Noorani family
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
The Noorani family is a term used to refer to the immediate family of the Imām of the Nizari Ismāʿīli Shia Muslims, commonly known by the title of Aga Khan.[1]
The title of 'His Highness' was initially granted by the British Monarch to the Ismaili Imams dating back in mid 1800s, to the first Aga Khan, in recognition as a religious leader and his role as spiritual head of the Ismaili community.[2] The style of His Highness was formally granted to the Aga Khan IV by Queen Elizabeth II in 1957 upon the death of his grandfather the Aga Khan III.[a] It has continued to this day, being reconfirmed after each succession.[3]
The titles Prince and Princess are used by the Aga Khans and their children by virtue of their descent from Shah Fath Ali Shah of the Persian Qajar dynasty. The title was officially recognised by the British government in 1938.[4]
The Qajar monarch Fath Ali Shah granted the title "Agha Khan" (also spelled "Aqa Khan," meaning "lord and master") to Hasan Ali Shah, later known as Aga Khan I, when he was thirteen. Hasan Ali Shah, then the Nizari Isma'ili Imam, traveled to the Qajar court in Tehran with his mother to seek legal redress following his father's death. The title became hereditary among his successors. Fath Ali Shah also arranged a marriage between Hasan Ali Shah and his daughter, Sarv-i-Jahan Khanum, providing land in the Mahallat region as part of the dowry.[5] The current titleholder, Rahim Al-Hussaini, is the fifth Nizari Imam to hold the title Aga Khan.[6]