu
  The Kingdom of Luwu is the oldest kingdom in South Sulawesi. In 1889, the Dutch Governor of Makassar placed Luwu’s heyday between the tenth and fourteenth centuries AD, but offered no evidence. The La Galigo, an epic poem in an archaic form of the Bugis language, is the likely source of Braam...
- Sultanate of Soppeng
- Sultanate of Wajo
  Wajo Kingdom
  Wajo Kingdom was an old monarchy in Indonesia founded ca.1450 in the Bugis south of Sulawesi island. It is now the Wajo Regency, a regency of South Sulawesi province of Indonesia....
On Java Island
- Sultanate of Banten
  Sultanate of Banten
  The Sultanate of Banten was founded in the 16th century and centered in Banten, a port city on the northwest coast of Java; the contemporary English spelling of both was Bantam...
- Sultanate of Cirebon- the rulers in three of the four palaces (kraton) from which fractioned Cirebon
  Cirebon
  Cirebon is a port city on the north coast of the Indonesian island of Java. It is located in the province of West Java near the provincial border with Central Java, approximately 297 km east of Jakarta, at .The seat of a former Sultanate, the city's West and Central Java border location have...
  
  was ruled: Kraton Kasepuhan, Kraton Kanoman
  Kraton Kanoman
  Kraton Kanoman is a palace in the Indonesian city of Cirebon. It was founded by Sultan Anom I in 1677. In the outer area of the palace, the siti inggil, are masonry versions of the classic Javanese pendopo form, as opposed to the more coventional timber structures. Like the Agung Mosque in Demak,...
  
  and Kraton Kacirebonan (only in Kraton Kaprabonan the ruler's title was Panembahan)
- Sultanate of Demak
  Sultanate of Demak
  The Sultanate of Demak was Javanese Muslim state located on Java's north coast in Indonesia, at the site of the present day city of Demak. A port fief to the Majapahit kingdom thought to have been founded in the last quarter of the 15th century, it was influenced by Islam brought by Arab and...
- Sultanate of Pajang
- Sumedang Larang Kingdom
- Sultanate of Mataram
- Sultanate of Yogyakarta
- Sultanate of Surakarta
  Surakarta Sunanate
  Surakarta Sunanate is a Javanese monarchy centered in the city of Surakarta, in the province of Central Java, Indonesia. The Surakarta Kraton were established in 1745 by Pakubuwono II. Both of Surakarta Sunanate and Yogyakarta Sultanate are the successors of Mataram Sultanate...
On Madura island: Pamekasan
Pamekasan
Pamekasan on Madura Island is a regency of East Java, Indonesia.It shares its borders with Sumenep , Java Sea , and Sampang...
In the Moluccas Archipelago
- Sultanate of Iha
  Kingdom of Iha
  The Kingdom of Iha was an Islamic kingdom located in Saparua island, Maluku. Around the Dutch colonial period, there are exist two well-known kingdoms in Saparua Island, Iha and Honimoa . Both are quite influential Islamic empire was known as sapanolua. This means two boat or two boats...
  
  (Saparua)
- Sultanate of Honimoa/ Siri Sori (Saparua)
- Sultanate of Huamual (West Seram)
- Sultanate of Tanah Hitu (Ambon)
- Sultanate of Ternate
  Sultanate of Ternate
  The Sultanate of Ternate was originally named the Kingdom of Gapi, but later change the name base of its capital, Ternate. The sultanate is one of the oldest Muslim kingdoms in Indonesia, established by Baab Mashur Malamo in 1257...
- Sultanate of Tidore
  Sultanate of Tidore
  Sultanate of Tidore was a sultanate in Southeast Asia, centered on the island of Tidore, a rival of Sultanate of Ternate for control of the spice trade.-History:...
- Sultanate of Bacan
  Bacan
  Bacan refers to a group of islands in the Maluku Islands of Indonesia and to that group's largest island. The islands are mountainous and forested. The islands lie south of Ternate and west of Halmahera's southernmost arm...
- Sultanate of Jilolo
- Sultanate of Loloda latter occupied by Ternate
In the Nusa Tenggara
- Sultanate of Bima
  Bima
  Bima is a city on the eastern coast of the island Sumbawa in central Indonesia's province West Nusa Tenggara, and the largest city on the island. In 2010 the municipality counted some 142,443 people, separate from the adjoining Regency of Bima with 407,636 population...
  
  on Sumbawa island
In the Riau archipelago
Riau Archipelago
Not to be confused with Riau Islands Province, a province of Indonesia.The Riau Archipelago is the core group of islands within the Riau Islands Province in Indonesia, and located south of Singapore...

: sultanate of Lingga-Riau by secession in 1818 under the expelled sultan of Johore (on Malaya) Sultan Abdul Rahman Muadzam Syah ibni al-Marhum Sultan Mahmud
In Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
- Sultanate of Aceh
  Aceh Sultanate
  The Sultanate of Aceh, officially the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam was a sultanate centered in the modern area of Aceh Province, Sumatra, Indonesia, which was a major regional power in the 16th and 17th centuries, before experiencing a long period of decline...
  
  (full style Sultan Berdaulat Zillullah fil-Alam) , which had many vassal states
- Sultanate of Asahan
- Awak Sungai, established 17th century at the split in four of Minangkabau, in 1816 extinguished by Netherlands East Indies colonial government
- Sultanate of Deli
  Sultanate of Deli
  Deli is a 1,820 km² state in east Sumatra founded in 1630. A tributary kingdom from 1630 until 1814, the state became a sultanate in 1814 when acquiring independence from Sultanate of Siak....
  
  since 1814, earlier Aceh's vassal as Aru
- Sultanate of Indragiri
- Sultanate of Langkat
  Sultanate of Langkat
  The Sultanate of Langkat was a Muslim state located in modern Langkat Regency, North Sumatra. Although dating back to the pre-Islamic age, recorded history is available only from the 17th century.-References:...
  
  since 1817 (previous style Rajah)
- Sultanate of Palembang
  Palembang
  Palembang is the capital city of the South Sumatra province in Indonesia. Palembang is one of the oldest cities in Indonesia, and has a history of being a capital of a maritime empire. Located on the Musi River banks on the east coast of southern Sumatra island, it has an area of 400.61 square...
  
  (Darussalam), also holding the higher title of Susuhunan
  Susuhunan
  Susuhunan or in short version Sunan, is a title used by the kings of Mataram and then by the hereditary rulers of Surakarta, Indonesia. The rulers of Surakarta traditionally adopt the reign name Pakubuwono...
- Sultanate of Pagaruyung
- Sultanate of Pelalawan
  Pelalawan
  Pelalawan is a regency of Riau, Indonesia. It has an area of 12,647.29 km² and population of 150,609.The regency is divided into 10 subdistricts . The seat of the regency is located at Pangkalan Kerinci....
- Sultanate of Perlak
  Peureulak
  Together with Samudera-Pasai, Perlak or Peureulak are earliest port towns converted to Islam, it is believed as early as 9th century. The location of Pasai and Peureulak is at Indonesia's Sumatra, Aceh province, Lhokseumawe or Lokhseumawe....
- Sultanate of Riau-Lingga
- Sultanate of Samudera Pasai
  Pasai
  Pasai, also known as Samudera and Samudera-Pasai sometimes called Samudera Darussalam was a Muslim harbour kingdom on the north coast of Sumatra from the 13th to the 15th centuries CE. It was believed the word Samudera derived from Samudra meaning ocean in Sanskrit...
- Sultanate of Serdang
- Sultanate of Siak Sri Inderapura
  Siak Regency
  Siak is a regency of Riau, Indonesia. It has an area of 8,556.09 km² and population of 312,536 .The regency is divided into 13 subdistricts . The seat of the regency is located at Siak Sri Indrapura.Bordered with:...

In the Peninsular Malaysia

Peninsular Malaysia

Peninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...

In Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...

or Malaya
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...

, where all nine of Malaysia's present sultanates are located:
- Sultanate of Malacca
- Sultanate of Johor
- Sultanate of Kedah
- Sultanate of Kelantan
  Sultan of Kelantan
  The Sultan of Kelantan is the constitutional head of Kelantan state in Malaysia. The current sultan, Muhammad V, is the 29th Sultan of Kelantan. He is the figurehead of Islam in the state and the source of all titles, honours and dignities of its people....
- Sultanate of Pahang
  Sultan of Pahang
  Sultan of Pahang is the title of the constitutional head of Pahang, Malaysia. The current sultan is Ahmad Shah. He is the Head of the Islam in the state and the source of all titles, honours and dignities in the state.-History:...
- Sultanate of Perak
  Sultan of Perak
  Sultan of Perak is one of the oldest hereditary seats among the Malay states.When the Sultanate of Malacca empire fell to Portugal in 1511, Sultan Mahmud Syah I retreated to Kampar, Sumatra and died there in 1528. He left behind two princes named Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah II and Sultan Muzaffar...
- Sultanate of Selangor
  Sultan of Selangor
  Sultan of Selangor is the title of the constitutional ruler of Selangor, Malaysia.-Bugis bloodline:The Sultans of Selangor are descended from a Bugis dynasty that claim descent from the rulers of Luwu in the southern part of Celebes...
- Sultanate of Terengganu
  Sultan of Terengganu
  Sultan of Terengganu is the title of the constitutional head of Terengganu state in Malaysia. The current sultan, Mizan Zainal Abidin, is the seventeenth Sultan of Terengganu...
Furthermore, the ruler of Luak Jelebu, one of the constitutive states of the Negeri Sembilan
Negeri Sembilan
Negeri Sembilan, one of the 13 states that constitutes Malaysia, lies on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia, just south of Kuala Lumpur and borders Selangor on the north, Pahang in the east, and Malacca and Johor to the south....

confederation, had the style Sultan in addition to his principal title Undang Luak Jelebu.

In Brunei

Brunei

Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...

Sultan of Brunei, Brunei (on Borneo island)

In China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

Dali, Yunnan
Dali, Yunnan
Dali City is a county-level city in and the seat of the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, northwestern Yunnan province of Southwest China.-History:...

, capital of the short-lived Panthay Rebellion
- Furthermore, the Qa´id Jami al-Muslimin (Leader of the Community of Muslims) of Pingnan Guo ("Pacified South State", a major Islamic rebellious polity in western Yunnan province) is usually referred to in foreign sources as Sultan.

In the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

Sultanate of Sulu
Sultanate of Buayan
Sultanate of Maguindanao
Sultanate of Sulu (Sulu, Basilan, Palawan and Tawi-Tawi islands and part of Sabah on North Borneo)
Sultanate of Ranaw (Sultan ko Pat a Pangampong a Ranao)
Sultanates of Lanao

In Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

(Siam):

Sultanate of Patani
Pattani kingdom
Pattani or Sultanate of Pattani was a Malay sultanate that covered approximately the area of the modern Thai provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and much of the northern part of modern Malaysia. The King of Patani is believed to have converted to Islam some time during the 11th century...
Sultanate of Singgora

Contemporary sovereign sultanates

Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

Sultan of Yogyakarta Special Region is governor of that province
Malaysia
- Sultan is the title of seven (Johor
  Johor
  Johor is a Malaysian state, located in the southern portion of Peninsular Malaysia. It is one of the most developed states in Malaysia. The state capital city and royal city of Johor is Johor Bahru, formerly known as Tanjung Puteri...
  
  , Kedah
  Kedah
  Kedah is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km², and it consists of the mainland and Langkawi. The mainland has a relatively flat terrain, which is used to grow rice...
  
  , Kelantan
  Kelantan
  Kelantan is a state of Malaysia. The capital and royal seat is Kota Bharu. The Arabic honorific of the state is Darul Naim, ....
  
  , Pahang
  Pahang
  Pahang is the third largest state in Malaysia, after Sarawak and Sabah, occupying the huge Pahang River river basin. It is bordered to the north by Kelantan, to the west by Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, to the south by Johor and to the east by Terengganu and the South China Sea.Its state...
  
  , Perak
  Perak
  Perak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...
  
  , Selangor
  Selangor
  Selangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...
  
  and Terengganu
  Terengganu
  Terengganu is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Iman...
  
  ) of the nine rulers of the Malay states. The federal head of state the Yang di-Pertuan Agong
  Yang di-Pertuan Agong
  The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the head of state of Malaysia. The office was established in 1957 when the Federation of Malaya gained independence....
  
  , is elected (de facto rotated) for five years by and among the hereditary state rulers, but is usually styled "king" in foreign countries; political power, however, lies with the prime minister
  Prime minister
  A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
  
  . See also: Malay titles
  Malay titles
  The Malay language has a complex system of titles and honorifics, which are still used extensively in Malaysia and Brunei. Singapore, whose Malay royalty was abolished by the British colonial government in 1891, has adopted civic titles for its leaders....
Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...

, an Arabian nation, formerly sultanate of Muscat and Oman
Muscat and Oman
Muscat and Oman was a country that encompassed the present day Sultanate of Oman and parts of the United Arab Emirates. The country is not to be confused with either the Trucial States or Trucial Oman, which were sheikhdoms under British protection since 1820....

Princely and aristocratic titles

In the Ottoman dynastic system, male descendants of the ruling Padishah
Padishah
Padishah, Padshah, Padeshah, Badishah or Badshah is a superlative royal title, composed of the Persian pād "master" and the widespread shāh "king", which was adopted by several monarchs claiming the highest rank, roughly equivalent to the ancient Persian notion of "The Great" or "Great King", and...

(in the West also known as Great Sultan

Great Sultan

Great Sultan is one of various informal titles, such as Grand Turk, used to refer to the Ottoman Sultan, known in Ottoman Turkish as Padishah, Hünkar or Hakan, the sovereign of the Ottoman dynasty....

) enjoyed a style including Sultan; so this normally monarchic title is equivalent in use to the western Prince of the blood: Daulatlu Najabatlu Shahzada Sultan (given name) Hazretleri Effendi. For the Heir Apparent, however, the style was Daulatlu Najabatlu Vali Ahad-i-Sultanat (given name) Effendi Hazlatlari; i.e. Crown Prince of the Sultanate.

The sons of Imperial Princesses, excluded from the Ottoman imperial succession, were only styled Sultan zada (given name) Bey
Bey
Bey is a title for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. Accoding to some sources, the word "Bey" is of Turkish language In historical accounts, many Turkish, other Turkic and Persian leaders are titled Bey, Beg, Bek, Bay, Baig or Beigh. They are all the same word...

-Effendi, i.e. Son of a Prince[ss] of the dynasty.

In certain Muslim states, Sultan was also an aristocratic title, as in the Tartar Astrakhan Khanate

Astrakhan Khanate

The Khanate of Astrakhan was a Tatar feudal state that appeared after the collapse of the Golden Horde. The Khanate existed in the 15th and 16th centuries in the area adjacent to the mouth of the Volga river, where the contemporary city of Astrakhan/Hajji Tarkhan is now located...

.

The Sultan Valide was the title reserved for the mother of the ruling sultan.

Military rank

In a number of post-caliphal states under Mongol or Turkic

Turkic peoples

The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...

rule, there was a feudal

Feudalism

Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...

type of military hierarchy, often decimal (mainly in larger empires), using originally princely titles (Khan

Khan (title)

Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...

, Malik

Malik

, Amir) as mere rank denominations.

In the Persian empire, the rank of Sultan was roughly equivalent to a western Captain

Captain (OF-2)

The army rank of captain is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery...

, socially in the fifth rank class, styled 'Ali Jah.