shāhanshāh

honorific

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July 23, 2026

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The term "shāh" is a title for the kings of Iran, also known as Persia. When combined with "anshah" to form "shāhanshāh," it means "king of kings" or emperor. This title was used by the Pahlavi dynasty in the 20th century, evoking ancient Persian rulers like Cyrus II the Great. Another related title is "padishah," meaning "lord king". The title "shāh" was also used in Afghanistan until 1973 and by rulers in other parts of central and southern Asia. The son of a shāh is called a "shāhzāda," meaning "shāh son".1

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shāh
When compounded as shāhanshāh, it denotes “king of kings,” or emperor, a title adopted by the 20th-century Pahlavi dynasty in evocation of the ancient Persian “king of kings,” Cyrus II the Great (reigned 559–c. 529 bc). Another related title or form of address is padshāh, or “lord king.”…
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When compounded as shāhanshāh, it denotes “king of kings,” or emperor, a title adopted by the 20th-century Pahlavi dynasty in evocation of the ancient Persian “king of kings,” Cyrus II the Great (reigned 559–c. 529 bc). Another related title or form of address is padshāh, or “lord king.”…
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Iran
The Buyids
…the old Achaemenian title of shāhanshāh, king of kings, reappeared—a title Aḥmad may have thought appropriate for an Iranian whose family reconquered Iran south of the Alborz Mountains. As suggested above, Buyid titles emphasized political and territorial sovereignty. This sovereignty reached its greatest extent under Rukn al-Dawlah’s son, ʿAḍud al-Dawlah,…
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…the old Achaemenian title of shāhanshāh, king of kings, reappeared—a title Aḥmad may have thought appropriate for an Iranian whose family reconquered Iran south of the Alborz Mountains. As suggested above, Buyid titles emphasized political and territorial sovereignty. This sovereignty reached its greatest extent under Rukn al-Dawlah’s son, ʿAḍud al-Dawlah,…
Read More