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{{short description|48th imam of the Nizari Isma'ili community}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| name               = Aga Khan III
| honorific suffix   = {{postnominals|country=GBR|GCSI|GCMG|GCIE|GCVO|PC}}
| native_name_lang   = 
| image              = HH the AGA KHAN 1936 (cropped).jpg
| caption            = Muhammad Shah in 1936
| office1            = 48th [[Imam]] of the [[Nizari Isma'ilism]] Muslim
| term_start1        = 17 August 1885
| term_end1          = 11 July 1957
| predecessor1       = [[Aga Khan II]]
| successor1         = [[Aga Khan IV]]
| office3            = Member of the Assembly of The [[League of Nations]]
| term_start3        = 1934
| term_end3          = 1937
| office2            = Permanent President of the [[All-India Muslim League]]
| term_start2        = 1906
| term_end2          = 1957
| office4            = President of the Assembly of The [[League of Nations]]
| term_start4        = 1937
| term_end4          = 1938
| predecessor4       = [[Tevfik Rüştü Aras]]
| successor4         = [[Éamon de Valera]]
| religion           = [[Shia Islam]]
| denomination       = [[Isma'ilism]]
| school             = [[Nizari]] [[Ismaili]]
| lineage            = [[Fatimid dynasty|Fatimid]]
| other_name         = Sultan Mohammad Shah
| dharma_names       = <!-- or:
| dharma_name      = -->
| monastic_name      = 
| pen_name           = 
| posthumous_name    = 
| nationality        = 
| home_town          = 
| birth_name         = 
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1877|11|02|df=y}}<ref name=Britannica>https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aga-Khan-III, Biography of Aga Khan III on Encyclopedia Britannica, Updated 18 September 2003, Retrieved 31 March 2017</ref>
| birth_place        = [[Karachi]], [[Bombay Presidency]], British India
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1957|07|11| 1877|11|02|df=y}}<ref name=Britannica />
| death_place        = Versoix, near [[Geneva]], Switzerland
| resting_place      = [[Mausoleum of Aga Khan]], [[Aswan]], Egypt
| resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{coord|latitude|longitude|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} -->
| alma_mater         = 
| spouse             = {{Plainlist|
* Shahzadi Begum
* Cleope Teresa Magliano
* Andrée Joséphine Carron
* [[Om Habibeh Aga Khan]] (born Yvonne Blanche Labrousse)
}}
| children           = {{Plainlist|
* Giuseppe Mahdi Khan
* [[Aly Khan]]
* [[Sadruddin Aga Khan]]
}}
| parents            = {{Plainlist|
* [[Aga Khan II|Aqa Ali Shah]] (father)
* Nawab A'lia Shams al-Muluk (mother)
}}
| profession         = 
| initiation         = 
| post               = 
}}

'''Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah'''{{efn|({{Langx|fa|{{nq|سلطان محمد شاه}}|translit=Sulṭān Muḥammad Shāh}}}} (2 November 1877{{snd}}11 July 1957), known as '''Aga Khan III''',{{efn|({{Langx|fa|آقا خان سوم|translit=Āqā Khān Suwwūm}})}} was the 48th [[Imamate in Nizari doctrine|imam]] of the [[Nizari]] [[Isma'ili|Ism'aili]] branch of Shia Islam. He is considered one of the [[List of Pakistan Movement activists|founding fathers of Pakistan]], and also served as the first permanent president of the [[All-India Muslim League]] (AIML). 

Shah sought the advancement of Muslims and the protection of Muslim rights in British India. The League, until the late 1930s, was not a large organization but represented landed and commercial Muslim interests as well as advocating for British education during the [[British Raj]].<ref>{{cite book |author=John Keay |title=India: A History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3aeQqmcXBhoC&pg=PA468 |year=2001 |publisher=Grove Press |page=468 |isbn=978-0-8021-3797-5}}</ref> Shah advocated for the recognition of Muslims in India as a distinct political and cultural community, a position that would later align with the principles underlying the [[two-nation theory]]. Even after he resigned as president of the AIML in 1912, he still exerted a major influence on its policies and agendas. He was nominated to represent India at the [[League of Nations]] in 1932 and served as President of the 18th Assembly of The League of Nations (1937–1938).<ref>{{Cite web |language=en |url=https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/conferencing-the-international/delegates/people.aspx?id=0631f215-31b5-48fb-a4be-31c9df759400 |title=Conferencing the International.}}</ref>

== Early life ==
He was born in [[Karachi]], [[Sindh]] (now in [[Pakistan]]), in [[British Raj|British India]] in 1877 to [[Aga Khan II]] (who had emigrated from [[Persia]]) and his third wife,<ref name="Daftary-Ismailis">{{cite book |title=The Ismā'īlīs: Their History and Doctrines |last=Daftary |first=Farhad |year=1990 |page=518 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=0-521-42974-9}}</ref> Nawab A'lia Shamsul-Muluk, a granddaughter of [[Fath Ali Shah]] of [[Persia]]. After attending [[Eton College]], he studied at the [[University of Cambridge]].<ref>"Aga Khan, Fashionable Londoner, Holds Enormous Power in Islam", The New York Times,8 July 1923, p. XX5.</ref>

== Career ==
In 1885, at the age of seven, he succeeded his father as [[Shia Imam|Imam]] of the [[Shi'a]] [[Isma'ili]] Muslims.<ref name=Britannica /><ref name=findpk />
[[File:Aqa Khan in Chicago.jpg|thumb|Muhammad Shah in Chicago, 1907.]]
The title of the [[Order of the Indian Empire|Knight Commander of the Indian Empire]] (KCIE) was conferred upon him by [[Queen Victoria]] in 1897, and he was promoted to Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) in the [[1902 Coronation Honours]] list<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The Coronation Honours |date=26 June 1902 |page=5 |issue=36804}}</ref><ref name="LG27448" /> and invested as such by King [[Edward VII]] at Buckingham Palace on October 24, 1902.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Court Circular |date=25 October 1902 |page=8 |issue=36908}}</ref> He was made a Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India (GCSI) by George V (1912) and appointed a GCMG in 1923. He received recognition for his public services from the [[German Emperor]], the [[List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire|Sultan of Turkey]], the [[Shah of Persia]], and other potentates.{{sfn|Bhownagree|1911}}

In 1906, Shah was a founding member and first president of the [[All India Muslim League]], a political party that pushed for the creation of an independent Muslim nation in the north-west regions of India, then under [[British Raj|British colonial rule]], and later established the country of Pakistan in 1947.

During the three [[Round Table Conferences (India)]] in London from 1930 to 1932, he played an important role in bringing about Indian constitutional reforms.<ref name=Britannica /> In 1934, he was made a member of the [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|Privy Council]].

== Titular leader of the Ismaili Muslims ==
The first half of the 20th century was a period of significant development for the Ismā'īlī community. Numerous institutions for social and economic development were established in the [[Indian subcontinent]] and in East Africa.<ref name="DaftaryShort1998p199">{{cite book |last=Daftary |first=Farhad |title=A Short History of the Ismailis |year=1998 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |location=Edinburgh, UK |isbn=0-7486-0687-4 |pages=199–206}}</ref>

In India and later Pakistan, social development institutions such as the Diamond Jubilee Trust and Platinum Jubilee Investments Limited were established to support cooperative societies. The Diamond Jubilee High School for Girls was founded in the northern areas of present-day Pakistan, and scholarship programs initiated during the Golden Jubilee were expanded to assist students in need. In East Africa, social and economic development institutions were created, including schools, community centres, and a [[Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi|hospital]] in Nairobi. Economic initiatives included the Diamond Jubilee Investment Trust (now Diamond Trust of Kenya) and the Jubilee Insurance Company, both listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange and active in national development.

Shah implemented a series of organisational reforms intended to enable Ismāʿīlī communities to administer their own communal affairs through formal structures and regulations.<ref name="DaftaryShort1998p199" /> These were built on the Muslim tradition of a communitarian ethic on the one hand and a responsible individual conscience with the freedom to negotiate one's own moral commitment and destiny on the other. In 1905, he created the first Ismā'īlī Constitution for the social governance of the community in East Africa. The new administration for the community's affairs was organised into a hierarchy of councils at the local, national, and regional levels. The constitution also set out rules in such matters as marriage, divorce, and inheritance, guidelines for mutual cooperation and support among Ismā'īlīs, and their interface with other communities. Similar constitutions were promulgated in India, and all were periodically revised to address emerging needs and circumstances in diverse settings.<ref name="DaftaryShort1998p199" />

In 1905, Shah was involved in the [[Haji Bibi case]], where he was questioned about the origin of his followers. In his rejoinder, in addition to enumerating Ismāʿīlīs in Iran, Russia, Afghanistan, Central Asia, Syria and other places, he claimed that “In Hindustan and Africa there are many Guptis who believe in me… I consider them [[Isma'ilism|Shi’i Imami Ismailis]]; by caste they are [[Hindus]]”.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Virani |first=Shafique N. |date=February 2011 |title=Taqiyya and Identity in a South Asian Community |url=https://www.academia.edu/36996009 |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |language=en |volume=70 |issue=1 |pages=99–139 |doi=10.1017/S0021911810002974 |s2cid=143431047 |issn=0021-9118}}</ref>

== Religious and social views ==
{{Aligarh Movement}}
Shah was deeply influenced by the views of [[Syed Ahmad Khan|Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Aga Khan Case: Religion and Identity in Colonial India |last=Purohit |first=Teena |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-674-06639-7 |location=Cambridge, MA |pages=111}}</ref> Sir Khan was the founder of what would eventually become the [[Aligarh Muslim University]]. Shah later became a supporter of the institution, contributing funds and advocating for its role in Muslim education.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Ismailism and Islam in Modern South Asia: Community and Identity in the Age of Religious Internationals |last=Mukherjee |first=Soumen |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-107-15408-7 |location=Cambridge, UK |pages=131}}</ref> Shah himself can be considered an [[Islamic Modernism|Islamic modernist]] and an intellectual of the [[Aligarh Movement|Aligarh movement]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |title=The Shi'a in modern South Asia : religion, history and politics |others=Jones, Justin, 1980-, Qasmi, Ali Usman |date=5 May 2015 |isbn=978-1-316-25879-8 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Delhi, India |pages=53 |oclc=927147288}}</ref>

From a religious perspective, Shah followed a [[Islamic Modernism|modernist]] approach to Islam.<ref name=":2" /> He believed there to be no contradiction between religion and modernity, and supported Muslims in their endeavour to embrace [[modernity]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Shi'i Islam : an introduction |last=Haider |first=Najam Iftikhar |isbn=978-1-107-03143-2 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=New York, NY |pages=193 |oclc=874557726 |date=11 August 2014}}</ref> Although he opposed a wholesale replication of Western society by Muslims, Shah did believe increased contact with the West would be overall beneficial to Muslim society.<ref name=":3" /> He was intellectually receptive to [[Western philosophy]] and ideas, and believed engagement with them could lead to a revival and renaissance within Islamic thought.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |title=Aga Khan III : selected speeches and writings of Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah |author=((Aga Khan III)) |date=1998 |publisher=Kegan Paul International |others=Aziz, Khursheed Kamal. |isbn=0-7103-0427-7 |location=London |pages=1067 |oclc=39678354}}</ref>

Like several other Islamic modernists of his time, Shah was critical of the traditional religious establishment (the [[Ulama|Ulamā]]), particularly their emphasis on formalism, legalism, and literal interpretations of scripture.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Rattansi |first=Diamond |date=August 1981 |title=The Nizari Isma'ilis of Pakistan: Isma'ilism, Islam and Westernism Viewed Through the Firmans: 1936–1980 |url=https://ismaili.net/heritage/node/29247 |journal=McGill University |pages=65}}</ref> Instead, he advocated for renewed [[Ijtihad|ijtihād]] (independent reasoning) and [[Ijma|ijmāʿ]] (consensus), the latter of which he understood in a modernist way to mean consensus-building.<ref name=":4" /> According to him, Muslims should go back to the original sources, especially the [[Quran|Qurʾān]], in order to discover the true essence and spirit of Islam.<ref name=":4">Aga Khan III 1998, p. 1183</ref> Once the principles of the faith were discovered, they would be seen to be universal and modern.<ref>Aga Khan III 1998, pp. 1345–1346</ref> Islam, in his view, had an underlying liberal and democratic spirit.<ref>Aga Khan III 1998, p. 211</ref> He also called for full civil and religious liberties,<ref>Aga Khan III 1998, p. 876</ref> peace and disarmament, and an end to all wars.<ref>Aga Khan III 1998, p. 1415</ref>

Shah opposed [[sectarianism]], which he believed sapped the strength and unity of the Muslim community.<ref>Aga Khan III 1998, pp. 210, 803</ref> In specific, he called for a rapprochement between [[Sunni Islam|Sunnism]] and [[Shia Islam|Shīʿism]].<ref>Aga Khan III 1998, p. 1184</ref> This view did not imply a belief that religious distinctions would disappear; he continued to emphasize the importance of doctrinal commitment, instructing his [[Ismailism|Ismāʿīlī]] followers to remain dedicated to their own teachings.<ref name=":5">Aga Khan III 1998, p. 1407</ref> However, he believed in unity through accepting diversity, and by respecting differences of opinion.<ref name=":5" /><ref>Aga Khan III 1998, pp. 842 & 1063</ref> On his view, there was strength to be found in the diversity of Muslim traditions.<ref>Rattansi 1981, p. 207</ref>

He called for social reform in Muslim society, and he was able to implement them within his own Ismāʿīlī community.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Voices of Islam |date=2007 |publisher=Praeger Publishers |others=Cornell, Vincent J. |isbn=978-0-313-05116-6 |location=Westport, Conn. |pages=235 |oclc=230345942}}</ref> Shah argued that Islamic principles supported social justice and the alleviation of poverty, and he advocated for efforts aimed at reducing economic inequality.<ref>Aga Khan III 1998, p. 216</ref> Like Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan, Shah was concerned that Muslims had fallen behind the Hindu community in terms of education.<ref>Aga Khan III 1998, p. 235</ref> He was an advocate for compulsory and universal primary education,<ref>Aga Khan III 1998, p. 217</ref> and also for the creation of higher institutions of learning.<ref>Aga Khan III 1998, pp. 212-213</ref>

In terms of women's rights, Shah was more progressive in his views than Sir Sayyid and many other Islamic modernists of his time.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Forging the ideal educated girl : the production of desirable subjects in Muslim South Asia |last=Khoja-Moolji, Shenila, 1982- |isbn=978-0-520-97053-3 |location=Oakland, California |pages=27 |oclc=1022084628 |date=June 2018}}</ref> Shah advocated for women's rights not solely on the basis of their roles as mothers or wives, but as a matter of individual empowerment and social equity.<ref>Khoja-Moolji 2018, p. 31</ref> He endorsed the spiritual equality of men and women in Islam, and he also called for full political equality.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=Culture, transnationalism, and civil society : Aga Khan social service initiatives in Tanzania |last=Kaiser, Paul J. |date=1996 |publisher=Praeger |isbn=0-275-95528-1 |location=Westport, Conn. |pages=51 |oclc=34545670}}</ref> This included the right to vote<ref name=":0" /><ref>Aga Khan III 1998, pp. 593 & 645</ref> and the right to an education.<ref name="Aga Khan III 1998, p. 586">Aga Khan III 1998, p. 586</ref> In regards to the latter issue, he endorsed compulsory primary education for girls.<ref>Aga Khan III 1998, p. 1117</ref> He also encouraged women to pursue higher university-level education,<ref name="Aga Khan III 1998, p. 586" /> and saw nothing wrong with co-educational institutions.<ref>Aga Khan III 1998, p. 587</ref> Whereas Sir Sayyid prioritized the education of boys over girls, Shah instructed his followers that if they had a son and daughter, and if they could only afford to send one of them to school, they should send the daughter over the boy.<ref>Aga Khan III 1998, p. 1211–1212</ref>

Shah campaigned against the institution of [[Purdah|purda]] and [[Zenana|zenāna]], which he felt were oppressive and un-Islamic institutions.<ref name=":1" /> He completely banned the [[Purdah|purda]] and the face veil for his Ismāʿīlī followers.<ref>Khoja-Moolji 2018, p. 32</ref> Shah also restricted polygamy in his community, encouraged marriage to widows, and banned child marriage.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/muslimsinuniteds0000leon/page/68 |title=Muslims in the United States : the state of research |last=Leonard, Karen Isaksen, 1939- |date=2003 |publisher=Russell Sage Foundation |isbn=978-1-61044-348-7 |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/muslimsinuniteds0000leon/page/68 68] |oclc=794701243 |url-access=registration}}</ref> He also made marriage and divorce laws more equitable to women.<ref name=":1" /> 

Today, the Ismāʿīlī community maintains a network of institutions focused on education, healthcare, and economic development, many of which were established during or after the tenure of Shah.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Twaddle |first=Michael |date=July 1995 |title=Asians in East Africa Quest for Equality: Asian Politics in East Africa, 1900–1967. By Robert G. Gregory. Hyderabad and London: Orient Longman and Sangam Books (57 London Fruit Exchange, London E1 6EP, UK), 1993. Pp. xvi + 231. £14.95 (ISBN 0-86311-208-0). |journal=The Journal of African History |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=335–336 |doi=10.1017/s0021853700034289 |s2cid=142953052 |issn=0021-8537}}</ref>

== Racehorse ownership and equestrianism ==
[[File:L'Aga Khan et son cheval Blenheim monté par Wragg, gagnant du Derby d'Epsom (le 4 juin 1930) (CN) - (photographie de presse) - Agence Rol ; (d'après la photographie originale de l'agence photographique Central News).jpg|thumb|Muhammad Shah and his horse Blenheim, ridden by Wragg, winner of the Epsom Derby (June 4, 1930)]]
He was an owner of Thoroughbred racing horses, including a record equaling five winners of [[Epsom Derby|The Derby]] ([[Blenheim (horse)|Blenheim]], [[Bahram (horse)|Bahram]], [[Mahmoud (horse)|Mahmoud]], [[My Love (horse)|My Love]], [[Tulyar (horse)|Tulyar]]) and a total of sixteen winners of [[British Classic Races]]. Shah was a [[British flat racing Champion Owner]] thirteen times.  According to [[Ben Pimlott]], biographer of Queen [[Elizabeth II]], Shah presented the British monarch with a [[filly]] called ''Astrakhan'', who won at [[Hurst Park Racecourse]] in 1950.

In 1926, Shah gave a cup (the [[Aga Khan Trophy]]) to be awarded to the winners of an international team [[show jumping]] competition held at the annual horse show of the [[Royal Dublin Society]] in Dublin, Ireland, every first week in August.<ref>[http://www.dublinhorseshow.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22&Itemid=34 The Aga Khan Trophy], Dublin Horse Show, accessed 9 July 2007</ref> It attracts competitors from all of the main show jumping nations and is carried live on Irish national television.

== Marriages and children ==
[[File:Aga Khan and Begum Yvette.jpg|thumb|Muhammad Shah and Yvonne, 1954.]]
* He married, on November 2, 1896, in [[Pune]], India, Shahzadi Begum, his first cousin and a granddaughter of [[Aga Khan I]].
* He married in 1908,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ismaili.net/histoire/history08/history833.html |title=Marriages of the Aga Khan III |publisher=Ismaili.net |access-date=26 August 2014}}</ref> Cleope Teresa Magliano (1888–1926). They had two sons: Giuseppe Mahdi Khan (d. February 1911) and [[Prince Aly Khan|Aly Khan]] (1911–1960). She died in 1926, following an operation on December 1, 1926.<ref>"Aga Khan's Wife Dies As He Buys Big Gem", The New York Times, 2 December 1926, p.&nbsp;2</ref>
* He married, on 7 December 1929 (civil), in [[Aix-les-Bains]], France, and 13 December 1929 (religious), in [[Mumbai|Bombay]], India, Andrée Joséphine Carron (1898–1976). A co-owner of a dressmaking shop in Paris, she became known as Andrée Aga Khan. By this marriage, he had one son, [[Sadruddin Aga Khan]] (1933–2003).<ref>"Aga Khan Again a Father", The New York Times, 18 January 1933, p. 9.</ref> The couple divorced in 1943.<ref>"Princess Andrée", The New York Times, 30 December 1976, p. 19.</ref>
* He married, on October 9, 1944, in [[Geneva]], Switzerland, [[Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan|Om Habibeh Aga Khan]] (Yvonne Blanche Labrousse) (15 February 1906{{snd}}1 July 2000).

=== Publications ===
He authored several books and papers, including ''India in Transition'' (1918), which broached the subject of the political conditions in pre-Partition India, and his autobiography, ''The Memoirs of Aga Khan: World Enough and Time'' (1954). In his book ''India in Transition'', Shah proposed the idea of a South Asiatic Federation<ref>The Aga Khan; ''India in Transition'', Bombay,1918, pp.45-46.</ref> in which India would be reorganized into autonomous states within a federal framework. His proposal was among the early detailed plans advocating federalism in colonial India.

[[File:Assuan 9785.JPG|thumb|Muhammad Shah's mausoleum in [[Aswan]], Egypt.]]
[[File:Assuan 9932.JPG|thumb|Mausoleum of Muhammad Shah on the [[Nile]].]]

== Death and succession ==
Shah was succeeded by his grandson, [[Aga Khan IV|Karim al-Husseini]], who became the 49th Imam of the Nizari Ismaili Muslims and assumed the title Aga Khan IV. At the time of his death on 11 July 1957, he was surrounded by his family members in [[Versoix]]. His last words were repeating the verses of the Quran.<ref>{{cite web | title=Death of the Aga Khan III | url=https://www.ismaili.net/histoire/history08/history835.html }}</ref>

On July 12, a solicitor brought Shah's will from London to Geneva and read it before the family.

He was initially buried in Versoix, [[Switzerland]] before being exhumed and reburied in the [[Mausoleum of Aga Khan]], on the [[Nile]] in [[Aswan]], Egypt (at {{coord|24.088254|32.878722}}) on 20 February 1959.<ref name=":agagrave1">{{Cite news|last=|first=|date=1959|title=Aga Khan III Reburied: Ismailis Gather for Rites at Mausoleum on the Nile|work=The New York Times|url=|access-date=}}</ref><ref name=":agagrave2">{{Cite news|last=Vickers|first=Hugo|date=2000|title=Obituary: The Begum Aga Khan|work=The Independent|url=|access-date=}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
[[Pakistan Post]] issued a special "Birth Centenary of Agha Khan III" postage stamp in his honor in 1977.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://pakistanphilately.com/1977.htm |title=Pakistan Philately |website=pakistanphilately.com |access-date=19 September 2019}}</ref> Pakistan Post again issued a postage stamp in his honor in its 'Pioneers of Freedom' series in 1990.<ref name="findpk">{{Cite web |url=https://findpk.com/pof/agha_khan_iii.html |title=Agha Khan III |website=findpk.com |access-date=19 September 2019}}</ref>

== Honours ==
* 21 May 1898 [[Order of the Indian Empire|Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]], KCIE<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=26969 |date=21 May 1898 |page=3230 }}</ref>
* 1901 [[Order of the Crown (Prussia)|First Class of the Royal Prussian Order of the Crown]] – ''in recognition of the valuable services rendered by His Highness to the Imperial German Government in the settlement of various matters with the Mohammedan population of German East Africa''<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27291 |date=5 March 1901 |page=1576 }}</ref>
* 26 June 1902 [[Order of the Indian Empire|Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]], GCIE<ref name=LG27448>{{London Gazette |issue=27448 |date=26 June 1902 |page=4197 }}</ref>
* 12 December 1911 [[Order of the Star of India|Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India]], GCSI<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=28559 |date=12 December 1911 |page=9357 }}</ref>
* 30 May 1923 [[Royal Victorian Order|Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order]], GCVO – ''on the occasion of the King's birthday''<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=32830 |date=2 June 1923 |page=3947 }}</ref>
* 1 January 1934 Appointed a member of [[Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council|His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council]] by King [[George V]]<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=34010 |date=1 January 1934 |page=1 }}</ref>
* 1 January 1955 [[Order of St Michael and St George|Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George]], GCMG –<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=40366 |date=1 January 1955 |page=4 }}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|33em}}

== Sources ==
* {{EB1911 |last=Bhownagree |first=Mancherjee Merwanjee |author-link=Mancherjee Bhownagree|wstitle=Aga Khan I. |display=Aga Khan I. s.v. Aga Khan III.|volume=1|page=363}}
* {{cite EB1922|wstitle=Aga Khan III|last=Brown |first=Frank Herbert}}
* Daftary, F., ''The Isma'ilis: Their History and Doctrines'', Cambridge University Press, 1990.
* [[Shenila Khoja-Moolji|Khoja-Moolji, Shenila]]. “Redefining Muslim women: Aga Khan III’s reforms for women’s education.” ''South Asia Graduate Research Journal'' 20, no. 1, 2011, 69-94''.''
* Khoja-Moolji, Shenila. ''Forging the Ideal Educated Girl''. ''The Production of Desirable Subjects in Muslim South Asia.'' Oakland: University of California Press, 2018.
* Naoroji M. Dumasia, ''A Brief History of the Aga Khan'' (1903).
* Aga Khan [III], ''The Memoirs of Aga Khan: World Enough and Time'', London: Cassel & Company, 1954; published the same year in the United States by Simon & Schuster, with a foreword by [[William Somerset Maugham]]
* [[Anne Edwards|Edwards, Anne]] (1996). ''Throne of Gold: The Lives of the Aga Khans'', New York: William Morrow, 1996
* Naoroji M. Dumasia, ''The Aga Khan and His Ancestors'', New Delhi: Readworthy Publications (P) Ltd., 2008
* Valliani, Amin; "Aga Khan's Role in the Founding and Consolidation of the All India Muslim League", ''Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society'' (2007) 55# 1/2, pp 85–95.

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons and category|Aga Khan III}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071025075211/http://www.history.com/media.do?action=clip&id=tdih_0712 Video Clip] from the [[History (U.S. TV channel)|History Channel]] website
* [http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=104628  Institute of Ismaili Studies: Selected speeches of Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan III] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101007112917/http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=104628 |date=7 October 2010 }}
* [http://www.theismaili.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710093655/http://www.theismaili.org/ |date=10 July 2017 }}  The Official Ismaili Website
* [https://www.akdn.org]  Official Website of Aga Khan Development Network
* [http://www.saadigitalarchive.org/search/aga%20khan Aga Khan materials in the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA)]
* {{PM20|FID=pe/012379}}

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{{s-hou|branch=Clan|name='''Aga Khan III'''<br />of the [[Ahl al-Bayt]] | [[Banu Hashim]] | 1877|CE|1957|CE|[[Quraysh (tribe)|Banu Quraish]]}}
{{s-rel|sh}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Aga Khan II|Aqa Ali Shah]]}}
{{s-ttl|title = 48th [[Imamah (Shi'a Ismaili doctrine)|Imam]] of [[Nizari]] [[Ismailism]] | years = 1885–1957}}
{{s-aft|after = [[Aga Khan IV|Karim al-Hussayni]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Pakistan Movement}}
{{LoNPresidents}}
{{Nizārī}}
{{Agha Khans}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aga Khan 03}}
[[Category:1877 births]]
[[Category:1957 deaths]]
[[Category:Qajar dynasty]]
[[Category:Aga Khan Development Network]]
[[Category:British racehorse owners and breeders]]
[[Category:Owners of Epsom Derby winners]]
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[[Category:20th-century Ismailis]]