Sultan
Sultan is a title of Arabic origin for Islamic rulers who are monarchs. The title often corresponds to that of a king.
The word sultan comes from the Arabic language. It means "strength", "authority", or "rulership". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain Muslim rulers who claimed full sovereignty. They did not have to take orders from any higher monarch, without claiming the overall caliphate. There is no specific word for a sultan's wife in Arabic. The word, sultana began to be used (as the feminine version of the Italian word for sultano) in the 16th century in Italy, to describe the wife, mother, daughter, or concubine of a sultan. The Italian word also passed to other European languages.
The dynasty and lands ruled by the Sultan is called a sultanate, which corresponds to a kingdom. During the 20th century, several Sultans in the Arab world changed their title to "Malik", which means "king" in Arabic.
Sultan Media
The valide sultan (sultana mother) of the Ottoman Empire
Sultan Abd al-Hafid of Morocco
Portrait of Mohamoud Ali Shire, the 20th Sultan of the Somali Sultanate of Warsangali
The eighth Sultan of Zanzibar, Ali bin Hamud. Photograph taken between 1902 and 1911
Hamengkubuwono X, the incumbent Sultan of Yogyakarta
Pakubuwono XII, last undisputed Susuhunan of Surakarta
Sultan Saifuddin of Tidore
