Emirate


An emirate is a political territory that is ruled by a dynastic Arabic or Islamic monarch-styled emir.

Etymology

Etymologically emirate or amirate is the quality, dignity, office, or territorial competence of any emir. In English, the term is pronounced or in British English and or in American English.

As monarchies

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 or sultan, such true emirate-states have become rare.

As provinces

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 of the royal family, as in Saudi Arabian governorates.

List of present emirates

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."

Europe

Iberia

Near East

North Africa