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Mirza (name)

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 85.133.203.33 (talk) at 15:04, 23 November 2009 (Changed 'son of' to 'child of.' Persian has no gender-specific words (loanwords are discouraged exceptions). The suffix '-za' or '-zadeh' simply mean 'born of' and carries no indication of gender.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For other uses, see Mirza (name) (disambiguation).

The title Mirza (Persian: ميرزا - Mīrzā) The Mirza is a caste of Mughals. The Mirza title was also given to Muslim workers during the Mughal rule and to other people loyal to the king.Some Rajput Clans like Jarral of Jummu and Kashmir use the title Mirza.

Etymology

The word Mīrzā is derived from the Persian term ‘Amīrzāda which literally means "child of the ‘Amīr" or "child of the leader". ‘Amīrzād in turn consists of the Arabic title ‘Amīr (engl. Emir), meaning "commander", and the Persian suffix -zād, meaning "birth" or "lineage".

Due to vowel harmony in Turkic languages, the alternative pronunciation Morza (plural morzalar; derived from the Persian word) was used in Tatar states, such as Khanate of Kazan, Khanate of Astrakhan and others, and in the Russian Empire later on. for example: Mirza Shameem Ur Rehman Baig

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", -derived from the Semitic root Amr, "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 usually renders the English word "prince. Amir Sadri." The word entered English in 1595, from the French émir. [1].

Princely, ministerial and noble titles

  • This title was also heavily used by the "Baigs" of a Turkic clan called Barlas. The Barlas clan commonly used the name Baig (also spelt Beg) to identify high ranked members of their clan. For some of the Barlas people Mirza was used as a title, and Baig was attached as the surname to all the patriarchs, thus creating the Mirza Baig lineage. (See Baig)

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

In the past "mirza" or "murza" was used as a noble title for a knight who was Muslim (Lipka Tatar) when Latin (or Polish—Latin) "sum" was used for Christian knights (Catholic or Eastern Orthodox; many west Ruthenian titles were used as well). At present, the other form of "mirza," "murza" has become the basis for the most polite address of a black person "Murzyn" in the Polish language, the same way as the Polish "Mr." is simply "sir" or "pan" spelled in writing with a small case "s." nota bene: Only the closest relatives of a Khan or the ruling monarch were eligible to be acknowledged as princes in the Commonwealth; the process was rather long, and involved proper documentation as well as vote by the Diet (or Noble Congress) and the Polish King's Lithuanian Grand Duke's signature (almost always the same person, since after 1410), yet quite a few Islamic families were acknowledged as such, amongst others the the Kryczynskis. The princes used the titles of beg or bey.

Tatar Nobility

The title "Murza" is used nowadays by a tatar noble community in Russia and Former USSR countries (Commonwealth of Independent States), and means a Prince or Duke.

The famous tatar noble families are:

and others.

Today

The name today also has a high degree of usage in the Indian subcontinent although the diaspora is wide and stretches across the world from Europe to Middle Eastern and Central Asian countries (such as Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan etc).

For the Asian sub-continent usage, when prefixed to a last name it is a title of honour, 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, to reflect a royal or honorary/princely lineage.

Noble families and their descendants in South Asia & Central Asia have "Mirza" in their name or as a last name. (For example Mirza Mansur Baig, Waqas Ahmed Mirza or Asmaa Jalil Mirza)

Notable Mirzas

See also

Sources and references

  1. ^ http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=amir&searchmode=none EtymologyOnLine
  • Brewer's Dictionary of Phrases and Fable, 16th edition Revised by Adrian Room, 1999
  • WorldStatesmen
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  • [2]
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