Noble titles

The Pharaoh was the monarch of ancient Egypt. The title came into use from the Eighteenth Dynasty onwards and was subsequently attributed to all the previous kings of Egypt. Before this Pharaoh was a term that meant more of the kings' administration. The earliest confirmed instance of the title used contemporaneously for a ruler is a letter to Akhenaten (reigned –1336 BCE), possibly preceded by an inscription referring to Thutmose III (–1425 BCE). Although the title only came into use in the Eighteenth Dynasty during the New Kingdom, scholars today use it for all the rulers of Egypt from the F

right|thumb|The mounted archer represented the quintessential samurai. The were members of the professional warrior class in pre-industrial Japan, who served as retainers to the lords. These men came from warrior families and trained from a young age in military arts through private instruction. Swordsmanship, archery, and horsemanship were the primary martial skills; and often in Japanese history, only samurai had the right to even possess these weapons. These weapons required years of training to master, and this commitment made the samurai superior to conscripts and militia, the latter who

thumb|Suleiman the Magnificent, the longest-reigning [[sultan of the Ottoman Empire|281x281px]]

A monarch () is a head of state for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch usually exercises the highest authority and power in the state. Usually, a monarch either personally inherits the lawful right to exercise the state's sovereign rights (often referred to as the throne or the crown) or is selected by an established process from a family or cohort eligible to provide the nation's monarch. Alternatively, an individual may proclaim oneself monarch, or even usurp power, as many Ancient Greek tyrants did. If a young child is crowned the monarch, the

thumb|The French prince du sang Louis II de Bourbon with his son. He was a great warrior and a rebel. He triumphed at the [[battle of Rocroi against the Habsburgs and saved the kingdom of his cousin Louis XIV, then four years old. This forged his legendary status and the beginning of the reversal of the balance of power in Europe. The day after Rocroi's victory, he became the new Alexander. The prince's center of gravity was transferred from Paris to Chantilly where he indulged his passions and cultivated a court life, in a sort of anti-Versailles. Under his impetus and the king's first archit

ruler in Mongol and Turkic cultures, variously describing kings, princes, and governors

thumb|upright|right|Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who ruled Iran from 1941 to 1979, was the last king to hold the title of shah before the Iranian monarchy was abolished by the [[Iranian Revolution.]]

Sheikh ( , , , , shuyūkh ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim scholar.

thumb|The heraldic crown for Spanish barons

thumb|The court of the Durrani Empire|Durrani Emirate of [[Afghanistan (James Rattray, 1839)]] Emir (; ' (), also transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremonial authority. The title has a history of use in West Asia, East Africa, West Africa, Central Asia, and South Asia. In the modern era, when used as a formal monarchical title, it is roughly synonymous with "prince", applicable both to a son of a hereditary monarch, and to a reigning monarch

Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked below grand dukes and above or below princes, depending on the country or specific title. The title comes from French duc, itself from the Latin dux, 'leader', a term used in republican Rome to refer to a military commander without an official rank, and later coming to mean the leading military commander of a province. In most countries, the word d

thumb|Uyghurs|Uyghur General [[Khojis (d. 1781), bey of Turfan, who later settled in Beijing; painting by a European Jesuit artist at the Chinese court in 1775]] Bey, also spelled as Baig, Bayg, Beigh, Beig, Bek, Baeg, Begh, or Beg, is a Turkic title for a chieftain, and a royal, aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of variously sized areas in the numerous Turkic kingdoms, emirates, sultanates and empires in Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Europe, and the Middle East, such as the Ottomans, Timurids or the various khanates and emi

thumb|345x345px|An illustrated Portrait of Mohammad Shah Qajar|Muhammad Shah Qajar and his Vizier Haj Mirza Aghasi in Iran during the 19th century. Vizier's roles as advisors in courts evolved over time, becoming an important part of official government institutions.

Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank, aristocratic title in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitaries, and others issued by the Sultan carrying the tughra (imperial seal). Pasha, in one of its various ranks, is equivalent to the British title of Lord. Pasha was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of Egypt and it was also used in Morocco in the 20th century, where it denoted a regional official or governor of a district. Origin of the word is believed to be derived from the Persian Padishah ( پادشاه ).

{| class="wikitable wikitable mw-collapsible autocollapse" |style="background: #cbe; min-width:18.5em" colspan=2 align="center"|Khagan |- ! colspan="2" |Rouran |- | Brahmi Script:|| |- | Transliteration:|| Kagan |- | Transcription (Vovin):|| |- ! colspan="2" |Mongolian |- | Mongolian Script:|| |- | ʼPhags-pa script:|| |- | Transliteration:|| Qagan, Xagan |- | Cyrillic script:|| Хаан / Хаган |- | Transliteration:|| Khaan / Khagan |- ! colspan="2"|Yeniseian |- | Latin alphabet:|| Qaγan |- ! colspan="2" |Arabic |- |Arabic script: |خاقان |- |Transliteration: |Khaqan |- ! colspan="2" |Hindustan

thumb|right|The French general Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Viscount of Turenne

thumb|Portrait of Russian boyar Pyotr Potemkin by [[Godfrey Kneller]] thumb|Russian boyars in the 16th–17th centuries

200px|thumb|Until Boris I of Bulgaria|Boris I (852–889), the title of the Bulgarian monarchs was (). His son, Simeon I (893–927), adopted the title [[tsar (emperor), which became the title of the subsequent Bulgarian rulers.]]

thumb|160px|Image of a , the heraldic coronet of a titular thumb|160px|Heraldic headpiece of a mediatised houses|mediatised ' (; feminine: ' ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "countess").

thumb|"Roy" Edward III of England|Edward III, King of England. [[Bruges Garter Book.]] A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory.

' (, ; f. infanta'''), also anglicised as "infant" or translated as "prince", is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to the sons and daughters (infantas) of the king, regardless of age, sometimes with the exception of the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the throne who usually bears a unique princely or ducal title. A woman married to a male infante was accorded the title of infanta'' if the marriage was dynastically approved (e.g., Princess Alicia of Bourbon-Parma), although since

Sir is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exists in French only as part of "" .

A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave) and the Italian-language equivalent Marchese. A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow) of a marquess is a marchioness () or marquise (). These titles are also used to translate equivalent Asian styles, as in Imperial China and Imperial Japan. thumb|A portrait of William Kerr, 4th Marquess of Lothian|the 4th Marquess of Lothian, wearing his [[British Army uniform.]]

chief of state in Italian city-states

thumb|The voivode Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić on horseback Voivode is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe, in use since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the medieval rulers of the Romanian-inhabited states and of governors and military commanders of Polish, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Balkan, Russian and other Slavic-speaking populations.

Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are entitled to courtesy titles. The collective "Lords" can refer to a group or body of peers.

thumb|upright|Count Carl Gustaf Mannerheim (naturalist)|Carl Gustaf Mannerheim (1797–1854), the [[governor of the Vyborg Province, entomologist and the grandfather of Baron C. G. E. Mannerheim.]] Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Especially in earlier medieval periods the term often implied not only a certain status, but also that the count had specific responsibilities or offices. The etymologically related English term "county" denoted the territories

thumb|Princess of Sweden|Princess Sigrid Vasa of Sweden (1566–1633)|299x299px

thumb|Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam|Tekle Haymanot, negus of [[Gojjam]] Negus is the word for "king" in the Ethiopian Semitic languages and a title which was usually bestowed upon a regional ruler by the Negusa Nagast, or "King of Kings," in pre-1974 Ethiopia. The negus is referred to as Al-Najashi (النجاشي) in the Islamic tradition.

thumb|Badr al-Din Lu'lu' was atabeg for the [[Zengid dynasty from 1211 to 1234. Kitāb al-aghānī fronstispiece, Mosul, 1218–1219. Vol IV. Cairo, Egyptian National Library, Ms Farsi 579]] Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the title's use was with early Seljuk Turks who bestowed it on the Persian vizier Nizam al-Mulk. It was later used in the Kingdom of Georgia, first within the Armeno-Georgian family of Mkhargr

thumb|Heraldic crown of a landgrave

imperial and or royal title

thumb|right|200px|Johann Otto von Gemmingen, Prince-Bishop of Augsburg (1591–1598)

high administrative and military function in the middle ages, later noble title

thumb|Jan Zamoyski, an important 16th-century Polish magnate

Khatun ( ) is a title of the female counterpart to a khan or a khagan.

Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Emperor. In earlier times the title was ratified and bestowed by the reigning Mughal emperor to semi-autonomous Muslim rulers of subdivisions or princely states in the Indian subcontinent loyal to the Mughal Empire, and then it was became a Royal title like Sultan or Emperor for example the Nawabs of Bengal. Various Nawabs were permitted to maintain this title under the suzerainty of the Maratha Empire.

A lady is a woman who behaves in a polite way. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the female counterpart of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men.

legal privilege given to some members in monarchial and princely societies

thumb|upright|Usual Crown (heraldry) of a Fürst in Crown (heraldry)#German-speaking countries|German-speaking countries

heir apparent to the emperor or senior court official

honorific title used in Iberia, the Hispanic world, Lusophone countries and Italy

thumb|Drawing of a nomarch based on Middle Kingdom tomb paintingsA nomarch (, Great Chief) was a provincial governor in ancient Egypt; the country was divided into 42 provinces, called nomes (singular , plural ). A nomarch was the government official responsible for a nome. More recent studies are more cautious about using this term as it is a Greek word that does not exactly match Ancient Egyptian administrative titles and modern scholars often prefer other, more neutral words for describing the heads of the provinces, such as governor.

Princeps (plural: Principes) is a Latin word meaning "first in time or order; the first, foremost, chief, the most eminent, distinguished, or noble; the first person". As a title, Princeps originated in the Roman Republic wherein the leading member of the Senate was designated princeps senatus. It is primarily associated with the Roman emperors as an unofficial title first adopted by Augustus () in 27 BC. Its use in this context continued until the regime of Diocletian (r. 284–305) at the end of the third century. He preferred the title of dominus, meaning "lord" or "master". As a result, the

thumb|Reconstruction of a Xiongnu chief warrior, 2nd century BC – 1st century AD, by archaeologist [[A.N. Podushkin. Central State Museum of Kazakhstan.]] Chanyu () or Shanyu (), short for Chengli Gutu Chanyu (), was the title used by the supreme rulers of Inner Asian nomads for eight centuries until superseded by the title "Khagan" in 402 AD. The title was most famously used by the ruling Luandi clan of the Xiongnu during the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD). It was later also used infrequently by the Chinese as a reference to Tujue leaders.

thumb|Ishi-jo wielding a naginata, woodblock print by [[Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 1848]]

A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany.

thumb|Page from a Rosh Hashanah prayerbook with Hebrew (melekh) in large red text. Malik (; ; ; variously Romanized Mallik, Melik, Malka, Malek, Maleek, Malick, Mallick, Melekh) is the Semitic term translating to "king", recorded in East Semitic and Arabic, and as M-L-K in Northwest Semitic during the Late Bronze Age (e.g. Aramaic, Canaanite, Hebrew).

Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: старост/а, Latin: capitaneus, ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands.

rank of a high nobleman or prince

highest rank of official in Ancient Egypt

Ajaw or Ahau ('Lord') is a pre-Columbian Maya political title attested from epigraphic inscriptions. It is also the name of the 20th day of the tzolkʼin, the Maya divinatory calendar, on which a ruler's kʼatun-ending rituals would fall.

imperial title used in China and Vietnam, initially for the king but later for the crown prince

250px|thumb|right|A pre-colonial couple belonging to the datu or nobility as depicted in the Boxer Codex of the 16th century. Datu is a title which denotes the rulers (variously described in historical accounts as chiefs, sovereign princes, and monarchs) of numerous indigenous peoples throughout the Philippine archipelago. The title is still used today, though not as much as early Philippine history. It is a cognate of datuk, dato, and ratu in several other Austronesian languages.

person legitimately descended in dynastic line from any of a realm's hereditary monarchs

Allamah () is an Islamic honorary title for a profound scholar, a polymath, a man of vast reading and erudition, or a great learned one.

Ethiopian aristocratic title

Khanum is a female royal and aristocratic title that was originally derived through a Central Asian title, and later used in the Middle East and South Asia. It is the feminine equivalent of the title Khan for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turkic peoples living in Asia and Europe and also Mongol tribes living north and northwest of modern-day China. In the construction of words in the Turkic languages, the suffix "-um or -ım" adds "my". This means the word "Khanum" can be transliterated as "my Khan". This arises from the tale, depicting a Khan announcing to his