Bey
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'''Bey''' is a [[Turkish language|Turkish]]<ref name="m-w">{{cite web|url=http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/bey|title="bey."|accessdate=2008-03-22|work=Merriam-Webster Online|language=English}}</ref><ref name="ahd">{{cite web|url=http://www.bartleby.com/61/17/B0221700.html|title="bey."|accessdate=2008-03-22|work=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language|language=English}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9079010/bey|title="bey."|accessdate=2008-03-22|work=Encyclopædia Britannica Online|language=English}}</ref> title for "chieftain," traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. In historical accounts, many [[Turkey|Turkish]], other [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] and [[Iran|Persian]] leaders are titled ''Bey'', ''Beg'', ''Bek'', ''Bay'' or ''Beigh''. They are all the same word with the simple meaning of "lord." The regions or provinces where Beys (the equivalent of [[duke]] in [[Europe]]) ruled or which they administered were called ''[[Beylik]]'', roughly meaning "emirate" or "principality" in the first case, "province" or "governorate" in the second (the equivalent of [[duchy]] in Europe). Today, the word is used as a social title for men (like the English word "mister").
==Turkish beys==
The first three rulers of the Ottoman realm were titled ''Bey''. The chief [[monarch|sovereign]] of the [[Ottoman Empire]] only came to be called [[sultan]] starting in [[1383]] when [[Murad I]] was granted this title by the shadow [[caliph]] in [[Cairo]].
The Ottoman state had started out as one of a dozen Turkish [[Ghazi]] ''[[Anatolian beyliks|Beyliks]]'', roughly comparable to western European duchies, into which [[Anatolia]] (i.e., Asian Turkey, or [[Asia Minor]]) had been divided after the break-up of the [[Seljuq dynasty|Seljuk]] [[Sultanate of Ikonion]] ([[Konya]]) and the military demise of the [[Byzantine Empire]]. Its capital was [[Bursa]]. By 1336 it had annexed only the Beylik of [[Karasy]], its western neighbour on the coast of the [[Sea of Marmara]], but it began to expand quite rapidly thereafter.
As the Ottoman realm grew from a Beylik into an imperial sultanate, the title "Bey" came to be applied to subordinate military and administrative officers, such as a district administrator and lower-level minor military governors. The latter were usually titled [[sanjakbey]] (after the term "Sanjak", denoting a military horsetail banner). Beys were lower in rank than [[pasha]]s and provincial governors ([[wali]]s, usually holding the title of pasha), who governed most of the Ottoman [[vilayet]]s (provinces), but higher than [[effendi]]s.
Eventually the chiefs of the former Ottoman capitals [[Bursa, Turkey|Bursa]] and [[Edirne]] (formerly the Byzantine [[Adrianople]]) in Turkish [[Thrace]] both were designated "Bey."
Over time the title became somewhat devalued, as Bey was even used a courtesy title (alongside [[Pasha]]zade) for a pasha's son. It also came to be attached to officers and dignitaries below those entitled to be pashas, notably the following military officer ranks (still lower ranks were styled '''efendi'''):
*[[Miralai]] (army colonel or navy captain)
*[[Kaimakam]] (army lieutenant-colonel or navy commander)
Oddly, the compound '''Beyefendi''' was part of the title of the husband (full style ''Damad-i-Shahyari'' (given name) ''Beyefendi'') and sons (full style ''[[Sultanzada|Sultanzade]]'' (given name) ''Beyefendi'') of an Imperial Princess, and their sons in turn were entitled to the courtesy title '''Beyzade''' (literally "Son of a Bey". 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 in Ottoman Turkey to an honorary equivalent of the English-speaking address (not the British courtesy title) "Sir", somewhat akin to the contemporary [[Cockney]] usage of "guv'nor." While in [[Kazakh language|Qazaq]] and other Central Asian [[Turkic languages]], ''бай'' [baj] remains a rather honorific title, in modern Turkish, and in [[Azerbaijan]], the word "bey" (or "bay") simply means "mister" (compare [[Effendi|efendi]]) or "sir" and is used in the meaning of "chieftain" only in historical context. ''Bay'' is also used in Turkish in combined form for certain military ranks, e.g. ''albay'', meaning [[colonel]], from ''alay'' "regiment" and ''-bay'', and ''yarbay'', meaning [[lieutenant colonel]], from ''yardim'' "assistance" and ''-bay'' (thus an "assistant ''albay''").
As with most Turkish titles, it follows the name rather than precedes it as in western languages, ''e.g.'' "Ahmet Bey" for "Mr. Ahmet". When one speaks of ''Mr. Ahmet'', the title has to be written with a capital (Ahmet Bey), but when one addresses him directly it is simply written without capital (Ahmet bey). ''Bey'' may combine with ''efendi'' to give a common form of address, to which the possessive suffix ''-(i)m'' is usually added: ''beyefendim'', ''efendim''.
''Beyefendi'' has its feminine counterpart: '''hanımefendi''' [haˈnɯmefendi], used alone, to address a woman without her [[first name]]. And with the first name: ''Ayşe Hanım'' or ''Ayşe hanım'', for example, according to the rule given above about the use of the capital letter.
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 Ottoman 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 [[serf]]dom, a state of affairs continued in the Tosk districts even after Albanian independence in [[1912]], as King Zog took power and forbade the "Beys" to mistreat the peasants.
The term is not used anymore in Albania except when referring to historical figures and 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 blood lines. However, the name is generally associated with the Çabej line of Albania.
==Beys elsewhere==
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 Sultan 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.
*'''[[Beylerbey]]i''' (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.
In the '''[[Mani Peninsula]]''', in times of the Ottoman conquest of [[Ottoman Greece|Greece]], the ''de facto'' sovereign country of the '''[[Maniots]]''' in the southern [[Peloponnesus]], had as head of state a chieftain which combined both military command and judiciary activities who was entitled as ''Bey'' following the Turkish influence over conquered areas, especially in the Balkans. It was usual to add the title to their own given names, therefore the most renown '''Bey of Mani''', [[Petros Mavromichalis]] was simply known as ''Petrobey''.
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 it was on 13 October 1837 conquered by France, until it was incorporated into [[Algeria]] in 1848.
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''. The [[Balkar]] princes in the [[North Caucasus]] highlands were known as ''taubiy'' (taubey), meaning the "mountainous chief".
Sometimes a Bey was a territorial vassal within a khanate, as in each of the three ''zuzes'' under the [[Khan (title)|Khan]] of the Kazakhs.
In some Cajun cultures, "Bey" is just a common household name that parents will call their child, a nickname. Example, Sean "Bey" Elliot (the BMW driver).
The variation ''Beg'', ''Baig'' or ''Bai'' (pronounced as "buy"), is still used as a family name or a part of a name in [[South Asia|South]] and [[Central Asia]] as well as the [[Balkans]]. In [[Slavic languages|Slavic]]-influenced names, it can be seen in conjunction with the Slavic ''-ov/-ović/ev'' suffixes meaning "son of", such as in [[Alija Izetbegovic|Izetbegović]], [[Abai Kunanbaev]] ([[Abai Kunanbaiuli]]).
The title is also used within the Moorish American community / members of the [[Moorish Science Temple of America]] as tribal titles which denotes an [[Islam]]ic [[governor]] along with the title [[El]].
The title is still used in the southwest of England as a term of endearment.
==Etymology==
The word entered [[English language|English]] from [[Turkish language|Turkish]] ''bey'',<ref name="m-w" /> and the Turkish word has its origins in [[Old Turkic]] ''beg''.<ref name="ahd" /> There are different theories about the further etymology of the word ''beg''. According to one theory the word may ultimately come from [[Middle Chinese]] ''baak'', ''pak''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bey|title="bey."|accessdate=2008-03-22|work=Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc.|language=English}}</ref> Another theory states that the word may have its origins in [[Sogdian language|Sogdian]] ''baga''.<ref>Carter Vaughn Findley, "Turks in World History", Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 45: ''"... Many elements of Non-Turkic origin also became part of Türk statecraft [...] for example, as in the case of khatun [...] and beg [...] both terms being of Sogdian origin and ever since in common use in Turkish. ..."''</ref> Gerhard Doerfer pointed out the possibility that the word is genuinely [[Turkic languages|Turkic]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v4f1/v4f1a044.html|title="beg."|accessdate=2008-03-22|work=Encyclopædia Iranica|language=English}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[Anatolian beyliks]]
* [[Atabeg]]
* [[Baig]]
* [[Begum]]
* [[Beylerbey]]
* [[Chagatai Khan#Chughtai|Chughtai]]
* [[Dey]]
* [[Effendi]]
* [[Kailar]] beys
* [[Moorish Science Temple of America]]
* [[Ottoman titles]]
* [[Maniots]]
==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
==References==
*[http://i-cias.com/e.o/bey.htm ''Encyclopaedia of the Orient'']
*[http://www.4dw.net/royalark/Egypt/glossary.htm| RoyalArk on (khedival) Egypt] & [http://www.4dw.net/royalark/Tunisia/glossary.htm Tunisia] & [http://www.4dw.net/royalark/Turkey/turkey.htm on Ottoman Turkey]
*Westermann ''Großer Atlas zur Weltgeschichte'' {{de icon}}
*[http://www.worldstatesmen.org/ WorldStatesmen - click on each present country]
{{Organisation of the Ottoman Empire}}
[[Category:Gubernatorial titles]]
[[Category:Heads of state]]
[[Category:Military ranks]]
[[Category:Noble titles]]
[[Category:Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Positions of subnational authority]]
[[Category:Royal titles]]
[[Category:Titles of national or ethnic leadership]]
[[Category:Turkish titles]]
[[Category:Words of Turkish origin]]
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