The sultan is the monarch of certain Arab or Islamic nations.
Sultan is the name of the title held by the monarchs of certain Arab or Islamic nations . It can be said that a sultan is one who, in a certain region, holds power .
Before moving forward, we must know that the etymological origin of the term is found in the Turkish sultan , which can be translated as “Mohammedan governor.”
The notion of sultan throughout history
Historians indicate that the first person to officially receive the honor of sultan was Mahmud of Ghazni , who ruled the Ghaznavid Empire between 997 and 1030 . This man led the most important Muslim state of those years, conquering various territories and invading India on numerous occasions.
Over time , different Turkish and African peoples adopted the title of sultan for their monarchs. In this way, Ottomans , Almohads , Almoravids , Seljuks , Mamluks and Ayyubids began to be ruled by sultans.
The title of sultan has different characteristics depending on the region.
The title yesterday and today
The period that a sultan rules, the dignity of his office and the State he administers are called a sultanate . The territory can also be named as a sultany .
At the time of the Ottoman Empire , on the other hand, both the monarch and his mother and daughters held the title of sultan. In men, the title was mentioned first and then the name, while in women this order was reversed.
In modern times, the leaders of Brunei and Oman are officially known as sultans (the Sultan of Brunei and the Sultan of Oman ). The concept is also used in an honorific sense with regional rulers of countries such as Malaysia and the Philippines .
Sultan as a proper name
It must be stated that the term can also be used as a proper name.
This, for example, is the name of Sultan Kösen , who holds the record of being the tallest man in the world at 2.51 meters tall. He was born in 1982 in the Turkish city of Mardin and has held the aforementioned “merit” since 2010 .
The concept in music and cinema
Within the musical field, that word takes special prominence in one of the most emblematic songs of the 20th century , specifically from the decade of the 70s . We are referring to “Sultans of Swing” , which was officially presented in 1978 and was performed by the iconic British rock band Dire Straits , led by the Knopfler brothers.
Likewise, in the world of cinema, the 2016 film “Sultan” stands out, which revolves around the figure of a humble fighter with many personal problems who ends up becoming an idol due to his international triumphs.
Other uses of the term sultan
On the other hand, in the sports field there is a baseball team from the Mexican league that also uses the term in question. We are referring to the Sultans of Monterrey who, as their name indicates, are from the aforementioned area of the country. It was founded in 1939 under the name Carta Blanca , but a decade later it received the current name Sultanes .
Sultan , finally, is the name of an American town located in Washington state. According to the latest census data, less than 5,000 inhabitants live in Sultan .