Lately I’ve been wondering;
Shah
Aga
Sultan
Sheik
Nabob
Raja
Mahareesh
How do they compare?
I mean, can you rank them?
If they all came through the door at the same time what order would the President greet them in?
Does a Nabob out rank a Sultan? Can a Raja look down his nose at a Majareesh?
What do you think?
Anyone got any ideas?
Ah, you are wanting a solution that the British Empire managed to work out long ago. In general, the British decided that a Nizam rated at the top, along with some Maharajas (Mahareeshi) at a 21-gun salute (socially equal to Victoria), although most received less.
Then, as a rule, Rajas could get up to 11 guns but could go down to nine. The Aga (there was only one) could also get 11 guns. Nawabs (Nabobs) mostly got 9 guns, although a few got 13 and one (the Nawab of Bhopal) was worthy of 19 guns.
(http://www.dreamwater.net/regiment/RoyalArk/India/salute.htm)
Sultans could be saluted with 9 guns, but only if they were fairly minor (like an ordinary Yemeni Sultan) (http://assets.cambridge.org/0521790921/sample/0521790921WS.pdf).
The Ottoman Sultan was worth 21 guns (http://www.turkishdailynews.com/old_editions/12_17_02/feature.htm).
Since Persia was of old an equal to the Ottomans, the Shah would likewise be worthy of 21 guns.
A sheikh on the other hand could possibly go all the way down to five guns, although a very important one might be accorded upwards of 11 or so (but this is a guess).
Thus, some Nabobs outranked some Sultans but “The Sultan” outranked all Nabobs. Some Rajas outranked Majareeshi, but most Majareeshi outranked most Rajas.
They would be greeted in an order heavily dependent upon who we wanted to show favor to at the moment.
Dogface you are the man!
Thank you so much for the answer to a question that has been knocking around my brain for several days.
You’re a prince!
C’mon, for that answer, he deserves to be called at least an upper rank Rajah!