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{{Short description|Honorific title in Turkic languages}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{redirect|Baig}}
{{Refimprove|date=June 2011}}
] General ] (d. 1781), bey of Turfan, who later settled in Beijing; painting by a European Jesuit artist at the Chinese court in 1775<ref>{{cite web |title=北京保利国际拍卖有限公司 |url=https://www.polypm.com.cn/news/detail/3934/14 |website=polypm.com.cn}}</ref>]]
'''Bey''' (originally '''Beg'''; {{lang-ar|بك}} / ''Bek''; ] and {{lang-fa|بگ}} / ''Beg'' or ''Beyg'') is a ] title for ], traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups.
'''Bey''',{{efn|{{langx|ota-Arab|بك|beğ}}, {{langx|tr|bey}}, {{langx|az|bəy}}, {{langx|tk|beg}}, {{langx|uz|бек}}, {{langx|kk|би/бек}}, {{langx|ky|бий/бек}}, {{langx|tt-Cyrl|бәк|translit=bäk}}, {{langx|cjs|пий/пек}}, {{langx|sq|beu/bej}}, {{langx|hr|beg}}, {{langx|sr|beg}}, {{langx|fa|بیگ|beyg}}/{{transliteration|fa|beig}}, {{langx|tg|бек}}, {{langx|ar|بيه, بك|bēh, bek}}}} also spelled as '''Baig''', '''Bayg''', '''Beigh''', '''Beig''', '''Bek''', '''Baeg, Begh,''' or '''Beg''', is a ] title for a ], and a royal ] title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of variously sized areas in the numerous Turkic kingdoms, emirates, sultanates and empires in ], ], ], and the ], such as the ], ] or the various ] and ]s in ] and the ]. The feminine equivalent title was ]. The regions or provinces where "beys" ruled or which they administered were called '']'', roughly meaning "governorate" or "region" (the equivalent of a ], ], ] or ] in Europe, depending on the size and importance of the ]). However the exact scope of power handed to the beks (alternative spelling to beys) varied with each country, thus there was no clear-cut system, rigidly applied to all countries defining all the possible power and prestige that came along with the title.
The regions or provinces where "beys" ruled or which they administered were called '']'', roughly meaning "emirate" or "principality" in the first case, "province" or "governorate" in the second (the equivalent of ] in Europe).

Today, the word is still used informally as a social title for men (somewhat like the English word "mister"). Unlike "mister" however, it follows the name and is used generally with first names and not with last names.
Today, the word is still used formally as a social title for men, similar to the way the titles "]" and "]" are used in the English language. Additionally, it is widely used in the naming customs of ], namely in countries such as ], ] and ]. Notably, the ethnic designation of ] comes from the name of ] of the ], being an example of the usage of this word in personal names and even names of whole ethnic groups. The general rule is that the honorific is used with first names and not with surnames or last names.


==Etymology== ==Etymology==
The word entered English from ] ''bey'',<ref name="m-w">{{cite web |url=http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/bey |title=bey.|accessdate=22 March 2008 |work=Merriam-Webster Online}}</ref> itself derived from ] ''beg'',<ref name="ahd">{{cite web |url=http://www.bartleby.com/61/17/B0221700.html |title=bey. |accessdate=22 March 2008 |work=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language}}</ref> which - in the form ''bäg'' - has been mentioned as early as in the ] and is usually translated as "tribal leader". The dialect variations ''bäk'', ''bek'', ''bey'', ''biy'', ''bi'', and ''pig'' all derive from the Old Turkic form. The word entered English from ] {{lang|tr|bey}},<ref name="m-w">{{cite web |url=http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/bey |title=Bey |access-date=22 March 2008 |publisher=Merriam-Webster}}</ref> itself derived from ] ''beg'',<ref name="ahd">{{cite web|url=http://www.bartleby.com/61/17/B0221700.html |title=Bey |access-date=22 March 2008 |work=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308071707/http://www.bartleby.com/61/17/B0221700.html |archive-date=8 March 2008 }}</ref> which – in the form ''bäg'' – has been mentioned as early as in the ] (8th century AD) and is usually translated as "tribal leader".<ref name="Iranica">{{cite web |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/beg-pers |title=Beg |publisher=Encyclopædia Iranica |access-date=7 May 2011}}</ref><ref name="Iranica2">{{cite web |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/baga-an-old-iranian-term-for-god-sometimes-designating-a-specific-god |title=Baga |publisher=Encyclopædia Iranica |access-date=22 August 2011}}</ref> The actual origin of the word is still disputed, though it is mostly agreed that it was a loan-word,<ref name="Iranica" /> in Old Turkic.<ref name="Nisanyan"> in ''Nişanyan Dictionary''</ref> This Turkic word is usually considered a borrowing from an Iranian language.<ref name="Gluhak">Alemko Gluhak (1993), ''Hrvatski etimološki rječnik'', August Cesarec: Zagreb, pp. 123–124</ref><ref name="Iranica2" /> However, German Turkologist ] assessed the derivation from Iranian as superficially attractive but quite uncertain,<ref name="Iranica2" /> and pointed out the possibility that the word may be genuinely ].<ref name="Iranica" /> Two principal etymologies have been proposed by scholars:
The actual origin of the word is still disputed, though it is mostly agreed that it was a loan-word<ref name="Iranica">{{cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/beg-pers |title=beg. |accessdate=7 May 2011 |work=Encyclopædia Iranica}}</ref> in Old Turkic.<ref name="Nisanyan"> in Nişanyan Dictionary</ref> This Turkic word is usually considered a borrowing from an Iranian language.<ref>Alemko Gluhak ('''1993'''), ''Hrvatski etimološki rječnik'', August Cesarec: Zagreb, pp.123</ref>


# the ] title ''bag'' (also ''baγ'' or ''βaγ'',<ref name="Iranica2" /> ] ''baga''; cf. ] भग / '']'') meaning "lord" and "master".<ref name="Iranica2" /> ] derives the word via ] ''bġy'' from the same ] root.<ref name="Iranica" /><ref>P. Golden, "Turks and Iranians: An historical sketch", in S. Agcagül/V. Karam/L. Johanson/C. Bulut, ''Turkic-Iranian Contact Areas: Historical and Linguistic Aspects'', Harrassowit, 2006, p. 19ff</ref> All ] languages retain forms derived from ''baga-'' in the sense "god": Middle Persian ''bay'' (plur. ''bayān'', ''baʾān''), ] ''baγ'', ] ''bago'', Sogdian ''βγ-'',<ref name="Iranica2" /> and were used as honorific titles of kings and other men of high rank in the meaning of "lord".<ref name="Iranica2" /><ref>{{citation |last=Daryaee |first=Touraj |author-link=Touraj Daryaee |title=Ardashir and the Sasanian's Rise to Power |url=http://www.tourajdaryaee.com/wp-content/uploads/docs/daryaee-article-ardeshir-sasanian-rise-power.pdf |work=Anabasis: Studia Classica et Orientalia |volume=1 |year=2010 |pages=239 |access-date=24 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304133411/http://www.tourajdaryaee.com/wp-content/uploads/docs/daryaee-article-ardeshir-sasanian-rise-power.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Iranian ''bāy'' (through connection with Old Indian noun ''bhāgá'' "possessions, lot"<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Bāḡ |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition |last=Eilers |first=Wilhelm |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bag-i |date=22 August 2011 |access-date=23 April 2015}}</ref><ref name="Iranica2" />) gave Turkish word ''bai'' (rich), whence Mongol name ''Bayan'' (rich).<ref name="Iranica2" /><ref name="Gluhak" />
Three principle etymologies have been proposed by scholars:
# the ] title ''pö'' (伯 ] ''bó''; its historical pronunciation being ''pök'' or ''pak'' or ''pe<sup>r</sup>jk'', as reconstructed ]), meaning ''older brother'' and ].<ref name="Iranica" />
# the ] title ''bag'' (also ''baγ/beγ'', Old Iranian '']''; cf. ] भगवत् / '']'') meaning ''lord'' and ''master''. It was one of the royal titles of the ] kings. ] derives the word via ] ''bġy'' from the same ] root.<ref name="Iranica" /><ref>P. Golden, "Turks and Iranians: An historical sketch", in S. Agcagül/V. Karam/L. Johanson/C. Bulut, ''Turkic-Iranian Contact Areas: Historical and Linguistic Aspects'', Harrassowit, 2006, p. 19ff</ref> Ultimately from ] ''*bhag-'' ("to spare, divide; to endow, give").<ref> in ], ], Oleg Mudrak (2003), ''Etymological Dictionary of the Altaic Languages'', Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers</ref><ref name="Nisanyan"></ref>
# the ] title ''pö'' (the older form being ''pök'' or ''pak''; according to ] ''pe<sup>r</sup>jk''), meaning ''older brother'' and ''feudal lord'', often lower members of the aristocracy.<ref name="Iranica" />
# the ] nobility expression ''bay'' ("rich person, noble") as an alternative usage of the ] title ''bey''.<ref name="Nisanyan2"> in Nişanyan Dictionary</ref> English scholar ] considers '''bay''' (in the sense of "possessions") as a borrowing from Iranian,<ref name="Iranica2"></ref> however Russian linguist ] derives it from ] ''*bāj'' ("rich, noble; many, numerous"), itself ultimately from a possible ] root ''*bēǯu'' ("numerous, great", cf. ] ''p(j)iida-''/pui-).<ref> in ], ], Oleg Mudrak (2003), ''Etymological Dictionary of the Altaic Languages'', Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers</ref> Within Turkic ''*bāj'' ("rich") in turn is probably hard to distinguish from ''*baj (~ -ń)'' ("holy; god; true, reliable, honest").<ref> in ], ], Oleg Mudrak (2003), ''Etymological Dictionary of the Altaic Languages'', Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers</ref>


It was also used by the ]. It permitted the ] Begs in the ] region to maintain their previous status, and they administered the area for the ] as officials.<ref>{{cite book |title = Oasis Identities: Uyghur Nationalism Along China's Silk Road |first1=Justin Jon |last1=Rudelson|first2=Justin Ben-Adam |last2=Rudelson |edition=illustrated |year = 1997 |publisher=Columbia University Press |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=MT2D_0_eBPQC&pg=PA31 |page=31 |isbn=0231107862 |access-date=24 April 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title = Xinjiang and China's Rise in Central Asia – A History |first=Michael E. |last=Clarke|year=2011|publisher=Taylor & Francis |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=jRhHphtBg-QC&pg=PA20 |page=20 |isbn=978-1136827068 |access-date=10 March 2014 |ref = {{harvid}} }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang|first=James A.|last=Millward|edition=illustrated|year=2007|publisher=Columbia University Press |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=8FVsWq31MtMC&pg=PA101 |page=101|isbn=978-0231139243 |access-date=10 March 2014 |ref = {{harvid}} }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title = Empire at the Margins: Culture, Ethnicity, and Frontier in Early Modern China |editor1-first=Pamela Kyle |editor1-last=Crossley|editor2-first=Helen F.|editor2-last=Siu|editor3-first=Donald S. |editor3-last=Sutton |volume = 28 |series = Studies on China |edition=illustrated |year=2006 |publisher=University of California Press |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=EtNVMUx9qIIC&pg=PA121 |page=121 |isbn=0520230159 |access-date=10 March 2014 |ref = {{harvid}} }}</ref> High-ranking Begs were allowed to call themselves Begs.<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=MC6sAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA204 |title = Beyond the pass: economy, ethnicity, and empire in Qing Central Asia, 1759-1864 |author=James A. Millward |year=1998|publisher=Stanford University Press|page=204|isbn=0-8047-2933-6|access-date=2010-11-28}}</ref>
Nonetheless, German Turkologist ] assessed the derivation from Iranian as superficially attractive but quite uncertain,<ref name="Iranica2">"". ''Encyclopædia Iranica''. Retrieved 22 August 2011.</ref> and pointed out the possibility that the word may be genuinely ].<ref name="Iranica" />


==Turkish beys==
What is certain is that the word has no connections to Turkish ''berk'', "strong" (] ''berke''), or Turkish ''bögü'', "]" (Mong. ''böge'').<ref name="Iranica" />
] wrote in the 1904 work ''Turkish Life in Town and Country'' that "distinguished persons and their sons" as well as "high government officials" could become ''bey'', which was one of two "merely conventional designations as indefinite as our ']' has come to be ".<ref name=Garnettp5>]. ''Turkish Life in Town and Country''. ], 1904. p. .</ref>


The Republican Turkish authorities abolished the title circa the 1930s.<ref>Shaw, Stanford J. and Ezel Kural Shaw. ''History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey'' (Volume II). ], 27 May 1977. {{ISBN|0521291666}}, 9780521291668. p. .</ref>
==Turkish and Azerbaijani beys==
The first three rulers of the Ottoman realm were titled ''Bey''. The chief ] of the ] only came to be called ] starting in 1383 when ] was granted this title by the shadow ] in ].


==Beys elsewhere==
The Ottoman state had started out as one of a dozen Turkish ] '']'', roughly comparable to western European duchies, into which ] (i.e., Asian Turkey, or ]) had been divided after the break-up of the ] ] (]) and the military demise of the ]. Its capital was ]. By 1336 it had annexed only the Beylik of ], its western neighbour on the coast of the ], but it began to expand quite rapidly thereafter.


{{anchor|Bey in Arab regions}}
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 ] (after the term "Sanjak", denoting a military horsetail banner). Beys were lower in rank than ]s and provincial governors (]s, usually holding the title of pasha), who governed most of the Ottoman ]s (provinces), but higher than ]s.
The title ''bey'' ({{langx|ar|بيه}} {{IPA|arz|beː}}) was also called {{transliteration|ar|beyk}} or ''bek'' ({{lang|ar|بيك}}) – from Turkish {{transliteration|ota|beyg}} ({{lang|ota|بيـگ}}) – in North Africa, including Egypt.<ref>{{cite book |last=Marcel |first=Jean Joseph |title=Vocabulaire français-arabe des dialectes vulgaires africains: d'Alger, de Tunis, de Marok, et d'Égypte |date=1837 |publisher=C. Hingray |page=90 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fj8PAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA90 |language=fr |quote= {{lang|ar|بيك}} beyk, bey.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Jomard |first=Edme-François |title=Description de l'Egypte |date=1826 |publisher=C. L. F. Panckoucke |page=475 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=egr1I-6j81YC&pg=PA475 |language=fr |quote=Le mot ''sangiaq'' est un nom de dignité, synonyme de celui de ''bey'' (''beyk'' {{lang|ar|بيك}}, ou, suivant l’orthographe de la prononciation turques, ''beyg'' {{lang|ota|بيـگ}}).}} Summary: ] ≈ bey = beyk = beyg.</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Journal asiatique |date=1854 |page=484 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N78-DTow-8sC&pg=PA484 |language=fr |quote=Le titre de ''beg'' {{lang|ota|بيـگ}} (prononcé ''bey'') ou bek {{lang|ar|بيى}}, qui, en Barbie est écrit et prononcé ''bâï'' {{lang|ar|بك}} est proprement un mot turc.}}</ref>
A bey could maintain a similar office within Arab states that broke away from the ], such as ] and ] under the ], where it was a rank below ] (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 ]). Notably in ],<ref name=WDL1>{{cite web|title=Private Drawing Room, I, Kasr-el-Said, Tunisia|year=1899|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/2502|publisher=]|access-date=2 March 2013}}</ref> the ] used a whole series of title and styles including Bey:
Eventually the chiefs of the former Ottoman capitals ] and ] (formerly the Byzantine ]) in Turkish ] both were designated "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).
Over time the title became somewhat devalued, as Bey was even used as a courtesy title (alongside ]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''):
* '''Bey al-Kursi''' "Bey of the Throne", a term equivalent to reigning prince.
*Miralai (army colonel or navy captain)
* '''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.
*] (army lieutenant-colonel or navy commander)
* '''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.
* ''']i''' (or Beglerbegi) "Lord of Lords", was the administrative rank formally enjoyed by the ruler of Algiers and by rulers of parts of the Balkans in their official capacity of Ottoman Governor-General within the Turkish empire.This title was also used in Safavid empire.


'''Bey''' was also the title that was awarded by the Sultan of Turkey in the twilight of the Ottoman Empire to ] ], an African merchant prince of the ] who served as a senior leader of the Muslim community in the kingdom of ]. Subsequently, he and his children became known in ] by the ] '''Shitta-Bey''', a tradition which has survived to the present day through their lineal descendants.
Oddly, the compound ''Beyefendi'' was part of the title of the husband (full style ''Damad-i-Shahyari'' (given name) ''Beyefendi'') and sons (full style '']'' (given name) ''Beyefendi'') of an Imperial Princess, and their sons in turn were entitled to the courtesy title '']'' (literally "Son of a Bey". For the grandsons of an imperial princess, the official style was simply Bey after the name.).


In the ] period, the lords of the semi-autonomous ] used the title of ''beis'' (μπέης); for example, ] was known as ''Petrobey''.
By the late 19th century, "Bey" had been reduced in the Ottoman Empire to an honorary equivalent of the English-speaking address (not the British courtesy title) "Sir", somewhat akin to the contemporary ] usage of "guv'nor." While in ] and other Central Asian ], ''бай'' remains a rather honorific title, in modern Turkish, and in ], the word "bey" (or "bay") simply means "mister" (compare ]) 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 ], from ''alay'' "regiment" and ''-bay'', and ''yarbay'', meaning ], from ''yardim'' "assistance" and ''-bay'' (thus an "assistant ''albay''").


Other Beys saw their own ''Beylik'' promoted to statehood, e.g.:
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''.


* in ] (Constantine in French), an Ottoman district subject to the ] since 1525 (had its own Beys since 1567), the last incumbent, Ahmed Bey ben Mohamed Chérif (b. {{Circa|1784}}, in office 1826–1848, d. 1850), was maintained when in 1826 the local ] population declared independence, and when it was on 13 October 1837 conquered by France, until it was incorporated into ] in 1848.
''Beyefendi'' has its feminine counterpart: ''hanımefendi'' {{IPA-tr|haˈnɯmefendi|}}, used alone, to address a woman without her ]. 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.


Bey or a variation has also been used as an aristocratic title in various Turkic states, such as ''Bäk'' in the ] ], in charge of a Beylik called ''Bäklek''. The ] ], ] and The ] used the "beks" as local administrations of "bekliks" or provinces. The ] princes in the ] highlands were known as ''taubiy'' (taubey), meaning the "mountainous chief".
==Beys elsewhere==
The title Bey ({{lang-ar|بيه}}; {{IPA-arz|beː}}) could be maintained as a similar office within Arab states that broke away from the High Porte, such as ] and ] under the ], where it was a rank below ] (maintained in two rank classes after 1922), and a title of courtesy for a pasha's son.


Sometimes a Bey was a territorial vassal within a khanate, as in each of the three ''zuzes'' under the ] of the Kazakhs.
Even much earlier, the virtual sovereign's title in Barbaresque North African 'regency' states was "Bey" (compare ]).
Notably in ],<ref name=WDL1>{{cite web|title=Private Drawing Room, I, Kasr-el-Said, Tunisia|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/2502|publisher=]|accessdate=2 March 2013}}</ref> the ] 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.
*''']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.This title was also used in Safavid empire.
*'''Bey''' was also the title that was awarded by the Sultan of Turkey in the twilight of the Ottoman empire to ] Mohammed Shitta, an African merchant prince of the ] who served as a ranking leader of the Muslim community in the kingdom of ]. Subsequently, he and his children became known in ] by the compound name '''Shitta-Bey''', a tradition which has survived to the present day through their lineal descendants.


The variation ''Beg'', ''Baig'' or ''Bai'', is still used as a family name or a part of a name in South and Central Asia as well as the ]. In ]-influenced names, it can be seen in conjunction with the Slavic ''-ov/-ović/ev'' suffixes meaning "son of", such as in ] and ], and ].
In the ], in times of the Ottoman conquest of ], the ''de facto'' sovereign country of the ] in the southern ], 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 renowned ''Bey of Mani'', ] was simply known as ''Petrobey''.


The title is also used as an honorific by members of the ] and the ].
Other Beys saw their own ''Beylik'' promoted to statehood, e.g.:
*in ] (Constantine in French), an Ottoman district subject to the ] 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 ] population declared independence, and when it was on 13 October 1837 conquered by France, until it was incorporated into ] in 1848.


'Bey' is also used colloquially in ]-speaking parts of ], and its usage is similar to "chap" or "man". When used aggressively, it is an offensive term.
A bey is a shorter term for the toy known as a ].


The ] word 'bő' originates from an Old Turkic loanword, cognate with Ottoman 'bey', that used to mean 'clan leader' in Old Hungarian. Later, as an adjective, it acquired the meaning of "rich". Its contemporary meaning is "ample" or "baggy" (when referring to clothing).
Bey or a variation has also been used as an aristocratic title in various Turkic states, such as ''Bäk'' in the ] ], in charge of a Beylik called ''Bäklek''. The ] princes in the ] highlands were known as ''taubiy'' (taubey), meaning the "mountainous chief".
<ref>{{cite book |last=Tótfalusi |first=István |title=Magyar Etimológiai Szótár |year=2005 |publisher=Arcanum |location=Budapest |chapter=bő |url=https://www.arcanum.com/hu/online-kiadvanyok/Lexikonok-magyar-etimologiai-szotar-F14D3/b-F1794/bo-F1993/?list=eyJmaWx0ZXJzIjogeyJNVSI6IFsiTkZPX0xFWF9MZXhpa29ub2tfRjE0RDMiXX0sICJxdWVyeSI6ICJiXHUwMTUxIn0 |access-date=July 2, 2024}}</ref>


==Notes==
Sometimes a Bey was a territorial vassal within a khanate, as in each of the three ''zuzes'' under the ] of the Kazakhs.
{{notelist}}

The variation ''Beg'', ''Baig'' or ''Bai'', is still used as a family name or a part of a name in South and Central Asia as well as the ]. In ]-influenced names, it can be seen in conjunction with the Slavic ''-ov/-ović/ev'' suffixes meaning "son of", such as in Kurbegović, ], ].

The title is also used within the Moorish American community / membership of the ] as a tribal honorific which denotes an Islamic ] along with the pre-word ].


==See also== ==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* ]
* ] – a judge and senator in ]
* ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ] beys
* ] * ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
{{Div col end}}
* ]


==Notes== ==References==
{{Reflist}} {{Reflist}}


==References== ==External links==
{{Wiktionary|bey}}
* . ''Encyclopaedia of the Orient''.
* at ''Encyclopaedia of the Orient''.
* Oyeweso, Siyan. ''Across Three Centuries: The Life and Legacies of Mohammed Shitta-Bey (1824–1895)''.
* Westermann. ''Großer Atlas zur Weltgeschichte''. {{de icon}}
*


{{Organisation of the Ottoman Empire}} {{Organisation of the Ottoman Empire}}
{{Authority control}}


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Latest revision as of 14:29, 20 December 2024

Honorific title in Turkic languages

"Baig" redirects here. For other uses, see Baig (disambiguation).
Uyghur General Khojis (d. 1781), bey of Turfan, who later settled in Beijing; painting by a European Jesuit artist at the Chinese court in 1775

Bey, also spelled as Baig, Bayg, Beigh, Beig, Bek, Baeg, Begh, or Beg, is a Turkic title for a chieftain, and a royal aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of variously sized areas in the numerous Turkic kingdoms, emirates, sultanates and empires in Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Europe, and the Middle East, such as the Ottomans, Timurids or the various khanates and emirates in Central Asia and the Eurasian Steppe. The feminine equivalent title was begum. The regions or provinces where "beys" ruled or which they administered were called beylik, roughly meaning "governorate" or "region" (the equivalent of a county, duchy, grand duchy or principality in Europe, depending on the size and importance of the beylik). However the exact scope of power handed to the beks (alternative spelling to beys) varied with each country, thus there was no clear-cut system, rigidly applied to all countries defining all the possible power and prestige that came along with the title.

Today, the word is still used formally as a social title for men, similar to the way the titles "sir" and "mister" are used in the English language. Additionally, it is widely used in the naming customs of Central Asia, namely in countries such as Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Notably, the ethnic designation of Uzbeks comes from the name of Öz Beg Khan of the Golden Horde, being an example of the usage of this word in personal names and even names of whole ethnic groups. The general rule is that the honorific is used with first names and not with surnames or last names.

Etymology

The word entered English from Turkish bey, itself derived from Old Turkic beg, which – in the form bäg – has been mentioned as early as in the Orkhon inscriptions (8th century AD) and is usually translated as "tribal leader". The actual origin of the word is still disputed, though it is mostly agreed that it was a loan-word, in Old Turkic. This Turkic word is usually considered a borrowing from an Iranian language. However, German Turkologist Gerhard Doerfer assessed the derivation from Iranian as superficially attractive but quite uncertain, and pointed out the possibility that the word may be genuinely Turkic. Two principal etymologies have been proposed by scholars:

  1. the Middle Persian title bag (also baγ or βaγ, Old Iranian baga; cf. Sanskrit भग / bhaga) meaning "lord" and "master". Peter Golden derives the word via Sogdian bġy from the same Iranian root. All Middle Iranian languages retain forms derived from baga- in the sense "god": Middle Persian bay (plur. bayān, baʾān), Parthian baγ, Bactrian bago, Sogdian βγ-, and were used as honorific titles of kings and other men of high rank in the meaning of "lord". The Iranian bāy (through connection with Old Indian noun bhāgá "possessions, lot") gave Turkish word bai (rich), whence Mongol name Bayan (rich).
  2. the Chinese title pö (伯 Mandarin bó; its historical pronunciation being pök or pak or pejk, as reconstructed Edwin Pulleyblank), meaning older brother and feudal lord.

It was also used by the Uyghurs. It permitted the Turkic Begs in the Altishahr region to maintain their previous status, and they administered the area for the Qing as officials. High-ranking Begs were allowed to call themselves Begs.

Turkish beys

Lucy Mary Jane Garnett wrote in the 1904 work Turkish Life in Town and Country that "distinguished persons and their sons" as well as "high government officials" could become bey, which was one of two "merely conventional designations as indefinite as our 'Esquire' has come to be ".

The Republican Turkish authorities abolished the title circa the 1930s.

Beys elsewhere

The title bey (Arabic: بيه Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [beː]) was also called beyk or bek (بيك) – from Turkish beyg (بيـگ) – in North Africa, including Egypt. A bey could maintain a similar office within Arab states that broke away from the High Porte, such as Egypt and Sudan under the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, 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.
  • Beylerbeyi (or Beglerbegi) "Lord of Lords", was the administrative rank formally enjoyed by the ruler of Algiers and by rulers of parts of the Balkans in their official capacity of Ottoman Governor-General within the Turkish empire.This title was also used in Safavid empire.

Bey was also the title that was awarded by the Sultan of Turkey in the twilight of the Ottoman Empire to Oloye Mohammed Shitta, an African merchant prince of the Yoruba people who served as a senior leader of the Muslim community in the kingdom of Lagos. Subsequently, he and his children became known in Nigeria by the double-barrelled surname Shitta-Bey, a tradition which has survived to the present day through their lineal descendants.

In the Ottoman period, the lords of the semi-autonomous Mani Peninsula used the title of beis (μπέης); for example, Petros Mavromichalis was 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 Uzbek Khanate of Khiva, Emirate of Bukhara and The Khanate of Kokand used the "beks" as local administrations of "bekliks" or provinces. 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 of the Kazakhs.

The variation Beg, Baig or Bai, is still used as a family name or a part of a name in South and Central Asia as well as the Balkans. In Slavic-influenced names, it can be seen in conjunction with the Slavic -ov/-ović/ev suffixes meaning "son of", such as in Bakir and Alija Izetbegović, and Abai Kunanbaev.

The title is also used as an honorific by members of the Moorish Science Temple of America and the Moorish Orthodox Church.

'Bey' is also used colloquially in Urdu-speaking parts of India, and its usage is similar to "chap" or "man". When used aggressively, it is an offensive term.

The Hungarian word 'bő' originates from an Old Turkic loanword, cognate with Ottoman 'bey', that used to mean 'clan leader' in Old Hungarian. Later, as an adjective, it acquired the meaning of "rich". Its contemporary meaning is "ample" or "baggy" (when referring to clothing).

Notes

  1. Ottoman Turkish: بك, romanized: beğ, Turkish: bey, Azerbaijani: bəy, Turkmen: beg, Uzbek: бек, Kazakh: би/бек, Kyrgyz: бий/бек, Tatar: бәк, romanized: bäk, Shor: пий/пек, Albanian: beu/bej, Croatian: beg, Serbian: beg, Persian: بیگ, romanized: beyg/beig, Tajik: бек, Arabic: بيه, بك, romanized: bēh, bek

See also

References

  1. "北京保利国际拍卖有限公司". polypm.com.cn.
  2. "Bey". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
  3. "Bey". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Archived from the original on 8 March 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
  4. ^ "Beg". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  5. ^ "Baga". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  6. "Bey" in Nişanyan Dictionary
  7. ^ Alemko Gluhak (1993), Hrvatski etimološki rječnik, August Cesarec: Zagreb, pp. 123–124
  8. P. Golden, "Turks and Iranians: An historical sketch", in S. Agcagül/V. Karam/L. Johanson/C. Bulut, Turkic-Iranian Contact Areas: Historical and Linguistic Aspects, Harrassowit, 2006, p. 19ff
  9. Daryaee, Touraj (2010), "Ardashir and the Sasanian's Rise to Power" (PDF), Anabasis: Studia Classica et Orientalia, vol. 1, p. 239, archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016, retrieved 24 April 2015
  10. Eilers, Wilhelm (22 August 2011). "Bāḡ". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  11. Rudelson, Justin Jon; Rudelson, Justin Ben-Adam (1997). Oasis Identities: Uyghur Nationalism Along China's Silk Road (illustrated ed.). Columbia University Press. p. 31. ISBN 0231107862. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  12. Clarke, Michael E. (2011). Xinjiang and China's Rise in Central Asia – A History. Taylor & Francis. p. 20. ISBN 978-1136827068. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  13. Millward, James A. (2007). Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang (illustrated ed.). Columbia University Press. p. 101. ISBN 978-0231139243. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  14. Crossley, Pamela Kyle; Siu, Helen F.; Sutton, Donald S., eds. (2006). Empire at the Margins: Culture, Ethnicity, and Frontier in Early Modern China. Studies on China. Vol. 28 (illustrated ed.). University of California Press. p. 121. ISBN 0520230159. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  15. James A. Millward (1998). Beyond the pass: economy, ethnicity, and empire in Qing Central Asia, 1759-1864. Stanford University Press. p. 204. ISBN 0-8047-2933-6. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  16. Garnett, Lucy Mary Jane. Turkish Life in Town and Country. G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1904. p. 5.
  17. Shaw, Stanford J. and Ezel Kural Shaw. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey (Volume II). Cambridge University Press, 27 May 1977. ISBN 0521291666, 9780521291668. p. 386.
  18. Marcel, Jean Joseph (1837). Vocabulaire français-arabe des dialectes vulgaires africains: d'Alger, de Tunis, de Marok, et d'Égypte (in French). C. Hingray. p. 90. بيك beyk, bey.
  19. Jomard, Edme-François (1826). Description de l'Egypte (in French). C. L. F. Panckoucke. p. 475. Le mot sangiaq est un nom de dignité, synonyme de celui de bey (beyk بيك, ou, suivant l'orthographe de la prononciation turques, beyg بيـگ). Summary: sanjaq-bey ≈ bey = beyk = beyg.
  20. Journal asiatique (in French). 1854. p. 484. Le titre de beg بيـگ (prononcé bey) ou bek بيى, qui, en Barbie est écrit et prononcé bâï بك est proprement un mot turc.
  21. "Private Drawing Room, I, Kasr-el-Said, Tunisia". World Digital Library. 1899. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  22. Tótfalusi, István (2005). "bő". Magyar Etimológiai Szótár. Budapest: Arcanum. Retrieved 2 July 2024.

External links

  • "Bey" at Encyclopaedia of the Orient.
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