Mumtaz Ali Tajddin S. Ali
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Title is a name indicative of eminence, affording special distinction to the holder. Every title appears to have meaning or derivation from a word expressive of quality and historical background. Likewise, Imam Hasan Ali Shah, the 46th Imam was the bearer of the title AGA KHAN." Fateh Ali Shah, the Qajari emperor invested him in 1818 in Tehran. Henceforward, he and his successors became known by this title. How this title was invested? What is its origin and meaning? We will discuss these points as under. Mohammad Khan (1742-1797) founded Qajar dynasty in Iran in 1796. His nephew Fateh Ali Shah (1771-1834), who ruled for 38 years and 5 months, and died on October 23, 1834 succeeded him. Abul Hasan Shah, the 44th Ismaili Imam was succeeded by his son, Imam Khalilullah in 1194/1780, who resided in Kahek. He arrived in Yezd in 1815 and led a peaceful living with his followers. Two years later, a dispute arose between his followers and the local shopkeepers. Mullah Husayn Yezdi collected a hostile mob and attacked the house of Imam Khalilullah, where these Ismailis had taken shelter. Imam Khalilullah was killed in the encounter. The mother of Imam Hasan Ali Shah, who appears to have been a lady of vigorous character, came to the court to seek justice for her dead husband. Her pleading was immediately successful. The governor of Yezd, Haji Muhammad Zaman Khan was ordered to send Mullah Husayn and a number of his followers to Tehran. The death of Imam KhalilulIah took place by the end of 1817, and Fateh Ali Shah, the emperor invited his son and successor, Hasan Ali Shah within few months. The Imam compromised with the situation for the interest of his followers and cemented close tie with the regime. In appreciation of Imams policy, the emperor appointed him the governor of Mahallat and Qumm, and invested the title of Aga Khan. Furthermore, as conclusive sign of honour, Fateh Au Shah gave one of his daughters, Sarv-i Jahan Khanum, in marriage to the Imam. Henceforward, Imam Hasan Ali Shah became known as the Aga Khan. The ceremony of awarding the honours had taken place in Qasr-i Qajar in Tehran. Our sources fail to furnish details. J.M. Tancoigne however had seen the palace in 1807, describing its location four miles north of Tehran.William Price visited Tehran in 1817 and reports that it was half-way between Tehran and Shemran, surrounded by beautiful gardens. He also regarded it one of the most delightful residences in Iran. Sir Ker Porter (1777-1842) also visited the Qasr-i Qajar in 1818; the year when Imam Hasan Ali Shah was honoured the title. He was full of admiration and writes that, "It stands on an eminently pleasant point of the adjoining mountains, being built on a detached and commanding hill, on the great slope of the Elborz. The edifice is lofty, and when seen from a distance, presents a very magnificent appearance." (vide Travels in Georgia, Persia, Armenia, Ancient Babylonia during the years 1817, 1818, 1819 and 1820, London, 1821, p. 335) It implies that Imam Hasan Ali Shah was the first Imam after the fall of Alamut, to have been officially recognized with his spiritual rights by the Iranian empire. He returned to Mahallat. Upon hearing his arrival from Tehran, the celebrated penegyrist Habib, also known as Qa'ani (1807-1854) addressed to the Imam with a qasida of fifteen lines with the opening lines: Eternal life in the world were necessary, (vide, Diwan-i Hakim Qa'ani Shirazi, ed. Mohammad Jafar Muhjub, Tehran, 1918, p. 180) It was at the time when Mohammad Shah Qajar invaded Herat in 1837 that the Imams title first appeared in the official correspondence of the British agents in Iran. Sir Erskine Perry (1821-1893) of Bombay High Court processed the "Khoja Inheritance Case" in 1847 and declared: "The Ismailis have a belief on Aga Khan, who is a Persian nobleman, and is being widely remembered in the Indian history of this age." In fact, this case also boosted popularity of the Imam. Richard F. Burton also introduced the title "Aga Khan" in his Sindh and the Races that inhabit in the valley of the Indus (London, 1851, p.249). The source, however, applying the term "Aga Khan" and responsible to make him popular through out India and Europe was the verdict of Sir Joseph Arnold (1814-1886) in "The Aga Khan Case" of 1866 in Bombay High Court. Robert Grant Watson's History of Persia (London, 1866) also brought fame of the Imam in Europe as the "Aga Khan. It must be known that the term Senaga in Turkish means gentleman and agam means sir. Thus, aga or agha is a word originally came to use in eastern Turkey to mean elder brother, and sometimes in contrast to ini means younger brother, but Yakut suggests its meaning as father. In Ottoman empire of Turkey, agha (usually pronounced a 'a or even a) was applied for chief', master and sometimes landowner. It is also suggested that the Turkish agha is derived from Greek akha or akhai which later on transformed as agha in eastern Turkey. The term is also used for chief servant of a household, and generally occurs in combination with many words. For example, carshi aghasi (market inspector), khan aghasi (inn-keeper), koy aghasi (village headman) and aghabey (elder brother). In Turkey, the Muslim landowners were chiefly known as aghas and the Christian landowners as gospodars, which clearly indicates that this term remained specific among the Muslims. The title agha gradually spread from Turkey to the Southern Kurdistan after the conquest of Baghdad by Sultan Murad IV in 1637. The word aga or agha introduced for the first time in Europe in 16th century. John Pory Leo (1570-1635) in 1601-2 in his History of Africa spelt it as agaes. In 1628, Kenelm Digby (1603-1665) in his Voyage to Mediterranean wrote the term as agaw. As a title upto the reform period, it was given to many persons employed in government service, mostly in military. Most notables aghas of this kind were the yeniceri aghasi, or the chief officers of the Janissaries, who dominated Turkey from 1578 to 1625. In Ottoman empire, this title gradually became official both in military and administrative units. It was also borne by the principal members of the imperial household and the enuchs controlling the Sultan's harem. Grand vizir was titled agha, who also was crowned the word efendi with it, and was called Agha Efendimiz. After the abolition of the Janissaries in 1826, it became the custom to entitle aga or agha to illiterate officers upto the rank of kaim makam, the literate officers of same rank being addressed as efendi. Until the establishment of the Turkish Constitution, there existed military rank intermediate between those of yuzbashi and binbashi, called as kolaghasi, the commander of wing. The earliest inscription in India bearing the term aga dated 1606-7, has been discovered in 1910 by G. Yazdani. It is found in the Jami Masjid, Qaundhar Fort, Nanded district, which reads:" "During the reign of Ibrahim Adil Shah the Mosque was built during the governorship of Aqa, Aqa Murad." Iran borrowed the word aga or agha from Turkey in the form of aga or aqa. Aga Mohammad Khan (1742-1797) founded Qajar dynasty in Iran. He divided his rule into two branches under the terms yukari bash (the higher) and ashaka bash (the lower). Yukari being the Turkish for higher and Ashaka for lower; and bash means "lord". Fateh Ali Shah, the second Qajar emperor belonged to the Ashaka (the lower). Hence Ashik akasi bashi was the presenter of petitions to the Qajar emperor. It is of Turkish derivation, ashik (threshold), aka (lord), si (of him) and bash (head). On the whole it means the threshold of his lord. The Qajar emperors made the aga or aqa a title for the noblemen, and aga khan (or aqa khan) was the honourable title reserved for highly noblemen, mostly the governors. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica (1st vol., p. 137), "as a title of respect, Aga has also been used for Islamic religious leaders, notably for the leader of the Ismaili sect of Shii Community." The word khan or kan is also a Turkish title, was firstly used by the T'u-chuch, apparently as a synonym of kaghan, the later khakan also the generic name of the Turkish ruler since the time of the legendary Afrasiyab. The title kaghan, or khaghan was borrowed by the Turks from the Juan-Juan, meaning supreme ruler. It was afterwards applied generally to subordinate rulers. Khakan is the Arabic form of Turkish kaghan. The title is first recorded in Muslim lands on the coins of the Karakhanids, or Ilek Khans during the 10th century in Turkey, who were also referred to in the contemporary Islamic sources as ai-Khakaniyya, or aI-Khaniyya. Under the Seijuks and Khawarazm rulers, khan dominated high title of the nobality taking precedence over malik and amir. In the form of ka'an, it was applied by the Mongols to the head of ulus. Ka'an, i.e., Khakan was reserved for Chengiz Khan in Karakorum. It was adopted by Ottoman sultans as title. Prof. Brown writes that, "The Khaqan is the title given to the king of Turan and the Turks. The word is, I believe, Mongol, and is identical with the alternative forms Qa'an and Khan." In Safavid Iran, the khan was a provincial governor of lesser rank than the beglarbegi, and higher than the sultan, the deputy governor. The Iranian historians however crowned Shah Ismail Safavi (1487-1524) as Khaqan-i Iskander-shan (the Prince like unto Alexander in state). In India under the Turkish kings of Delhi, khan was the title of the principal nobles, chiefly those of Iranian or Afghan descent. In technical sense, it was used for a commander of ten thousand soldiers. Qalqashandi (d. 1418) writes that a khan commanded ten thousand soldiers, a malik one thousand and an amir one hundred in India. The Afghans did not adopt the purely Turkish term of khan for centuries After Malik Khan (d. 1227), and not until the Lodi sultans of Delhi kingdom (1451 to 1526) began to bestow such title upon their Afghan supporters. The earliest inscription in India bearing the term khan dated 1232 discovered in Hyderabad, Deccan, which reads: "The construction of this well renewed in the days of Iltutmish as Sultan during the turn of the governorship of the late Malik Quttugh Khan Aibez", vide A Study of Muslim Inscriptions by V.S. Bendrey, Poona, 1944, pp. 94-95. The term khan is reported to have brought by the Avars of Turkey in Europe during 6th century. The Avars probably spoke Mongolian dialect, and their rulers assumed the title of Khagan or Khan, which they borrowed from Ephthalites, or the White Huns of China. Afterwards in Europe, it became known partly through the Mongol invasions in the first half of the 13th century, appearing in Latin in the form of chanis or canis. Old French spelt it chan and cham. More especially appeared through the European missions to the Mongol court in the same century (1245-1255) and by the narrative of Marco Polo. In the original French text of the latter, the spelling kan, can or cham varies with kaan or caan, apparently intended to represent Tartar qa'an, the special title adopted by Oktai, the son of Chengiz Khan. Marco Polo applied kaan for Kublai Khan, the Chinese emperor. Iran also adopted the term khan, which became common in all the provinces. John Malcolm (1769-1833) was in Iran in 1810, writes: "In the provinces especially khan meant originally what chief did in Scotland among the clans. Now-a-days, khans are as common in Tehran, as esquires are in London." In Iran, it was in courtesy applied to all men above the position of servant (beg), and the ladies were termed khanam, the feminine form. Summing up the extant lexicons, we safely come to a conclusion that the word aga means lord, prince, nobleman, master or chief; whereas khan means master, head, owner, ruler or prince. Originally, the Turkish rulers combined agha and beg to make it Agha Beg a new title for the highly reputed person. The Qajari rulers also followed the pattern in Iran and joined Aga and Khan together, making a title of Aga Khan or Aqa Khan for the nobleman. The modern sources render the meaning of the Turko-Iranian word, Aga Khan as honorable chief, great lord, chief commander, lord chief, great chief or lord chief-viceroy. In the light of its origin and derivation, it should mean HONORABLE CHIEF LORD. In the time of the Mughal emperor Humayun, the daughter of Khawaja Abdullah Marwarid was known as Khanam Agha. The wife of Mu'nim Khan was known as Agha Kuka and the mother of Ibrahim Sultan Mirza was called Khanish Agha etc., vide, Humayun-nama (tr. Annette S. Beveridge, Lahore, 1974, pp. 128). It has been learnt that a treasurer of the Mughal emperor Akbar bore the name Aga Khan, vide Muntakhabut Tawarikh (tr. W.H. Lowe, Karachi, 1976, 2nd vol., p. 218) by al-Badaoni. Emperor Jahangir gave a title of Khan Beg to the Vazir-ul-Mulk, vide The Central Structure of the Mughal Empire (Karachi, 1967) by lbn Hasan. One military general during emperor Aurengzeb is also traced out, known as Agha Khan who defeated the Afghans at Gandawak in 1667, vide, A Short History of Islam (Karachi, 1960, p. 547) by Sayyid Fayyaz Mahmud. One another Aga Khan reported to have flourished in the period of emperor Shah Jahan, and he died in 1067. His tomb is near the Mumtaz Mahal in Iajganj, vide An Oriental Biographical Dictionary (Lahore, 1975, p. 36) by T.W. Beale. Major T.W. Haig has also discovered in India an oldest inscription dating 4th October, 1624, which reads: "Her Highness Khanam Agha, daughter of Mir Maqsud Ali Tabataba... the tank which is situated in the vicinity of the market of Khairabad has been built by her." vide A Study of Muslim Inscriptions (Poona, 1944, p. 144) by V.S. Bendrey Imam Hasan Ali Shah, the Aga Khan made his way from Persia to India in 1842, and gave his support and service to the British government, and "there his title was confirmed by the British who in turn enjoyed his support" (vide Encyclopaedia Americana, 1983, 1st vol., p. 327). It suggests that the honourable chief lordship of the Imam was recognized by the British, who also invested him the title of "His Highness" in 1844. Henceforth, he was called "His Highness the Aga Khan". The English traveller, Richard F. Burton referred to the term "Aga Khan" in 1847 being the spiritual head of Ismaili Khojas in Sindh in his Sindh and the Races that inhabit in the Valley of the Indus (London, 1851). The spiritual rights and the titles (i.e., the Aga Khan and His Highness) were further on recognized in the "Aga Khan Case" of 1866 by Justice Arnold. Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah, the Aga Khan III also writes: "My grandfather had been confirmed in his rights and titles by a judgement of the Bombay High Court in 1866". (The Memoirs of Aga Khan, London, 1954, p. 9) It must be noted that the title "Aga Khan" to Imam Hasan Ali Shah was not an hereditary. When he died in 1881, he was succeeded by his son, Ali Shah. The contemporary world, chiefly the Indians had identified the new Imam, Ali Shah as "young Aga Khan" and the term "elder Aga Khan" was given to Imam Hasan Ali Shah. It was in fact, the distinctive terms for these two Imams. The title "His Highness the Aga Khan" was so widely popularized that the terms "elder Aga Khan" and "young Aga Khan" changed into the process of "Aga Khan first" and "Aga Khan second" in between 1881 to 1885. Neither Imam Hasan Ali Shah, nor Imam Ali Shah had ever declared to their successors as the bearers of the title "Aga Khan." Imam Sultan Mohammad Shah, the successor of Imam Ali Shah ascended in 1885, was chiefly known in the world as Aga Khan III. He was the first to regard this title as an hereditary. His famous Will reads:- "I appoint my grandson KARIM, the son of my son ALY SALOMONE KHAN to succeed to the title of AGA KHAN and to be the Imam and Pir of all my Shia Ismailian followers." There is a reason for making it hereditary. The early Qajar kings had invested the title Aga Khan to the noblemen in Iran, but the practice seems to be discontinued during the rule of Nasirud-din Shah, who ruled from 1848 to 1896. The holders of the title Aga Khan were either died, or retired and they could not generate popularity in Iran. Hence, this title became a specific with the Ismaili Imams in India. The Aga Khan in a general sense was meant, the Imam of the Ismailis. If some holders of the title Aga Khan were alive; they could not achieve greatness in comparison with the Ismaili Imams. This changing time was responsible to let Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah to make it an hereditary. There is one another reason that the relation between Imam Hasan Ali Shah and the Qajar empire was restored and this friendship had also confirmed the title of Aga Khan, and the favorable time came in the period of Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah to make it an hereditary. As such the present Imam of the Shia Ismaili is His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan, who is widely known as the Aga Khan IV in the world, and none exists to be known as such. It is very much difficult to trace out the persons bearing the title of Aga Khan during the empire of Qajar. Among them however, the prominent was Mirza Nuri Aga Khan who held the post of foreign affairs during the rule of Nasirud-din Shah from 1851 to 1857. Another Mirza Abdul Hussain Kirmani or Mirza Aga Khan (1854-1896) was an Iranian nationalist, also a son of Abdul Rahim Mashizi, and grandson of a close companion of Imam Hasan Ali Shah. In addition, the governor of Yezd was also called Aga Khan Irvani, from 1848 to 1849.
July 11, 2004
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