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wali
Sign in to saveAlso known as wālī, vali
administrative title that was used during the Caliphate and Ottoman Empire to designate governors of administrative divisions
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Mehemet Ali Viceroy of Egypt, by Auguste Couder, 1841. Rostom (Rostam Khan), Safavid viceroy of Kartli, Georgia.
Wāli, wā'lī or vali (from Arabic: والي) is an administrative title used in the Muslim world to designate the governor of an administrative division. It was used in a number of historical Islamic states, including the Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid and Ottoman empires. The division governed by a wāli is called a wilaya; in the Ottoman Empire, the corresponding term was vilayet. The title remains in use in some countries influenced by Arabic or Ottoman administrative traditions.