Pasha

Pasha or Paşa (Ottoman Turkish: پاشا‎, Turkish: paşa), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitaries and others. As an honorary title, Pasha, in one of its various ranks, is similar to a British peerage or knighthood, and was also one of the highest titles in the 20th century Kingdom of Egypt. Pasha or Paşa (Ottoman Turkish: پاشا‎, Turkish: paşa), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitaries and others. As an honorary title, Pasha, in one of its various ranks, is similar to a British peerage or knighthood, and was also one of the highest titles in the 20th century Kingdom of Egypt. According to Etymonline, pasha is derived from the earlier 'basha', itself from Turkish 'baş/bash' (head, chief), itself from Old Persian pati- 'master', (from Proto-Indo-European *poti) and the root of the Persian word shah. According to the Oxford Online Dictionary, the word has its origins in the mid-17th century, and was formed as a result of the combination of the Pahlavi words pati- 'lord', and shah. According to Josef W. Meri and Jere L. Bacharach, the word is 'more than likely derived from the Persian Padishah'. The same view is held by Nicholas Ostler, who mentions that the word was formed as a shortening of the Persian word Padishah. According to etymologist Sevan Nişanyan, the word is derived from Turkish beşe ('boy, prince'), which is cognate with Persian baççe (بچّه). Old Turkish had no fixed distinction between /b/ and /p/, and the word was spelled başa still in the 15th century. As first used in western Europe, the title appeared in writing with the initial 'b'. The English forms bashaw, bassaw, bucha etc., general in the 16th and 17th century, derive through the medieval Latin and Italian word bassa. Due to the Ottoman presence in the Arab World, the title became used frequently in Arabic, though pronounced basha due to the absence of the /p/ sound in Arabic. Within the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman Sultan had the right to bestow the title of Pasha. Lucy Mary Jane Garnett wrote in the 1904 work Turkish Life in Town and Country that it was the sole 'Turkish title which carries with it any definite rank and precedence'. It was through this custom that the title (Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: ) came to be used in Egypt, which was conquered by the Ottomans in 1517. The rise to power in Egypt in 1805 by Muhammad Ali, an Albanian military commander, effectively established Egypt as a de facto independent state, however, it still owed technical fealty to the Ottoman Sultan. Moreover, Muhammad Ali harboured ambitions of supplanting the Osman Dynasty in Constantinople, and sought to style his Egyptian realm as a successor sultanate to the Ottoman Empire. As such, he bore the title of Pasha, in addition to the official title of Wāli, and the self-declared title of Khedive. His successors to the Egyptian and Sudanese throne, Ibrahim, Abbas, Sa'id, and Isma'il also inherited these titles, with Pasha, and Wāli ceasing to be used in 1867, when the Ottoman Sultan, Abdülaziz officially recognised Isma'il as Khedive. The title Pasha appears originally to have applied exclusively to military commanders and only high ranking family of the Sultans, but subsequently it could distinguish any high official, and also unofficial persons whom the court desired to honour. It was also part of the official style of the Kapudan Pasha (Grand Admiral of the Ottoman fleet).Pashas ranked above Beys and Aghas, but below Khedives and Viziers. Three grades of Pasha existed, distinguished by the number of horse-tails (three, two and one respectively; a symbol of Turco-Mongol tradition) or peacock tails, which the bearers were entitled to display on their standard as a symbol of military authority when on campaign. Only the Sultan himself was entitled to four tails, as sovereign commander in chief. The following military ranks entitled the holder to the style Pasha (lower ranks were styled Bey or merely Effendi):