Aristocrats are people that a particular social order considers in the highest social class
of that society.
Specifically, in monarchies, the aristocracy are a class of people who either possess hereditary
titles granted by a monarch or are related to such people.
In some societies—such as Ancient Greece, Rome, and India—aristocratic status may
derive from membership of a military caste, although it has also been very common for
aristocrats to belong to priestly dynasties in lieu of this, as is the case in polities
all over the continent of Africa.
Aristocratic status can involve feudal or legal privileges.
They are usually below only the monarch of a country or nation in its social hierarchy.
The term aristocracy derives from the Greek ἀριστοκρατία "excellent," and
κράτος "power".
In most cases, aristocratic titles were and are hereditary, passing on death to another
family member, typically the eldest son or eldest child.
Origins of the notion The term "aristocracy" was first given in
Athens to young citizens who led armies from the front line.
Because military bravery was highly regarded as a virtue in ancient Greece, it was assumed
that the armies were being led by "the best".
From the ancient Greeks, the term passed on to the European Middle Ages for a similar
hereditary class of military leaders often referred to as the "nobility".
As in Greece, this was a class of privileged men and women whose familial connections to
the regional armies allowed them to present themselves as the most "noble" or "best."
Europe Historically the status and privileges of
the aristocracy in Europe were below royalty and above all non-aristocrats.
The French Revolution attacked aristocrats as people who had achieved their status by
having been born in a wealthy family rather than by merit, and this was considered unjust.
In the United Kingdom and other European countries, such as Spain and Denmark, in which hereditary
titles are still recognised, aristocrat still refers to the descendant of one of approximately
7,000 families with hereditary titles, many still in possession of considerable wealth.
United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, members of the highest
echelon of the aristocracy, the hereditary peers were, until 1999, members of the House
of Lords—the upper house of the legislature, the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
In 1999, most ceased to be members.
However, the Duke of Norfolk, who always serves as Earl Marshal, the hereditary peer who serves
as Lord Great Chamberlain, and a further 90 Representative Hereditary Peers elected by
the Hereditary Peers retained membership.
Since 1958, non-hereditary "life peers" have been created, who are automatically members
of the House of Lords for life with the right to be known by their title.
For example, John Gummer became Lord Deben.
However, life peers are not considered part of the aristocracy, nor are knights, unless
born into an aristocratic or landed gentry family..
Besides the hereditary peers, the landed gentry, consisting of baronets, Scottish barons and
untitled landowning armigerous families are considered part of the aristocracy.
Unlike the Continental untitled nobility, British untitled families that belong to the
gentry have no legal recognition of their aristocratic position.
India In ancient India, starting in the Vedic period,
the Kshatriyas formed the military aristocracy.
Although the Brahmins—priests and interpreters of religious texts—were theoretically the
highest caste, power and prestige rested with the ruling Kshatriya caste.
Indian allochthonous titles Under the rule of the Mughal Empire, the titles
for those under a king were borrowed from Persia.
Most Indian princely families and a large part of the subcontinent's landed aristocracy
of jagirdars, thikanadars and talukdars were of the kshatriya rajput caste, as was the
case for the rulers of the Deccan.
These were often thought of as the Nobility of the Sword.
Zamindar Many landholding families either held legal
or administrative offices, and were sometimes considered the Indian version of the Nobility
of the Robe.
The princes appointed officers, such as dewan and other state level ministers, to run their
administrations, who were considered members of the regional nobility.
Most of these officers were either relatives of the princes who appointed them, or were
themselves substantial landlords under the sovereignty of the Princely States, and most
held hereditary titles.
Sometimes, educated men belonging to the British Imperial Services were also appointed to the
high offices of the Princely States, but their positions were not hereditary and they were
seen as career bureaucrats rather than noblemen by their employer's.
Nowadays, aristocratic titles like Chadha, Bhattacharyya, Goswami, Chaudhary, Sardar,
Zaildar, Jagirdar, Thakur, Nair, Madampi, Varma and Verma are still used in India.
Nigeria
Deriving for the most part from the pre-colonial states that existed in the region that would
become known as Nigeria, the legally-recognised titles of the Nigerian nobility range from
king to the ubiquitous chief.
They give their bearers no political authority in theory, but in practice allow them to serve
as immensely powerful patrons of the country's political leaders due to their control of
popular opinion within its various tribes.
Along with those of their titled relatives and courtiers, they also ensure that they
serve as the guiding forces behind the varied cultural and religious ceremonies that take
place in the country throughout the calendar year.
Titles such as Oba, Amanyanaboh, Mai, Obong, Sarki, Attah and Obi are used by the dynastic
heads, while prince and princess are either used in their English forms or in their native
ones by the cadets of their houses.
Their ministers, meanwhile, tend to be called either chiefs or elders depending on what
their monarchs are themselves called, with chiefs serving under a ruler who is called
a king and elders serving under one called a chief.
See also
References
External links Fake Titles
Heraldica: European Noble, Princely, Royal, and Imperial Titles