(pl. umar膩示) Arabic lit. a prince, a commander, or a leader. In early Muslim history, the word am墨r referred to an army commander. During the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, the am墨rs had full powers over administrative and financial posts in their provinces. In the Abbasid period, the am墨rs were given a free hand in their provinces, something which led them later to establish dynasties and to share with the caliph the attributes of sovereignty by adding their own names to his in the khu峁璪as (sermons). Examples of such am墨rs were the Ikhshidids, the Mamluks, the Seljuks and the Ayyubids. Today, the title 础尘墨谤 has come to mean 鈥榩rince鈥 and refers to members of the ruling families of some Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.
