Emirate
An emirate is a political territory that is ruled by a dynastic Arab Monarch styled emir.
Etymology
Etymologically emirate or amirate (Template:Lang-ar, Imaarah ; plural: إمارات, Imaraat) is the quality, dignity, office or territorial competence of any emir (prince, governor etc.).
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 (Arabic for King) 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 (usually styled emir) of the royal family, as in Saudi Arabian governorates.
List of independent Emirates
List of former and integrated emirates
- The Emirate of Armenia
- Emirate of Sicily, Sicily 965-1072
- Emirate of Granada, Spain 1228-1492
- Caucasian Emirate
- Emirate of Trarza, modern southwest Mauritania 1640s-1910s
- Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
- Islamic Emirate of Waziristan
- Az Zubayr
- Bahrain, became a kingdom in 2002