Emir

Den første emir af Afghanistan, Emir Dost Muhammed Khan, der tiltrådte i 1826 med sin yngste søn Sher Ali Khan.

Emir (af arabisk amīr امير og tyrkisk emir) betyder befaling, befalingshavende, guvernør eller fyrste.

I tidlig islamisk tid befalede en emir over en afdeling muslimske soldater, og efter en erobring indtog han så den tidligere guvernørs plads. Med tiltagende magt blev emirerne mere og mere suveræne, men ønskede for det meste blot kaliffens anerkendelse.

De vigtigste ændringer af emirtitlen er:

  • amīr al-mu’minīnde troendes befalingshaver var efter Omar de islamiske kaliffers ærestitel
  • amīr al-umarā’befalingshavernes befalingshaver var det øverstbefalendes titel under Abbasiderne. I det osmanniske rige fik det betydningen guvernør for en storprovins.

Ordet admiral i europæiske sprog stammer via levantisk græsk fra det arabiske amīr al-bahr (امير البحر), dvs. befalingshaver til søs.

Suveræne emirater findes stadig i Mellemøsten efter den engelske tilbagetrækning i 1971:

Ud fra ordet emir har man på farsi og kurdisk dannet titlen mir, som stadigvæk betyder leder af en gruppe (stamme). Det samme begreb bruges ligeledes af nogle indiske stammer.

Se også

Medier brugt på denne side

Dost Mohammad Khan of Afghanistan with his son.jpg

Dost Mahommed, King of Caubul, and his youngest son

This is lithograph is taken from plate 2 of 'Afghaunistan' by Lieutenant James Rattray.

Rattray was in the Bengal Army and took part in the first Afghan War, from 1839 to 1842. This conflict saw Dost Mohammed deposed as Emir of Afghanistan. Rattray was granted an audience with the Emir in Peshawar in January 1841. At this time, Dost Mohammed was a prisoner of state and on his way to exile in Calcutta.

Rattray was struck by the Emir's deep voice, open manner and intelligent countenance, and by his followers with their finely chiselled features and tall, handsome figures. The young boy with his head shaven in the manner "peculiar to the rosy-cheeked children of Caubul" was the Emir's son from his youngest wife. Rattray wrote that since Dost Mohammed had been "a ruler just and merciful and attentive to affairs of state ... the population of Peshawur considered him to be most unjustly treated by us." The decorations of this apartment were a facsimile of the Emir's former audience hall in the citadel of Ghazni.