page_title: Vizier
section_title: In Islamic states
hierarchical_section_title: Vizier / Historical ministerial titles / In Islamic states
caption_attribution_description: Mahomed Naib Surreef, a celebrated Kuzzilbach chief of Caubul and his Peshkidmut This lithograph is taken from plate 15 of 'Afghaunistan' by Lieutenant James Rattray. Mohammad Naib Sharif was a Shia chieftain from the powerful Qizilbash tribe originally from Iran. Other Afghans were mostly Sunni Muslims and Rattray wrote: "This difference in their religious tenets creates the bitterest feeling between the two sects and leads to constant bloodshed." Sharif was a close friend of Alexander Burnes and had rescued Burnes' dishonoured corpse and given it a decent burial. He compromised himself so much due to his steadfast friendship with the British that he was constantly threatened with destruction. He left Afghanistan with the British armies in 1842 and was given a handsome stipend by the Indian Government. His Peshkhidmat - or attendant - wears the black lambskin cap of the Iranians. Through the opening at the top peeps the red lining, like a tongue, from which the term Qizilbash, meaning red cap, is derived.
context_page_description: A vizier is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the Muslim world. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title wazir to a minister formerly called katib, who was at first merely a helper but afterwards became the representative and successor of the dapir of the Sassanian kings.
  In modern usage, the term has been used for government ministers in much of the Middle East and beyond.
  Several alternative spellings are used in English, such as vizir, wazir, and vezir.
context_section_description: The title was first used in the early Abbasid Caliphate, cf. Vizier (Abbasid Caliphate).
  In Muslim Persia, the prime minister under the political authority of the Shahanshah was commonly styled Vazīr-e Azam ('Supreme -, i.e. Grand Vizier'; alternative titles include Atabeg-e Azam and Sardār-e Azam), and various Ministers held cabinet rank as vazir, including a Vazir-i-Daftar (minister for finance) and a Vazir-i-Lashkar (war portfolio).
  In al-Andalus, the Umayyad Caliphs of Córdoba appointed a varying number of viziers, as heads of departments in the bureaucracy, ministers with specific tasks, and royal councillors; at one point, in 1008, there were as many as 29 viziers at the same time. Unlike the Islamic east, the senior office of the Umayyad state was that of the chamberlain (hajib). Under the Taifa kingdoms the title proliferated and became a generic court title. During the later Umayyads, viziers were also appointed outside the capital as provincial governors or commanders, a practic which continued until the fall of the Emirate of Granada in the 15th century. The Spanish word alguacil (governor, official with civil or criminal duties) derives from this.
  In Muslim Egypt, the most populous Arab country:
  Vizier under the Fatimid Caliphs.
  Again since the effective end of Ottoman rule, remarkably since 1857 (i.e. before the last Wali (governor), Isma`il Pasha, was raised Khedive (circa Viceroy, on 8 June 1867), exchanged for the western prime ministers on 28 August 1878 (before the formally independent sultanate was proclaimed).
  During the days of the Ottoman Empire, the Grand Vizier was the—often de facto ruling—prime minister, second only to the Sultan and was the leader of the Divan, the Imperial Council. "Vizier" was also the title of some Ottoman provincial governors, use of the title often indicating a greater degree of autonomy for the province involved and the greater prestige of the title holder (this was, for example, a major issue in the Bosnian uprising of 1831).
  In the Sherifian kingdom of Morocco (historically a sultanate till the incumbent assumed the higher royal style of Malik on 14 August 1957, shortly after the end of the simultaneous French and Spanish protectorates; the additional Islamic title Amir al-Mu´minin "Commander of the Faithful" stayed in use), a Sadr al-A'zam (Grand Vizier) was in office until 22 November 1955, replaced since 7 December 1955 a (part-political) Prime Minister; Vizier was the style of a minister of state (other titles for various portfolios).
  In the Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz (later merged into present-day Saudi Arabia), the sole Vizier was (10 June 1916 – 3 October 1924) the future second king Ali ibn Hussein al-Hashimi, under his father Hussein ibn Ali al-Hashimi (the first to assume the title Malik, i.e. King, instead of Grand Sharif), maintained after the assumption of the Caliphal style (only 11 March 1924 – 3 October 1924)
  In the 'regency' of Tunisia, under the Husainid Dynasty, various ministers of the Bey, including:
  Wazir al-Akbar (or El Ouzir El Kébir): 'great minister', i.e. grand vizier, chief minister or prime minister.
  Wazir al-'Amala (or El Ouzir El Amala): Minister for the Interior.
  Wazir al-Bahr (or El Ouzir El Bahr): Minister 'of the Sea', i.e. for the Navy/ Marine.
  Wazir al-Harb (or El Ouzir El Harb): Minister for the Army or Minister for War.
  Wazir al-Istishara (or El Ouzir El Istichara): Minister-Counsellor.
  Wazir al-Qalam: Minister of the Pen.
  Wazir ud-Daula (or El Ouzir El Dawla): Minister of State.
  Wazir us-Shura (or El Ouzir Ech Choura): Privy Counsellor.
  In Oman the Hami/Sultan's chief minister was styled Wazir till 1966, but in 1925–1932 there was also or instead a chairman of the council of Ministers; since 1970 the style is prime minister.
  In the Bengal Sultanate, many local officials had the title of Wazir/Uzir
  Viziers to the Sultans of Zanzibar (a branch of the Omani dynasty); since 1890 filled by British, also known as first ministers, (1 July 1913 – 23 February 1961) the British Resident (Minister)s, an extremely direct form of indirect rule
caption: An Iranian Afsharid Vizier.
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