Diwan (title)

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Diwan (title)

The originally Persian title of diwan (also quite commonly known as Dewan; also spelled -van) has at various points in the Islamic history

Muslim history

Muslim history began in Arabia with Muhammad's first recitations of the Qur'an in the 7th century. Islam's historical development has affected political, economic, and military trends both inside and outside the Islamic world....
, designated various differing though similar functions.

original meaning was "bundle (of written sheets)", hence "book", especially "book of accounts," and hence "office of accounts," "custom house," "council chamber".

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Diwan (title)'

Start a new discussion about 'Diwan (title)'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

The originally Persian title of diwan (also quite commonly known as Dewan; also spelled -van) has at various points in the Islamic history

Muslim history

Etymology

The word is Persian in origin, and was loaned into Arabic. The original meaning was "bundle (of written sheets)", hence "book", especially "book of accounts," and hence "office of accounts," "custom house," "council chamber". The meaning divan
Divan (furniture)

A divan is a type of couch-like sitting furniture.Originally, in the Orient , a divan was a long seat formed of a mattress laid against the side of the room, upon the floor, or upon a raised structure or frame, with cushions to lean against....
"long, cushioned seat" is due to such seats having been found along the walls in Middle Eastern council chambers.

Council

The word first appears under the Caliphate

Caliphate

The caliphate represented the political leadership of the Muslim ummah in classical and medieval Islamic history and juristic theory. The head of state's position is based on the notion of a successor to the Prophets of Islam Muhammad's political authority....
state became more complicated, the term was extended over all the government bureaus.

The divan of the Sublime Porte was the council or Cabinet of the state. In the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299?1923. It was Treaty of Lausanne by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923....
, it consisted of the usually (except in the Sultan

Sultan

Sultan is an Islamic honorifics, with several historical meanings. Originally it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", or "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ???? sulah, meaning "authority" or "power"....
's presence) presiding Grand Vizier

Grand Vizier

Grand Vizier, in Turkish language Sadr-i Azam or Serdar-i Ekrem , deriving from the Arabic language word wazir 'vizier' , was the greatest minister of the Sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissable only by the Sultan himself....
and other vizier

Vizier

A Vizier , is a term for a high-ranking political advisor or minister, often to a Muslim monarch such as a Caliph, or Sultan. It sometimes refers to ministers and advisors of the Persian Empire's Shahs....
s, and occasionally the Janissary

Janissary

The Janissaries comprised infantry units that formed the Ottoman Empire sultan's household troops and bodyguards. The force was created by the Sultan Murad I from Christian slaves in the 14th century and was abolished by Sultan Mahmud II in 1826 with the Auspicious Incident....
Aga.

In Javanese

Javanese language

Javanese is the language of the people in the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, in Indonesia. In addition, there are also some pockets of Javanese speakers in the northern coast of western Java....
and related languages, the cognate

Cognate

Cognates in linguistics are words that have a common etymology origin.An example of cognates within the same language would be English shirt vs....
Dewan is the standard word for council, as in the Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat or Council of People's Representatives.

Title

During the effective rule of the Mughal empire

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire was a Muslim imperial power of the Indian subcontinent which began in 1526, ruled most of the Indian Subcontinent by the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and ended in the mid-19th century....
, the diwan served as the chief revenue officer of a province.

Later, when most vassal states gained various degrees of self-determination, the finance — and/or chief minister and leader of many princely state

Princely state

For other uses, see Principality, Princely state#Other princely statesA Princely State was a nominally sovereign entity of British rule in India that was not directly administered by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy....
s (especially Muslim

Muslim

:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits "....
, but also many Hindu, including Baroda, Hyderabad

Hyderabad State

Hyderabad state was the largest princely state in the erstwhile British Indian Empire. It was located in the south-central region of the Indian subcontinent, and was ruled, from 1724 until 1948, by a hereditary Nizam....
, Mysore

Mysore

Mysore ; renamed to Mysuru|??????) is the second largest city in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the headquarters of the Mysore district and the Mysore division and lies about southwest of Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka....
, Kochi

Kochi (India)

Kochi , formerly known as Cochin, is a city in the Indian States and territories of India of Kerala. The city is one of the principal seaports of the country and is located in the district of Ernakulam district, about north of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram....
, Travancore

Travancore

Travancore or Thiruvithaamkoor was a Indian Princely State in India under the British Raj, with its capital at Thiruvananthapuram ruled by the Travancore Royal Family.The name Thiruvithankoor might be derived from Thiruvithankode where the capital Padmanabhapuram was situated....
— referred as Dalawa until 1811) became known as a diwan.

Exceptionally, a ruler was himself titled Dewan, notably

in Jaso (Jassu) and in Bandhora (which was split from it circa 1750)
in Khilchipur
Khilchipur

Khilchipur is a town and a nagar panchayat in Rajgarh district in the Indian States and territories of India of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Rajgarh district....
till 1873, then Rao Bahadur
Rao Bahadur

Rao Bahadur is a title of honor issued in India to individuals who have performed great service to the nation.Literally translated, "Rao" implies "prince", and "Bahadur" means "most honorable." It is the equivalent of an OBE....
in Palanpur
Palanpur

Palanpur is a city and a municipality in Banaskantha district in the Indian States and territories of India of Gujarat. Palanpur is the administrative center of that district....
, where Malik Ghazni Khan II, having married the foster sister of Mughal
Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire was a Muslim imperial power of the Indian subcontinent which began in 1526, ruled most of the Indian Subcontinent by the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and ended in the mid-19th century....
Emperor Akbar and received Palanpur, Deesa
Deesa

Deesa is a city and a municipality in Banaskantha district in the state of Gujarat, India....
and Dantiwada in dowry, was granted the hereditary title
Hereditary Title

Hereditary titles, in a general sense, are titles, positions or Style s that are hereditary and thus tend or are bound to remain in particular families....
of Diwan in 1551 for his services in command of the force that took Attock
Attock

Attock , the headquarters of Attock District, is a city located in the northern border of the Punjab province of Pakistan, and also a border district on the river Indus....
from the Afghans, till the dynasty was promoted in 1910 to the rank of Nawab
Nawab

A Nawab or Nawaab was originally the subedar or viceroy of a subah or region of the Mughal empire. It became a high title for Muslim nobles....
, with the full style Zubdat ul-Mulk Diwan Mahakhan Nawab (personal name) Khan, Nawab of Palanpur

Nowadays, the title is used amongst certain upper-middle-class families in the South Asia; several landlords in villages and provinces across the subcontinent have names prefixed with this title. The title, in its variant form "Dewan", is especially common amongst Muslim

Muslim

:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits "....
land-owners in Bengal

Bengal

Bengal , is a historical and geographical region in the northeast of South Asia. Today it is mainly divided between the independent sovereign nation of the Bangladesh and the state of West Bengal in India, although some regions of the previous kingdoms of Bengal are now part of the neighboring Indian states of Bihar, Assam, Tripura and Oris...
and the Punjab

Punjab (India)

Punjab is a States and territories of India in northwest India. The Indian state borders the Pakistani province of Punjab to the west, Jammu and Kashmir to the north, Himachal Pradesh to the northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, Chandigarh to the southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest....
.

Derived and compound titles

Diwan Deo was the hereditary title borne by the Chief Minister

Chief Minister

A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a United Kingdom crown colony that has attained self-government....
of Cooch, held by a junior branch of the ruling Narayan dynasty

In India

As a title used in various Middle kingdoms of India

Middle kingdoms of India

Middle kingdoms of India refers to the political entities in India from the 2nd century BC since the decline of the Maurya Empire, and the corresponding rise of the Satavahana dynasty, beginning with Simuka, from 230 BC....
, Diwan denoted the highest officials in the court after the king; the suffix '-ji' is added as a mark of respect in India. Perhaps the most famous of these Prime Ministers were those of the South Indian Kingdom of Travancore

Travancore