Emirate

An emirate is a political territory that is ruled by a dynastic Islamic monarch styled emir. It also means principality.

Etymologically emirate or amirate (Arabic: إمارة‎‎ imārah, plural: إمارات imārāt) is the quality, dignity, office or territorial competence of any emir (prince, commander, governor etc.).

The United Arab Emirates is a federal state that comprises seven federal emirates, each administered by a hereditary emir, these seven forming the electoral college for the federation's President and Prime Minister. As most emirates have either disappeared, been integrated in a larger modern state or changed their rulers' styles, e.g. to malik (Arabic for king) or sultan, such true emirate-states have become rare.

Furthermore, in Arabic the term can be generalized to mean any province of a country that is administered by a member of the ruling class, especially of a member (usually styled emir) of the royal family, as in Saudi Arabian governorates.

A list of present independent Emirates.

A list of emirates that have either ceased to exist, are not recognized and hold no real power, or were integrated into another country and preserved as "traditional states" arranged by location and in order of the date of the first leader styled "emir."

Córdoba

Badajoz

Granada

Crete within modern Greece

Sicily (at bottom)

Armenia

Ottoman emirate in 1300, labeled 'Osman'

Timurid Emirate under the leadership of Timur

Soran (at center)

Transjordan

Beihan and Dhala in South Arabia

Diriyah

Nejd

Jabal Shammar

Asir at its height

Bahrain

Saudi Arabian emirate divisions

Bukhara

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