Bey
Bey is the
Turkic word for "chieftain," traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. In historical accounts, many
Turkish, other
Turkic and
Persian leaders are titled
bey,
beg or
beigh. They are all the same word with the simple meaning of "leader." The regions or provinces where beys ruled or which they administered were called
beylik, roughly meaning "emirate" or "principality" in the first case, "province" or "governorate" in the second.Today, the word is used as a social title for men (like the English word "mister")
The first three rulers of the young Ottoman state, which started out as one of a dozen Turkish
beyliks into which Anatolia had been divided by the break up of the Seldjuk sultanate of Ikonion (Konya) and the military demise of the christian Byzantine empire, with its capital in Brussa, had been 1336 only annexed the beylik of
Karasy, its western neighbour on the coast of the Sea of Marmara, were titled
bey and not
sultan.
Murad I was granted the right to the designation "sultan" by the shadow
caliph in Cairo in
1383, during a series of successful military campaigns that would unite Anatolia around 1390 and advance on the Balkans, creating the
Ottoman Empire, which crowned its continuous expansion in 1453 with the annexation of Constantinople, by the a Byzantine city state.
Henceforth "bey" came to be applied to subordinate officers, such as a military governor (especially
sanjakbey, called after a military banner; compare
vali) or district commissioner in part of an Ottoman
vilayet or province. With the loose Ottoman structure, important provinces tended to become self-sustaining and autonomous. In the following century the chiefs of
Bursa and of
Edirne both were designated "Bey."
Soon the title was devaluated, as
Pasha was established as a higher distinction, bey even was used a courtsey title (alongside Pashazada) for a Pasha's son. The title bey came to be attached to offices below those entitled to be Pashas, notably the following military officer ranks (still lower ranks were merely styled Effendi):
*
Miralai (army Colonel or navy Captain)
*
Kaimakam (army Lieutenant-colonel or navy Commander)
Remarkably the compound
Bey Effendi was part of the title of a husband (full style
Damad-i-Shahyari (given name)
Bey Effendi) and sons (full style
Sultanzada (given name)
Bey-Effendi) of an Imperial Princess, and their sons were entitled to the courtesy title
Beyzade (literally 'son of a bey', so curiously restricted); for the grandsons of an imperial princess, the official style was simply Bey after the name.
By the late 19th century, "Bey" had been reduced to an honorary equivalent of the English-speaking address (not the British courtesy title) "Sir" in Ottoman Turkey, parallel to the contemporary
Cockney usage "guv'nor." In modern Turkish, and in
Azerbaijan, the word "bey" simply means "mister" (compare
Effendi) or Sir and is used in the meaning of "chieftain" only in historical context. As with most Turkish titles, it follows the name rather than precede as in western languages,
e.g. "Ahmet Bey" for "Mister Ahmet."
Under Ottoman rule the title was used also in
Albania (
Albanian language:
bej,
be, or
beu), in two forms:
*in the
Gheg north as a title given specifically to the officials of the Ottomans empire.
*in the
Tosk south it was not only used in a similar fashion, but the main use of the name came to be
Bey of the Village; the mayoral "beys" in Tosk villages formed a wealthy but largely illiterate
elite, exploiting the peasants who were bound to the land in a status comparable to
serfdom, a state of affairs continued in the Tosk districts even after Albanian independence
1912, as King Zog took power and forbade the "Beys" to mistreat the peasants. This term is not used anymore in Albania except when referring to historical figures, events or for humorous purposes (meaning to joke about someone who does not possess a clear thinking ability). Nevertheless, a select number of families still use the bey-ending in their last names. It is often cited as tribute to past lines. However, the name is generally associated with the Çabej line of Albania.
The title bey could be maintained as a similar office within Arab states that broke away from the High Porte, such as
Khedive Mehmet Ali's Egypt, where it was a rank below
Pasha (maintained in two rank classes after 1922), and a title of courtesy for a Pasha's son.
Even much earlier, the virtual sovereign's title in Barbaresque North African 'regency' states was "Bey"; compare
Dey. Notably in Tunis, the Husainid Dynasty used a whole series of title and styles including bey:
*just Bey itself was part of the territorial title of the ruler, and also as a title used by all male members of the family (rather like Suktan in the Ottoman dynasty).
*
Bey al-Kursi 'Bey of the Throne', a term equivalent to reigning prince.
*
Bey al-Mahalla 'Bey of the Camp', title used for the next most senior member of the Beylical family after the reigning Bey, the Heir Apparent to the throne.
*
Bey al-Taula 'Bey of the Table', the title of the Heir Presumptive, the eldest prince of the Beylical family, who enjoyed precedence immediately after the Bey al-Mahalla.
*
Beylerbeyi (or Beglerbegi) 'Lord of Lords', was the administrative rank formally enjoyed by the ruler of Tunis and by rulers of parts of the Balkans in their official capacity of Ottoman Governor-General within the Turkish empire.
Other Beys saw their own
beylik promoted to statehood, e.g.:
*in
Qusantina (Constantine in French), an Ottoman district subject to the
Algiers regency since 1525 (had its own Beys since 1567), the last incumbent, Ahmed Bey ben Mohamed Chérif (b. c.1784, in office 1826 - 1848, d. 1850), was maintained when in 1826 the Local
Kabyle population declared independence, and when in was on 13 October 1837 conquered by France, until it was in 1848 incorporated into
Algeria Bey or a variation has also been used as an aristocratic title in various Turkic states, such as
bäk in the
Tatar Khanate of Kazan, in charge of a beylik called
bäklek.
Sometimes a bey was a territorial vassal within a khanate, as in each of the three
zuzes under the
Khan of the Khazaks.
The variation
Beg,
Baig or
bai (pronounced as "buy"), is still used as a family name or a part of a name in
South and
Central Asia as well the
Balkans. In
Slavic-influenced names, it can be seen in conjunction with the Slavic
-ov/-ović/ev suffixes meaning "son of", such as in
Izetbegović,
Abai Kunanbaev (
Abai Kunanbaiuli).
*
Anatolian beyliks*
Atabeg*
Beylerbey*
Chughtai*
Dey*
Ottoman titles*
Baig*
Begum*
Baig Origins*
Encyclopaedia of the Orient*
RoyalArk on (khedival) Egypt &
Tunisia &
on Ottoman Turkey*Westermann
Großer Atlas zur Weltgeschichte (in German)
*
WorldStatesmen- click on each present country
