View source for Al-Dawla

{{Short description|Arabic-language title}}
{{for|the use of ''al-Dawla'' as the official name of a militant group|Names of the Islamic State}}
<!--Page 7 of 22 of this document: http://web.archive.org/web/20170919063501/https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/705906/download—says that "Dawlah" is the name ISIS prefers for itself - It's the [[Jaelyn Young]] indictment letter  - These tweets are discussed in http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2015/08/12/timeline-what-do-we-know-jaelyn-young-and-muhammad-dakhlalla/31535681/-->
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The [[Arabic]] title '''''al-Dawla''''' ({{lang|ar|الدولة}}, often rendered ''ad-Dawla'', ''ad-Daulah'', ''ud-Daulah'', etc.) means 'dynasty' or 'polity', (in modern usage, 'government' or "nation-state") and appears in many [[laqab|honorific]] and [[regnal title]]s in the [[Islamic world]]. Invented in the 10th century for senior statesmen of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]], such titles soon spread throughout the Islamic world and provided the model for a broad variety of similar titles with other elements, such as ''[[al-Din]]'' ('Faith' or 'Religion').

== Origin and evolution ==
The term {{Transliteration|ar|dawla}} originally meant 'cycle, time, period of rule'. It was particularly often used by the early [[Abbasid]] caliphs to signify their "time of success", i.e. reign, and soon came to be particularly associated with the reigning house and acquire the connotation of 'dynasty'.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1965|pp=177–178}} In modern usage, since the 19th century, it has come to mean "state", in particular a secular state of the Western type as opposed to the dynastic or religion-based state systems current until then in the Islamic world.{{sfn|Ayubi|1995|pp=21–22}}

[[File:Dinar of al-Muqtadir with Abu'l-Abbas and Amid al-Dawla.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Gold dinar]] of [[al-Muqtadir]] with the names of his heir, [[al-Radi|Abu'l-Abbas]], and vizier, [[Amid al-Dawla]]]]
From the early 10th century, the form {{Transliteration|ar|al-Dawla}} began appearing as a compound in [[laqab|honorific titles]] granted by the caliphs to their senior-most courtiers, beginning with the [[vizier (Abbasid Caliphate)|vizier]] [[al-Qasim ibn Ubayd Allah ibn Wahb]], who was granted the title of {{Transliteration|ar|Wali al-Dawla}} ('Friend of the Dynasty') by the caliph [[al-Muktafi]] ({{reign|902|908}}), an epithet which also appeared on caliphal coinage.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1965|p=178}} The same honour was also bestowed on al-Qasim's son, [[al-Husayn ibn al-Qasim|al-Husayn]], who was named {{Transliteration|ar|Amid al-Dawla}} ('Support of the Dynasty') by [[al-Muqtadir]] in February 932.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1965|p=178}}

The major turning point was the double award of the titles of {{Transliteration|ar|[[Nasir al-Dawla]]}} ('Helper of the Dynasty') and {{Transliteration|ar|[[Sayf al-Dawla]]}} ('Sword of the Dynasty') to the [[Hamdanid]] princes Hasan and Ali in April 942. After this time, "the bestowing of such titles on governors formally symbolised the handing over of political power to the 'princelings' of provincial dynasties" (G. Endress).{{sfn|Rosenthal|1965|p=178}}{{sfn|Endress|2002|p=148}} In 946, with the victory of the [[Buyids]] in the contest for control of [[Iraq]] and the Caliphate's capital of [[Baghdad]], the victorious Ahmad ibn Buya assumed the title of {{Transliteration|ar|[[Mu'izz al-Dawla]]}} ('Fortifier of the Dynasty'), while his brothers assumed the titles of {{Transliteration|ar|[[Imad al-Dawla]]}} and {{Transliteration|ar|[[Rukn al-Dawla]]}} ('Support' and 'Pillar of the Dynasty' respectively).{{sfn|Rosenthal|1965|p=178}}{{sfn|Endress|2002|p=148}}

The example set by the Hamdanids and Buyids was soon imitated throughout the Islamic world, from the [[Samanids]] and [[Ghaznavids]] in the east to the [[Fatimid Caliphate|Fatimids]] of [[Medieval Egypt|Egypt]] and even some of the [[taifa]] kingdoms in [[Muslim Spain]].{{sfn|Rosenthal|1965|p=178}} By the end of the 10th century, however, the use of the {{Transliteration|ar|al-Dawla}} element had become so widespread that it had become debased, and began to be complemented—and eventually replaced—by other titles. The Buyids, who had from early on begun to use pre-Islamic, [[Sasanian]] titles like {{Transliteration|fa|[[Shahanshah]]}} in parallel to their Arabic titles, again led the way, with {{Transliteration|ar|[[Adud al-Dawla]]}} receiving from the Caliph the title of {{Transliteration|ar|Taj al-Milla}} ('Crown of the [Islamic] Community'). Henceforth, titles with the elements {{Transliteration|ar|milla}} ('religion'), {{Transliteration|ar|[[umma]]}} ([Islamic] community'), {{Transliteration|ar|[[al-Din|din]]}} ('faith') began to appear.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1965|p=178}}{{sfn|Endress|2002|pp=148–149}}

Indeed, the proliferation of multiple and ever more lofty titles which began with the award of the {{Transliteration|ar|al-Dawla}} forms was so swift and extensive, that already around the year 1000 the scholar [[al-Biruni]] lamented the practice, complaining that "the matter became utterly opposed to common sense, and clumsy to the highest degree, so that he who mentions them gets tired before he has scarcely commenced, and he who writes them loses his time and writing space, and he who addresses them risks missing the time of prayer".{{sfn|Endress|2002|pp=147–148}} By the 12th century, the titles with {{Transliteration|ar|al-Dawla}} had become lowly honorific appellations; a simple court physician at the Baghdad court, such as [[Ibn al-Tilmidh]], could receive the title of {{Transliteration|ar|Amin al-Dawla}} ('Trusted Supporter of the Dynasty'). Nevertheless, despite their debasement, the titles remained indicative of their bearer's "high standing in the community", according to F. Rosenthal.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1965|p=178}} In [[Indian subcontinent|India]], they continued to be used by individual Muslim rulers, and in [[Iran]], cabinet ministers until 1935 often received titles with the {{Transliteration|ar|al-Dawla}} compound.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1965|p=178}}

In the major Indian Muslim princely state of [[Hyderabad state|Hyderabad]], ''Dawla'' was one of the aristocratic titles bestowed by the ruling [[Nizam]] upon Muslim court retainers, ranking above [[Khan (title)|Khan]], Khan Bahadur, [[Nawab]] (homonymous with a high Muslim ruler's title), [[Khan (title)|Jang]] (in ascending order), but under [[Malik|Mulk]], [[Umara]] and [[Jah]]. The equivalent for the court's Hindu retainers was [[Malik|Vant]]. In [[Bahwalpur]], {{Transliteration|ar|Mukhlis al-Dawla}} ('Devoted Servant of the State'), {{Transliteration|ar|Sayf al-Dawla}}, {{Transliteration|ar|Muin al-Dawla}} and {{Transliteration|ar|Rukn al-Dawla}}  were all subsidiary titles of the ruling Nawab and Amir. The [[Qajar dynasty]] of Persia used titles with the suffix {{Transliteration|fa|[[Ed-Dowleh]]}} as an honorific for members of the royal family. In early modern Egypt and the [[Beylik of Tunis]], {{Transliteration|ar|Sahib al-Dawla}} ('Lord of the State') were used as honorifics for high-ranking ministers, while {{Transliteration|ar|Ra'is al-Dawla}} ('Head of the State"' was the formal title of [[Abd el-Krim]], the leader of the [[Rif Republic]].

==Examples of the honorific ''al-Dawla''==
{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Adud al-Dawla]]
* [[Ala al-Dawla Mirza|Ala al-Dawla]]
* [[Amid al-Dawla]]
* [[Amin al-Dawla (disambiguation)|Amin al-Dawla]]
* [[Asad al-Dawla]]
* [[Baha' al-Dawla]]
* [[Diya' al-Dawla]]
* [[Fakhr al-Dawla]]
* [[Husam al-Dawla]]
* [[Iftikhar al-Dawla]]
* [[Imad al-Dawla]]
* [[I'timad al-Dawla]]
* [[Izz al-Dawla]]
* [[Jalal al-Dawla]]
* [[Majd al-Dawla]]
* [[Mu'ayyad al-Dawla]]
* [[Mu'izz al-Dawla]]
* [[Mumahhid al-Dawla]]
* [[Murtada al-Dawla]]
* [[Musharrif al-Dawla]]
* [[Moshir od-Dowleh (disambiguation)|Mushir al-Dawla]]
* [[Mu'tamid al-Dawla]]
* [[Nasir al-Dawla]]
* [[Najib ad-Dawlah|Najib al-Dawla]]
* [[Qawam al-Dawla]]
* [[Rukn al-Dawla]]
* [[Sa'ad al-Dawla]]
* [[Sa'd al-Dawla]]
* [[Sa'id al-Dawla]]
* [[Sama' al-Dawla]]
* [[Samsam al-Dawla]]
* [[Sayf al-Dawla (disambiguation)|Sayf al-Dawla]]
* [[Shams al-Dawla]]
* [[Sharaf al-Dawla]]
* [[Shibl al-Dawla Nasr]]
* [[Siraj ud-Daulah|Siraj ud-Dawla]]
* [[Sultan al-Dawla]]
* [[Taj al-Dawla]]
* [['Uddat al-Dawla]]
* [[Zahir al-Dawla]]

{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book | last = Ayubi | first = Nazih N.|author-link=   Nazih Ayubi | title = Over-Stating the Arab State: Politics and Society in the Middle East | publisher = I.B.Tauris | year = 1995 | location = London and New York | isbn = 1850438285 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dXpOMVvlYFsC }}
* {{cite book | title = Islam: An Historical Introduction | first = Gerhard | last = Endress | publisher = Edinburgh University Press | year = 2002 | isbn = 0748616209 | url = https://archive.org/details/islam00gerh | url-access = registration }}
* {{EI2 | volume=2 | title = Dawla | first = Franz | last = Rosenthal | authorlink = | pages = 177–178 | url = http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/dawla-SIM_1748}}

[[Category:Islamic culture]]
[[Category:Court titles]]
[[Category:Arabic words and phrases|Dawla]]
[[Category:Islamic honorifics]]