List of Mamluk titles and appellations
Appearance
English | Arabic | Notes |
---|---|---|
Alama Sultaniya | علامة سلطانية | The mark or signature of the Sultan put on his decrees, letters and documents. |
Al-Nafir al-Am | النفير العام | General emergency declared during war |
Amir | أمير | Commander |
Amir Akhur | أمير آخور | supervisor of the royal stable (from Persian آخور meaning stable) |
Amir Majlis | أمير مجلس | Guard of Sultan's seat and bed |
Atabek | أتابك | Commander in chief (literally "father-lord," originally meaning an appointed step-father for a non-Mamluk minor prince) |
Astadar | أستادار | Chief of the royal servants |
Barid Jawi | بريد جوى | Airmail (mail sent by carrier-pigeons, amplified by Sultan Baibars) |
Bayt al-Mal | بيت المال | treasury |
Cheshmeh | ششمه | A pool of water, or fountain (literally "eye"), from Persian چشمه |
Dawadar | دوادار | Holder of Sultan's ink bottle (from Persian دواتدار meaning bearer of the ink bottle) |
Fondok | فندق | Hotel (some famous hotels in Cairo during the Mamluk era were Dar al-Tofah, Fondok Bilal and Fondok al-Salih) |
Hajib | حاجب | Doorkeeper of sultan's court |
Iqta | إقطاع | Revenue from land allotment |
Jamkiya | جامكية | Salary paid to a Mamluk |
Jashnakir | جاشنكير | Food taster of the sultan (to assure his food and drink was not poisoned) |
Jomdar | جمدار | An official at the department of the Sultan's clothing (from Persian جامهدار, meaning keeper of cloths) |
Kafel al-mamalek al-sharifah al-islamiya al-amir al-amri | كافل الممالك الشريفة الاسلامية الأمير الأمرى | Title of the Vice-sultan (Guardian of the Prince of Command [lit. Commander-in-command] of the Dignified Islamic Kingdoms) |
Khan | خان | A store that specialized in selling a certain commodity |
Khaskiya | خاصكية | Courtiers of the sultan and most trusted royal mamluks who functioned as the Sultan's bodyguards/ A privileged group around a prominent Amir (from Persian خاصگیان, meaning close associates) |
Khastakhaneh | خاصتاخانة | Hospital (from Ottoman Turkish خستهخانه, from Persian) |
Khond | خند | Wife of the sultan |
Khushdashiya | خشداشية | Mamluks belonging to the same Amir or Sultan. |
Mahkamat al-Mazalim | محكمة المظالم | Court of complaint. A court that heard cases of complaints of people against state officials. This court was headed by the sultan himself. |
Mamalik Kitabeya | مماليك كتابية | Mamluks still attending training classes and who still live at the Tebaq (campus) |
Mamalik Sultaneya | مماليك سلطانية | Mamluks of the sultan;to distinguish from the Mamluks of the Amirs (princes) |
Modwarat al-Sultan | مدورة السلطان | Sultan's tent which he used during travel. |
Mohtaseb | محتسب | Controller of markets, public works and local affairs. |
Morqadar | مرقدار | Works in the Royal Kitchen (from Persian مرغدار meaning one responsible for the fowl) |
Mushrif | مشرف | Supervisor of the Royal Kitchen |
Na'ib Al-Sultan | نائب السلطان | Vice-sultan |
Qa'at al-insha'a | قاعة الإنشاء | Chancery hall |
Qadi al-Qoda | قاضى القضاة | Chief justice |
Qalat al-Jabal | قلعة الجبل | Citadel of the Mountain (the abode and court of the sultan in Cairo) |
Qaranisa | قرانصة | Mamluks who moved to the service of a new Sultan or from the service of an Amir to a sultan. |
Qussad | قصاد | Secret couriers and agents who kept the sultan informed |
Ostaz | أستاذ | Benefactor of Mamluks (the Sultan or the Emir) (from Persian استاد) |
Rank | رنك | An emblem that distinguished the rank and position of a Mamluk (probably from Persian رنگ meaning color) |
Sanjaqi | سنجاقى | A standard-bearer of the Sultan. |
Sharabkhana | شرابخانة | Storehouse for drinks, medicines and glass-wares of the sultan. (from Persian شرابخانه meaning wine cellar) |
Silihdar | سلحدار | Arm-Bearer (from Arabic سلاح + Persian دار, meaning arm-bearer) |
Tabalkhana | طبلخانه | The amir responsible for the Mamluk military band, from Persian طبلخانه |
Tashrif | تشريف | Head-covering worn by a Mamluk during the ceremony of inauguration to the position of Amir. |
Tawashi | طواشى | A Eunuch responsible for serving the wives of the sultan and supervising new Mamluks. Mamluk writers seem not to have consulted the eunuchs themselves about "their origins.[1] |
Tebaq | طباق | Campus of the Mamluks at the citadel of the mountain |
Tishtkhana | طشتخانة | Storehouse used for the laundry of the sultan (from Persian تشتخانه, meaning tub room) |
Wali | والى | viceroy |
Yuq | يوق | A large linen closet used in every mamluk home, which stored pillows and sheets. (Related to the present Crimean Tatar word Yuqa, "to sleep". In modern Turkish: Yüklük.) |
References
[edit]- ^ Marmon, Shaun Elizabeth; Marmon, Assistant Professor of Religion Shaun (1995). Eunuchs and Sacred Boundaries in Islamic Society. Oxford University Press. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-19-507101-6.
External links
[edit]- The government of the Ottoman empire in the time of Suleiman the Magnificent (p. 32) by Albert Howe Lybyer, in public domain
- Ottoman-Turkish conversation-grammar, a practical method of learning the Ottoman-Turkish language at the Internet Archive By V. H. Hagopian — Official Titles (p. 459)