Sultanzade Explained

Sultanzade is an Ottoman title for sons of sultana or imperial princesses, female descendants of sovereign in male line. The feminine equivalent is hanımsultan.

Term

Sultan (سلطان) is a word of Arabic origin, originally meaning "authority" or "dominion" and -zade is a Persian suffix meaning 'son of', 'daughter of', 'descendant of', or 'born of'. Sultanzade literally meaning "descendant of sultan".

Usage in Ottoman family

In the Ottoman family, sultanzade was used by sons of Ottoman princesses, female descendants of a sovereign in the male line. Different with şehzades, sultanzades were excluded from the Ottoman imperial succession.

The formal way of addressing sultanzades are Sultanzade (given name) Bey-Efendi, i.e. Sir Prince Sultan (given name). Bey (Ottoman Turkish: باي) is a Turkish title for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders (for men) of small tribal groups. Effendi, Effendy, or Efendi (Ottoman Turkish: افندي) is a title of nobility meaning a Lord or Master.[1] The official style of sons of sultanzades was simply bey, i.e. sir after their name and daughters of sultanzades was simply hanım, i,e. madam after their name. This all titles are still used by Osmanoğlu family.

Hanımsultan

The feminine equivalent title is hanımsultan (Ottoman Turkish: خانم سلطان), from the title hanım, Turkish form of the Mongolian title khanum, feminine equivalent of khan or khagan, with the title sultan, Arabic word originally meaning "authority" or "dominion". Hanımsultan is title for daughters of sultana or imperial princesses. The formal way of addressing hanımsultans are (given name) Hanımsultan, i.e. Sultana madam (given name).

Examples of Sultanzade

Examples of Hanımsultan

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: El-Messiri, Sawsan. Ibn Al-Balad: A Concept of Egyptian Identity. Brill Publishers. 1997.