shah

shah means "king" in farsi. so why is the shah of iran called "the shah of iran" and not the "king of iran" when we're speaking english?

the king of saudi arabia is "the king" and not "al-malik". king louis XIV is referred to as a "king" and not as a "roi." king zog is "king" zog, and not whatever the fuck "king" is in albanian.

along the same lines, emperor hirohito is still "emperor hirohito", just like all the emperors of the ottoman empire and china. the only exceptions seem to be the ancient pharaohs, caesar and the czars. and the shah, of course. for some reason the members of this exclusive club gets to keep their native language title. but why is there an exception?

why is the shah "the shah"?


...okay, after mulling this over some more, i realized that the ottoman emperor is usually called "the sultan". i also realized that "emir" is another title that seems to cross over into english without being translated. the various leaders of gulf states are not called "prince", nor is the united arab emirates ever referred to as the "united arab principalities."