King of Kings

The title King of Kings was prominently used by kings such as Darius the Great (pictured). The full titulature of Darius was Great King, King of Kings, King of Persia, King of the Countries, Hystaspes' son, Arsames' grandson, an Achaemenid.

Chandragupta I of Gupta, generally known as Maharajadhiraja, i.e., the king of kings.

"Lord of lords" redirects here. For other uses, see Lord of Lords (disambiguation).

This article is about the monarchic or divine title. For other uses, see King of Kings (disambiguation).

King of Kings was a ruling title used primarily by monarchs based in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. Commonly associated with Iran (historically known as Persia in the West), especially the Achaemenid and Sasanian Empires, the title was originally introduced during the Middle Assyrian Empire by king Tukulti-Ninurta I (reigned 1233–1197 BC) and was subsequently used in a number of different kingdoms and empires, including the aforementioned Persia, various Hellenic kingdoms, India, Armenia, Georgia, and Ethiopia.

The title is commonly used as equivalent to that of Emperor, both titles outranking that of king in prestige, stemming from the late antique Roman and Eastern Roman emperors who saw the Shahanshahs of the Sasanian Empire as their equals. The last reigning monarchs to use the title of Shahanshah, those of the Pahlavi dynasty in Iran (1925–1979), also equated the title with "Emperor". The rulers of the Ethiopian Empire used the title of Nəgusä Nägäst (literally "King of Kings"), which was officially translated as "Emperor". Sultan of Sultans is the sultanic equivalent of King of Kings.

In Judaism, Melech Malchei HaMelachim ("the King of Kings of Kings") came to be used as a name of God.

In Christianity, "King of Kings" () also refers to Jesus Christ several times in the Bible, notably in the First Epistle to Timothy and twice in the Book of Revelation.

Political usage

India

Etymology

In India, Raja (which means king in Sanskrit) was a title used commonly by kings ruling small territories. Maharaja (from mahat "great" and rājan "king") was used only for kings who ruled a considerably large region with minor tributary kings under them. In regions like Rajasthan (rājan "king" and from sthan "land, place") and the Maratha Empire, which had many powerful kings ruling part of a larger empire, the founder of the empire was called Rajadhiraja (meaning King of the kings). Maharajadhiraja (from maha "great" or "high" and Rajadhiraja means "King of the kings") was used only for many most powerful kings of kings ruled a part of a considerably largest empire with major tributary kings of kings. In South India the greatest Chera dynasty, Chola dynasty and Pandyan Dynasty Kings were called as "Perarasu" (which means Greatest rulers in Tamil) and also as "chakkravarthi", or "Universal King" .

History

In Ancient India, Sanskrit language words such as Rājādhirāja and Mahārādhirāja are among the terms that were used for employing the title of the King of Kings. These words also occur in Aitareya Aranyaka and other parts of Rigveda (1700 BC – 1100 BC).

The monarchs of the Gupta Empire assumed the imperial title of Maharajadhiraja.

The Gurjara-Pratihara monarch in the tenth century was titled the Maharajadhiraja of Aryavarta.

The imperial title of Maharajadhiraja was used by rulers of the Pallava dynasty, the Pala Empire and the Salasthamba dynasty.

The Vijayanagar rulers assumed the imperial title of Maharajadhiraj.

The title of King of Kings (rajadhiraja) was also common among the rulers of the Kushan Empire.

Mesopotamia

Assyria and Babylon

File:Sculpted reliefs depicting Ashurbanipal, the last great Assyrian king, hunting lions, gypsum hall relief from the North Palace of Nineveh (Irak), c. 645-635 BC, British Museum (16722368932).jpg

King of Kings was among the many titles used by King Ashurbanipal of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (depicted strangling and stabbing a lion).

The title King of Kings was first introduced by the Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta I (who reigned between 1233 and 1197 BC) as šar šarrāni. The title carried a literal meaning in that a šar was traditionally simply the ruler of a city-state. With the formation of the Middle Assyrian Empire, the Assyrian rulers installed themselves as kings over an already present system of kingship in these city-states, becoming literal "kings of kings". Following Tukulti-Ninurta's reign, the title was occasionally used by monarchs of Assyria and Babylon. Later Assyrian rulers to use šar šarrāni include Esarhaddon (r. 681–669 BC) and Ashurbanipal (r. 669–627 BC). "King of Kings", as šar šarrāni, was among the many titles of the last Neo-Babylonian king, Nabonidus (r. 556–539 BC).

Boastful titles claiming ownership of various things were common throughout ancient Mesopotamian history. For instance, Ashurbanipal's great-grandfather Sargon II used the full titulature of Great King, Mighty King, King of the Universe, King of Assyria, King of Babylon, King of Sumer and Akkad.

Urartu and Media

The title of King of Kings occasionally appears in inscriptions of kings of Urartu. Although no evidence exists, it is possible that the title was also used by the rulers of the Median Empire, since its rulers borrowed much of their royal symbolism and protocol from Urartu and elsewhere in Mesopotamia. The Achaemenid Persian variant of the title, Xšāyaθiya Xšāyaθiyānām, is Median in form which suggests that the Achaemenids may have taken it from the Medes rather than from the Mesopotamians.

An Assyrian-language inscription on a fortification near the fortress of Tušpa mentions King Sarduri I of Urartu (ruled: 834 BC – 828 BC) as a builder of a wall and a holder of the title King of Kings.

This is the inscription of king Sarduri, son of the great king Lutipri, the powerful king who does not fear to fight, the amazing shepherd, the king who ruled the rebels. I am Sarduri, son of Lutipri, the king of kings and the king who received the tribute of all the kings. Sarduri, son of Lutipri, says: I brought these stone blocks from the city of Alniunu. I built this wall.

— Sarduri I of Urartu

Iran

Persian Empire

File:National Meusem Darafsh 37.JPG

Xerxes the Great of the Achaemenid Empire referred to himself as the great king, the king of kings, the king of the provinces with many languages, the king of this great earth far and near, son of king Darius the Achaemenian.

The Achaemenid Empire, established in 550 BC after the fall of the Median Empire, rapidly expanded over the course of the sixth century BC. Asia Minor and the Lydian Kingdom were conquered in 546 BC, the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 539 BC, Egypt in 525 BC and the Indus River region in 513 BC. The Achaemenids employed satrapal administration, which became a guarantee of success due to its flexibility and the tolerance of the Achaemenid kings for more-or-less autonomous vassals. The system also had its problems; though some regions became nearly completely autonomous without any fighting (such as Lycia and Cilicia), other regions saw repeated attempts at rebellion and secession. Egypt was a particularly prominent example, frequently rebelling against Achaemenid authority and attempting to crown their own Pharaohs. Though it was eventually defeated, the Great Satraps' Revolt of 366–360 BC showed the growing structural problems within the Empire.

The Achaemenid Kings used a variety of different titles, prominently Great King and King of Countries, but perhaps the most prominent title was that of King of Kings (rendered Xšāyaθiya Xšāyaθiyānām in Old Persian), recorded for every Achaemenid king. The first written record of its consistent use dates to Iranian Kings of the Persian Empire or Iranian High Kings of the Persian Empire (pronounced Shahanshah or Great Shahanshah).

The full titulature of the king Darius I was "great king, king of kings, king in Persia, king of the countries, Hystaspes' son, Arsames' grandson, an Achaemenid". An inscription in the Armenian city of Van by Xerxes I reads;

I am Xerxes, the great king, the king of kings, the king of the provinces with many tongues, the king of this great earth far and near, son of king Darius the Achaemenian.

— Xerxes I of Persia

Parthian and Sasanian Empires

Mithridates I of Parthia (r. 171–132 BC) was the first post-Achaemenid Iranian king to use the title of King of Kings. Beginning with the reign of his nephew Mithridates II (r. 124–88 BC), the title remained in consistent usage until the fall of the Sasanian Empire in 651 AD.

The standard royal title of the Arsacid (Parthian) kings while in Babylon was Aršaka šarru ("Arsacid king"), King of Kings (recorded as šar šarrāni by contemporary Babylonians) was adopted first by Mithridates I (r. 171–132 BC), though he used it infrequently. The title first began being consistently used by Mithridates I's nephew, Mithridates II, who after adopting it in 111 BC used it extensively, even including it in his coinage (as the Greek BAΣIΛEΥΣ BAΣIΛEΩN) until 91 BC. It is possible that Mithridates II's, and his successors', use of the title was not a revival of the old Achaemenid imperial title (since it was not used until almost a decade after Mithridates II's own conquest of Mesopotamia) but actually stemmed from Babylonian scribes who accorded the imperial title of their own ancestors onto the Parthian kings. Regardless of how he came to acquire the title, Mithridates II did undertake conscious steps to be seen as an heir to and restorer of Achaemenid traditions, introducing a crown as the customary headgear on Parthian coins and undertaking several campaigns westwards into former Achaemenid lands.

The title was rendered as šāhān šāh in Middle Persian and Parthian and remained in consistent use until the ruling Arsacids were supplanted by the Sasanian dynasty of Ardashir I, creating the Sasanian Empire. Ardashir himself used a new variant of the title, introducing "Shahanshah of the Iranians" (Middle Persian: šāhān šāh ī ērān). Ardashir's successor Shapur I introduced another variant; "Shahanshah of the Iranians and non-Iranians" (Middle Persian: šāhān šāh ī ērān ud anērān), possibly only assumed after Shapur's victories against the Roman Empire (which resulted in the incorporation of new non-Iranian lands into the empire). This variant, Shahanshah of Iranians and non-Iranians, appear on the coinage of all later Sasanian kings. The final Shahanshah of the Sasanian Empire was Yazdegerd III (r. 632–651 AD). His reign ended with the defeat and conquest of Persia by the Rashidun Caliphate, ending the last pre-Islamic Iranian Empire. The defeat of Yazdegerd and the fall of the Sasanian Empire was a blow to the national sentiment of the Iranians, which was slow to recover. Although attempts were made at restoring the Sasanian Empire, even with Chinese help, these attempts failed and the descendants of Yazdegerd faded into obscurity. The title Shahanshah was criticized by later Muslims, associating it with the Zoroastrian faith and referring to it as "impious".

Buyid revival

File:Adud al-Dawla medallion.jpg

Panāh Khusraw, better known by his laqab 'Adud al-Dawla, revived the title of Shahanshah in Iran in the year 978 AD, more than three centuries after the fall of the Sasanian Empire.

Following the fall of the Sasanian Empire, Iran was part of the early caliphates. From the 9th century on, parts of Iran were ruled by a series of relatively short-lived Muslim Iranian dynasties; including the Samanids and Saffarids. Although Iranian resentment against the Abbasid Caliphate was common, the resentment materialized as religious and political movements combining old Iranian traditions with new Arabic ones rather than as full-scale revolts. The new dynasties do not appear to have had any interest in re-establishing the empire of the old Shahanshahs, they at no point seriously questioned the suzerainty of the Caliphs and actively promoted Arabic culture. Though the Samanids and the Saffarids also actively promoted the revival of the Persian language, the Samanids remained loyal supporters of the Abbasids and the Saffarids, despite at times being in open rebellion, did not revive any of the old Iranian political structures.

The Shi'a Buyid dynasty, of Iranian Daylamite origin, came to power in 934 AD through most of the old Iranian heartland. In contrast to earlier dynasties, ruled by emirs and wanting to appease the powerful ruling Abbasid caliphs, the Buyids consciously revived old symbols and practices of the Sasanian Empire. The region of Daylam had resisted the Caliphate since the fall of the Sasanian Empire, attempts at restoring a native Iranian rule built on Iranian traditions had been many, though unsuccessful. Asfar ibn Shiruya, a Zoroastrian and Iranian nationalist, rebelled against the Samanids in 928 AD, intending to put a crown on himself, set up a throne of gold and make war on the Caliph. More prominently, Mardavij, who founded the Ziyarid dynasty, was also Zoroastrian and actively aspired to restore the old empire. He was quoted as promising to destroy the empire of the Arabs and restore the Iranian empire and had a crown identical to the one worn by the Sasanian Khosrow I made for himself. At the time he was murdered by his own Turkic troops, Mardavij was planning a campaign towards Baghdad, the Abbasid capital. Subsequent Ziyarid rulers were Muslim and made no similar attempts.

After the death of Mardavij, many of his troops entered into the service of the founder of the Buyid dynasty, Imad al-Dawla. Finally, the Buyid Emir Panāh Khusraw, better known by his laqab (honorific name) of 'Adud al-Dawla, proclaimed himself Shahanshah after defeating rebellious relatives and becoming the sole ruler of the Buyid dynasty in 978 AD. Those of his successors that likewise exercised full control over all the Buyid emirates would also style themselves as Shahanshah.

During times of Buyid infighting, the title became a matter of importance. When a significant portion of Firuz Khusrau's (laqab Jalal al-Dawla) army rebelled in the 1040s and wished to enthrone the other Buyid Emir Abu Kalijar as ruler over the lands of the entire dynasty, they minted coins in his name with one side bearing the name of the ruling Caliph (Al-Qa'im) and the other side bearing the inscription "al-Malik al-Adil Shahanshah". When discussing peace terms, Abu Kalijar in turn addressed Jalal in a letter with the title Shahanshah.

When the struggle between Abu Kalijar and Jalal al-Dawla resumed, Jalal, wanting to assert his superiority over Kalijar, made a formal application to Caliph Al-Qa'im for the usage of the title Shahanshah, the first Buyid ruler to do so. It can be assumed that the Caliph agreed (since the title was later used), but its usage by Jalal in a mosque caused outcry at its impious character. Following this, the matter was raised to a body of jurists assembled by the Caliph. Though some dissented, the body as a whole ruled that the usage of al-Malik al-Adil Shahanshah was lawful.

later usages

After the end of the Buyid dynasty in 1062, the title of Shahanshah was used intermittently by rulers of Iran until the modern era. The title, rendered as Shahinshah, is used on some of the coins of Alp Arslan (r. 1063–1072), the second sultan of the Seljuk Empire.

The title was adopted by Ismail I (r. 1501–1524), the founder of the Safavid dynasty. Upon his capture of Tabriz in 1501, Ismail proclaimed himself the Shāh of Iran and the Shahanshah of Iran. The term šāhanšāh-e Irān, King of Kings of Iran, is richly attested for the Safavid period and for the preceding Timurid period (when it was not in use). Nader Shah, founder of the later Afsharid Dynasty, assumed the title šāhanšāh in 1739 to emphasize his superiority over Muhammad Shah of the Mughal Empire in India.

The title Shahanshah is also attested for Fath-Ali Shah Qajar of the Qajar dynasty (r. 1797–1834). Fath-Ali's reign was noted for its pomp and elaborate court protocol. An 1813/1814 portrait of Fath-Ali contains a poem with the title; "Is this a portrait of a shahanshah, inhabitant of the skies / Or is it the rising of the sun and the image of the moon?".

The Qajar dynasty was overthrown in 1925, replaced by the Pahlavi dynasty. Both reigning members of this dynasty, Reza Shah Pahlavi (r. 1925–1941) and Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (r. 1941–1979), before they too were overthrown as part of the Iranian revolution in 1979, used the title of Shahanshah. Although Mohammad Reza Pahlavi had reigned as Shah for twenty-six years by then, he only took the title of Shahanshah on 26 October 1967 in a lavish coronation ceremony held in Tehran. He said that he chose to wait until this moment to assume the title because in his own opinion he "did not deserve it" up until then; he is also recorded as saying that there was "no honour in being Emperor of a poor country" (which he viewed Iran as being until that time). The current head of the exiled house of Pahlavi, Reza Pahlavi II, symbolically declared himself Shahanshah at the age of 21 after the death of his father in 1980.

Hellas

File:Houghton 1235 Timarchus.jpg

Although the Hellenic Seleucid rulers frequently assumed old Persian titles and honors, the usurper Timarchus is one of few concrete examples of a Seleucid ruler using the title "King of Kings".

Alexander the Great's conquests ended the Achaemenid Empire. He had the title "Basileus ton Basilion" meaning king of kings. This title was likely given to him to imply that he was a successor of the Persian kings who had the same title.

The subsequent division of Alexander's own empire resulted in the Seleucid dynasty inheriting the lands formerly associated with the Achaemenid dynasty. Although Alexander himself did not employ any of the old Persian royal titles, instead using his own new title "King of Asia" (βασιλεὺς τῆς Ἀσίας), the monarchs of the Seleucid Empire more and more aligned themselves to the Persian political system. The official title of most of the Seleucid kings was "Great King", which like "King of Kings", a title of Assyrian origin, was frequently used by the Achaemenid rulers and was intended to demonstrate the supremacy of its holder over other rulers. "Great King" is prominently attested for both Antiochus I (r. 281–261 BC) in the Borsippa Cylinder and for Antiochus III the Great (r. 222–187 BC) throughout his rule.

In the late Seleucid Empire, "King of Kings" even saw a revival, despite the fact that the territory controlled by the Empire was significantly smaller than it had been during the reigns of the early Seleucid kings. The title was evidently quite well known to be associated with the Seleucid king, the usurper Timarchus (active 163–160 BC) called himself "King of Kings" and the title was discussed in sources from outside the empire as well. Some non-Seleucid rulers even assumed the title for themselves, notably in Pontus (especially prominently used under Mithridates VI Eupator). Pharnaces II had appeared as King of Kings in inscriptions and royal coins, and Mithridates Eupator had appeared as King of Kings in an inscription.

It is possible that the Seleucid usage indicates that the title no longer implied complete vassalization of other kings but instead a recognition of suzerainty (since the Seleucids were rapidly losing the loyalty of their vassals at the time).

In the Ptolemaic Kingdom, a notable use of term King of Kings comes from Donations of Alexandria ceremony in 34BC, where Caesarion, son of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra VII, was proclaimed as King of Kings, also as a status of a god and son of god.

Great Armenia

The King of Kings Tigranes the Great of Armenia with four vassal Kings surrounding him

The Parthian Empire under Mithridates II defeated Armenia in 105 BC. Heir to the Armenian throne, Tigranes II, more commonly known as Tigranes the Great (140 – 55 BC), was taken hostage and kept at the Parthian court. He bought his freedom in 95 BC by handing over "seventy valleys" in Atropatene and assumed the Armenian throne. He ruled, for a short time in the first century BC, the strongest empire in the Middle East which he had built himself, the strongest state east of the Roman Republic.

He never appeared in public without having four kings attending him. Cicero, referring to his success in the east, said that he "made the Republic of Rome tremble before the prowess of his arms." Under his reign, the Armenian kingdom expanded beyond its traditional boundaries, allowing Tigranes to claim the title Great King or King of Kings, and involving Armenia in many battles against opponents such as the Parthian and Seleucid empires, and the Roman Republic. He was called "Tigranes the Great" by many Western historians and writers, such as Plutarch. After conquering Syria in 83 BC, Tigranes assumed the title King of Kings. The Armenian kings of the Bagratuni dynasty from the reign of Ashot III 953–977 AD to the dynasty's end in 1064 AD revived the title, rendering it as the Persian Shahanshah.

Africa

Ethiopia

The title King of Kings was used by the rulers of the Aksumite Kingdom since the reign Sembrouthes c. 250 AD. The kings of the Ethiopian Empire from the Solomonic era onwards (1270 to 1974 AD), also used the traditional title of Nəgusä Nägäst ("niguse negest"), an ancient Ge'ez formula sometimes translated to "King of the Kingdom", but most often equated to "King of Kings" and officially translated to Emperor. Though the Ethiopian Emperors had been literal "Kings of Kings" for the duration of the Empire's history, with regional lords using the title of Nəgus ("king"), this practice was ended by Haile Selassie (r. 1930–1974 AD), who somewhat paradoxically still retained the use of Nəgusä Nägäst.

Libya

In 2008, the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was bestowed with the title of "King of Kings" after a gathering of more than 200 African tribal kings and chiefs endorsed his use of the title on 28 August that year, stating that "We have decided to recognise our brotherly leader as the 'king of kings, sultans, princes, sheikhs and mayors of Africa". At the meeting, held in the city of Benghazi, Gaddafi was given gifts including a throne, an 18th-century Qur'an, traditional outfits and ostrich eggs. At the same meeting, Gaddafi urged his guests to put pressure on their own governments and speed the process of moving towards a unified African continent. Gaddafi told those that attended the meeting, who came from countries such as Mozambique, South Africa, Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo, that "We want an African military to defend Africa, we want a single African currency, we want one African passport to travel within Africa". The meeting was later referred to as a "bizarre ceremony" in international media. For example:

"Muammar Gaddafi of Libya claimed to be 'King of Kings,' a title he subsequently had a gathering of African tribal chiefs endorse in 2008. More "than 200 African kings and traditional rulers...bestowed the title 'king of kings' on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi" during a meeting "in the Libyan town of Benghazi in what was billed as a first of its kind. Gaddafi urged the royals to join his campaign for African unity....'We want an African military to defend Africa, we want a single African currency, we want one African passport to travel within Africa,' Gaddafi told the assembled dignitaries, who come from countries such as Mozambique, South Africa, Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo.""

— 2015-12-26 Infogalactic article reflecting that of Wikipedia at the time

(Note that the article claimed that CNN claimed that Gaddafi claimed the title instead of it being generously bestowed on him. Note also the mutilation of the quotation with "[m]ore" outside of the quotation and "than" inside.)

other realms

Local variations of the Ethiopian title were also held by the rulers of the imperial realms of Mali and Asanteman in West Africa and Zululand in Southern Africa.

Palmyra

After a successful campaign against the Sasanian Empire in 262 AD, which restored Roman control to territories that had been lost to the Shahanshah Shapur I, the ruler of the city of Palmyra, Odaenathus, founded the Palmyrene kingdom. Though a Roman vassal, Odaenathus assumed the title Mlk Mlk dy Mdnh (King of Kings and Corrector of the East). Odaenathus son, Herodianus (Hairan I) was acclaimed as his co-monarch, also given the title King of Kings. Usage of the title was probably justified through proclaiming the Palmyrene kingdom as the legitimate successor state of the Hellenic Seleucid empire, which had controlled roughly the same territories near its end. Herodianus was crowned at Antioch, which had been the final Seleucid capital.

Though the same title was used by Odaenathus second son and successor following the deaths of both Odaenathus and Herodianus, Vaballathus and his mother Zenobia soon relinquished it, instead opting for the Roman Augustus ("Emperor") and Augusta ("Empress") respectively.

Champa

From the 7th century to 15th century, grand rulers of Chamic-speaking confederation of Champa, which existed from 3rd century AD to 1832 in present-day Central Vietnam, used titles raja-di-raja (king of kings) and pu po tana raya (king of kings). However, some, such as Vikrantavarman II, held the title of maharajadhiraja (great king of kings) instead of raja-di-raja. The early kings of Champa before decentralization referred themselves by several different titles such as mahārāja (great king), e.g. Bhadravarman I (r.380–413), or campāpr̥thivībhuj (lord of the land of Champa) used by Kandarpadharma (r. 629–640).

Georgia

King of Kings was revived in the Kingdom of Georgia by King David IV (r. 1089–1125 AD), rendered as mepet mepe in Georgian. All subsequent Georgian monarchs, such as Tamar the Great, used the title to describe their rule over all Georgian principalities, vassals and tributaries. Their use of the title probably derived from the ancient Persian title.

Feminine forms and usages

The feminine form of "King of Kings" is "Queen of Queens", but some female monarchs assumed the title "Queen of Kings", while others simply used the masculine title "King of Kings".

King of Kings

• In the Alupa dynasty, the female monarch Ballamahadevi used the masculine title maharajadhiraja ("Great King of Kings").
• In the Bhauma-Kara dynasty, the female monarchs Tribhuvana Mahadevi III, Dandi Mahadevi and Dharma Mahadevi used the masculine title maharajadhiraja ("Great King of Kings") alongside the feminine title paramesvari.
• In the Kingdom of Georgia, Tamar assumed both the titles of mepeta-mepe ("King of Kings") and dedopalta-dedopali ("Queen of Queens").

Queen of Kings

"Queen of Kings" redirects here. For the Alessandra Mele song, see Queen of Kings (song).

• In the Ptolemaic Kingdom, Cleopatra VII was proclaimed "Queen of Kings" in the Donations of Alexandria.
• Similarly to her mother Tamara, as Georgia's monarch, Rusudan assumed the title "Queen of Kings and Queens".
• In the Ethiopian Empire, the title as an empress-regnant of Zewditu was Nəgəstä Nägäst ("Queen of Kings"). This title is different from Nəgusä Nägäst ("King of Kings"), the title of male emperor, and Itege, the title of empress-consort.

Queen of Queens

• In the empires of Iran, there was the title bānbishnān bānbishn ("Queen of Queens"), matched the title shahanshah ("King of Kings") and abbreviated as bānbishn. Musa, Boran and Azarmidokht were female monarchs, equivalent in rank to shahanshahs.
• According to murals in the Gelati Monastery, the title dedopalta-dedopali ("Queen of Queens") was used for queens-consort of Imereti.

In religion

Judaism

The title is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, as מלך מלכיא, applied to Nebuchadnezzar and to Artaxerxes. In Daniel 2:37, Daniel interprets the dream of Nebuchadnezzar to the effect that

"Thou, O king, [art] a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory."

Melech ha-M'lachim (King of Kings) is a reference to God whose name may not be said. It is usually rendered as Melech Malchei HaMelachim ("the King of Kings of Kings"), using the double superlative to put it one step above the royal title of the Babylonian and Persian kings in the Bible.

Melech Malchei Ha-M'lachim (the King of the King of Kings) refers to God in relation to a specific earthly king of kings.

Christianity

"Christ as King of Kings". A Russian icon from Murom (1690)

Main article: Christ the King

Jesus says in Matthew 28:18 that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him. In John 18:36, he says that "my kingdom is not of this world." Thus, it is commonly accepted that the title "King of Kings" is awarded to Jesus as the ruler over a temporal, spiritual or "higher" kingdom and as the living embodiment of God Almighty, affording him title of "Supreme and Ultimate Ruler of the Universe".

"King of Kings" (βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλευόντων) refers to Jesus Christ in the New Testament: 1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 17:14 and Revelation 19:16.

... which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ...

— First Epistle to Timothy 6:15

"These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful."

— Book of Revelation 17:14

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. ... And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

— Book of Revelation 19:11–12, 16

Some Christian realms (Georgia, Armenia and Ethiopia) employed the title and it was part of the motto of the Byzantine Emperors of the Palaiologan period, Βασιλεὺς Βασιλέων Βασιλεύων Βασιλευόντων (Basileus Basileōn, Basileuōn Basileuontōn, literally "King of Kings, ruling over those who rule"). In the Byzantine Empire the word Βασιλεὺς (Basileus), which had meant "king" in ancient times had taken up the meaning of "emperor" instead. Byzantine rulers translated "Basileus" into "Imperator" when using Latin and called other kings rēx or rēgas (ρήξ, ρήγας), hellenized forms of the Latin title rex. As such, Βασιλεὺς Βασιλέων in the Byzantine Empire would have meant "Emperor of Emperors". The Byzantine rulers only accorded the title of Basileus onto two foreign rulers they considered to be their equals, the Kings of Axum and the Shahanshahs of the Sasanian Empire, leading to "King of Kings" being equated to the rank of "Emperor" in the view of the West.

Selivanov, the co-founder of the Skoptsi, a Russian pseudo-Christian sect which practiced sexual mutilation, who proclaimed himself the son of God incarnate in the person of Emperor Peter III, claimed the titles "king of kings" and even "god of gods".

Hinduism

In India the terms used for Hindu kings to represent king of kings include Rajadhi raja, chakravarthi, Maharaja, Perarasu,etc..

Buddhism

In the Pali Tripitaka, Buddha is sometimes compared to the worldly Emperor (Chakravarti), the Universal King, or the secular "King of Kings". But Buddha is also seen as the "King of the Dharma" or Dharma-raja.

Islam

The term "King of Kings" is reserved for Allah (meaning God, literally translated as "he who is being worshiped") and is prohibited as a description for a human being. This is to maintain a clear distinction between the created being and his or her Creator. Narrated in Sahih Bukhari and Muslim, from Abu Hurairah that Muhammad said, "Verily, the worst title is 'King of Kings'; there is no King that has absolute power except Allah". The term "al-Malik" (The King) is the 4th of the 99 known names of Allah, taken to imply 'The Sovereign Lord, The One with the complete Dominion, the One Whose Dominion is clear from imperfection' singles the only God out as supreme ruler over all earthly powers. The 84th known name of Allah is "Malik Al-Mulk" (King of the Realm), taken to mean 'The Eternal Owner of Sovereignty, The One who controls the Dominion and gives dominion to whoever He willed'.

Following the fall of the Sasanian Empire in 651 AD, the title of Shahanshah was sternly criticized in the Muslim world. It was problematic enough that the adoption of Shahanshah by the Shia Buyid dynasty in Persia required a body of jurists to agree on its lawfulness and the title itself (both as King of Kings and as the Persian variant Shahanshah) is condemned in Sunni Islam hadith, a prominent example being Sahih al-Bukhari Book 73 Hadiths 224 and 225.

Allah's Apostle said, "The most awful name in Allah's sight on the Day of Resurrection, will be (that of) a man calling himself Malik Al-Amlak (the king of kings)."

— Sahih al-Bukhari Book 73 Hadith 224

The Prophet said, "The most awful (meanest) name in Allah's sight." Sufyan said more than once, "The most awful (meanest) name in Allah's sight is (that of) a man calling himself king of kings." Sufyan said, "Somebody else (i.e. other than Abu Az-Zinad, a sub-narrator) says: What is meant by 'King of Kings' is 'Shahanshah."

— Sahih al-Bukhari Book 73 Hadith 225

The condemnation of the title within the Islamic world may stem from that the concept of God alone being king had been prominent in early Islam. Opposing worldly kingship, the use of "King of Kings" was deemed obnoxious and blasphemous.

Rastafari

Haile Selassie's full title in office was "His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, King of Kings of Ethiopia, Elect of God" (Ge'ez: ግርማዊ፡ ቀዳማዊ፡ አፄ፡ ኃይለ፡ ሥላሴ፡ ሞዓ፡ አንበሳ፡ ዘእምነገደ፡ ይሁዳ፡ ንጉሠ፡ ነገሥት፡ ዘኢትዮጵያ፡ ሰዩመ፡ እግዚአብሔር; girmāwī ḳedāmāwī 'aṣē ḫayle śillāsē, mō'ā 'anbessā ze'imneggede yihudā niguse negest ze'ītyōṗṗyā, siyume 'igzī'a'bihēr).

Popular culture

WWE wrestler Triple H is also dubbed as "The King of Kings", and uses the Motörhead song "King of Kings" in his ring entrances.

In The Simpsons episode "A Star Is Burns", an actor starring in Mr. Burns' movie "A Burns for All Seasons" referred to him as being truly "The King of Kings".

According to Celtic football fans, Henrik Larsson is the one true King of Kings.

In the movie 300, King Xerxes I referred to himself as King of Kings.

In Percy Shelley's sonnet, Ozymandias, Ozymandias refers to himself as "King of Kings" on line 10.

In Family Guy episode "Jesus, Mary and Joseph!", Jesus is referred as "King of Kings"

In The Transformers, the character Abdul Fakkadi is the self-professed Supreme Military Commander, President-for-Life, and King of Kings of the Socialist Democratic Federated Republic of Carbombya.

See also

• Emperor
• Sacred king
• High king
• Padishah
• Rana (title)
• Shah
• Baig
• Khagan
• Mirza
• Lord of Lords

References

Citations

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