Mirza (name)

The term Mirza, is used for a member of a royal family or a member of the highest aristocracy. It is still in use today by members of ruling or formerly ruling princely and royal houses all over the world. It does not contain a style with it, like HRH, HH and HM, although some especially the salute states of India did.

Etymology

The title Mirza(ميرزا), derived from Persian/Kurdish languages, Emirzada or son of the amir (or king), it literally means a Prince.

A similar title Morza (plural morzalar; from the Persian word (mirza) was a noble title in Tatar states, such as Khanate of Kazan, Khanate of Astrakhan and others, and in the Russian Empire later on.

History

The titles themselves were given by the kings, sultans or emperors (equivalent to the western fount of honour) to their sons and grandsons, or even distant kins. Noblemen loyal to the kings also received this Noble titles, although their usage differed.

The title itself came from the title emir. Emir, meaning "commander" in Arabic, -derived from the Arabic root Template:ArabDIN, "command". Originally simply meaning commander or leader, usually in reference to a group of people. It came to be used as a title of governors or rulers, usually in smaller states, and in modern Arabic usually renders the English word "prince. Amir Sadri." The word entered English in 1595, from the French émir. It was one of the titles or names of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

• A state ruled by an independent emir is an emirate. Some emirates are sovereign, such as the Kuwaiti monarchy (ruled by the al-Sabah dynasty since the country gained independence in 1961), Qatar (since 1971), and Bahrain (1971-2002). Emirates can also be constitutive parts of a state, notably the seven United Arab Emirates, which belong to a federal monarchy, and are the electors of its presidency and prime minister.
• Another meaning of the word emir is "prince" (specifically, the male descendant of a sovereign). This title was used in the sultanate of the Maldives alongside the native title Manippulu. In some states it could mean "crown prince" (more typically Wali al-Ahd). For example, before he was crowned as King Abdullah of Jordan, the son of King Hussein was still referred to as "Emir Abdullah" (in this case an obsolete title of the dynasty, which adopted the higher title of malik, king).
• In various Muslim states, Amir was also a nobiliary title, as under the (Turkic?) form ämir in the Tartar Khanate of Kazan.

Princely, ministerial and noble titles

• The caliphs first used the title Amir al-Muminin ("Commander of the Faithful"), stressing their leadership over all Islam. Both this command and the title have been assumed by various other Muslim rulers, including sultans and emirs.
• The Abbasid (in theory still universal) Caliph Ar-Radi created the post of Amir al-Umara ("Amir of the Amirs") for his -in fact governing- Wasir (chief minister) Ibn Raik; the title was used in various Islamic monarchies; cfr. infra for military use
• In Lebanon, the ruling Emir formally used the style al-Amir al-Hakim since, specifying it was still a ruler's title, but now as part of the Ottoman Empire; unchanged when in 1698 the Banu Shihab replaced the Banu Ma'n dynasty and on 27 May 1832 was annexed by khedival Egypt (both nominally Ottoman), but Ottoman rule was restored on October 10, 1840, until the Mount Lebanon emirate ended on January 16, 1842, as the Ottoman Sultans divided their Lebanese province administratively, creating a Christian district in the north and an area under Druze control in the south.

• The word Emir is also used less formally for leaders in certain contexts, for example the leader of a group of pilgrims to Mecca is called an emir hadji, a style sometimes used by ruling princes (as a mark of Muslim piety), sometimes awarded in their name. Where an adjectival form is necessary, "emiral" suffices.

• Amirzada, the son (hence the Persian patronymic suffix -zade) of a prince, hence the Persian princely title Mirza.

Today

The name today is in use mainly in the South Asian sub-continent (India/Pakistan), and Kurdistan although the diaspora is wide and stretches across the world from former Yugoslav (such as Bosnia and Herzegovina) to Persian/Central Asian countries (such as Iran,Iraq Turkey, Uzbekistan, etc).

When prefixed to a last name it is a title of honor, but when annexed to a persons name it means a prince of royal blood. Few countries still used the title as an office or military rank, usually monarchies and emirates, but they are decreasing in numbers and "Mirza" is being added only as surnames.

Noble families and their descendants in South Asia, Central Asia and Kurdistan have "Mirza" in their name.

Notable Mirzas

• Mirza Ghalib, a famous Urdu and Persian poet from India who adorned the Mughal court
• Abbas Mirza, a crown prince of Persia
• Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, an Indian claimant of Messiah and Mehdi and founder of Ahmadiyya community
• Mirza Nali, son of emperor Akbar Shah II
• Jalaluddin Mirza, Defence Minister of Dighapatia Kings (during the Mughal Empire of India) and the Grand Nephew of Bahadur Shah II
• Iskander Ali Mirza, was the first president, and 4th Governor-General of the newly established republic of Pakistan in 1956
• Mirza Davud Huseynov, an Azerbaijani statesman and politician
• Mirza Delibašić, was a Bosnian basketball player.
• Diya Mirza, Bollywood actress, a former Miss Asia Pacific, and Miss India runner-up
• Sania Mirza, Indian tennis player
• Mirza Džomba, Croatian handball player
• Ebrahim Mirzapour, Iranian Football/Soccer player, played in 2006 World Cup as goalkeeper for Iran's national team
• Shirwan A.Mirza, a Kurdish physician, professor and author
• Muhammad Munawwar Mirza, was a prominent scholar, historian, writer and intellectual from Pakistan
• Shazia Mirza, a British actress, writer and stand-up comedian

See also

• Bahadur
• Nawab
• Shahzada
• emir
• khanzada
• sultanzada

Sources and references

• Brewer's Dictionary of Phrases and Fable, 16th edition Revised by Adrian Room, 1999

• WorldStatesmen

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