Durbar (Persian darbar) is an Iranian term meaning the Shah's noble court. It was later used India and Nepal for a ruler's court or feudal levee as the latter came to be ruled and later administered by Persians and Perso-Turcomen rulers. A durbar may be either a feudal state council for administering the affairs of a princely state, or a purely ceremonial gathering, as in the time of the British Empire in India. Persian (Local names: فارسی Fârsi or پارسی Pârsi)* is an Indo-European language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan as well as by minorities in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, India, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... Shah is a Persian term for a monarch (king or emperor) that has been adopted in many other languages. ... A royal or noble court, as an instrument of government broader than a court of justice, comprises an extended household centered on a patron whose rule may govern law or be governed by it. ... A trial at the Old Bailey in London as drawn by Thomas Rowlandson and Augustus Pugin for Ackermanns Microcosm of London (1808-11). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Dike (construction). ... A princely state is any state under the reign of a prince and is thus a principality taken in the broad sense. ... The flag of British India British India, circa 1860 The British Raj (Raj in Hindi meaning Rule; from Sanskrit Rajya) was the British rule between 1858 and 1947 of the Indian Subcontinent, which included the present-day India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Burma (Myanmar), whereby these lands were under the colonial...

State Council

In the former sense, the native rulers of Mughal and colonial India and some neighbouring Hindu or Muslim monarchies, like the amir of Afghanistan, received visitors in audience, conferred honours and conducted business in durbar. The Mughal Empire (Persian: ‎ , Urdu: مغلیہ سلطنت, Hindi: मुग़ल साम्राज्य), self-designation Gurkānī, گوركانى was an empire that at its greatest territorial extent ruled eastern parts of Khorasan (including Afghanistan) and most of the Indian subcontinent, then known as Hindustan, including most of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. ... Emir (also sometimes rendered as Amir or Ameer, Arabic commander) is a title of nobility historically used in Islamic nations of the Middle East and North Africa. ...

A durbar could also be the executive council of a native state. Its membership was dual: at the ceremonies shine the court's grandees (dynasty, wasir, various dignitaries, major jagirdars (vassals)...), but the real political and administrative affairs of state rather rested with an inner circle around the prince, partially overlapping, often known as diwan (originally another word for audience room and council, but in India rather a privy council and chancery). A Vizier (وزير, sometimes also spelled Vizir, Wasir, Wazir, Wesir, Wezir - grammatical vowel changes are common in many oriental languages) is an oriental, originally Persian, term for a high-ranking political (and sometimes religious) advisor or Minister, often to a Muslim monarch such as a Caliph, Amir, Malik (king) or Sultan. ... A Jagir is a small territory granted by a ruler to an army chieftain (called a sardar in Marathi language) in recognition of his military service. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, especially in a monarchy. ... For other uses, see Chancellor (disambiguation). ...

British Empire

In the latter sense, the word has come to be applied to great ceremonial gatherings called the Delhi Durbar in Delhi and elsewhere during the period of the British Raj, held as demonstrations of the loyalty to the crown which also proved vital in various wars in which Britain engaged. Delhi Durbar means Court of Delhi which took place in 1911. ... Delhi   (Hindi: , Urdu: ‎, Punjabi: ) is the second-largest metropolis in India after Mumbai with a population of 13 million. ... The flag of British India British India, circa 1860 The British Raj (Raj in Hindi meaning Rule; from Sanskrit Rajya) was the British rule between 1858 and 1947 of the Indian Subcontinent, which included the present-day India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Burma (Myanmar), whereby these lands were under the colonial...

The practice was started with Lord Lytton's Proclamation Durbar of 1877 celebrating the proclamation of Queen Victoria as the first Empress of India. Durbars continued to be held in later years, with increased ceremony and grandeur than their predecessors. In 1903, for instance, the Coronation Durbar was held in Delhi to celebrate the accession of Edward VII to the British throne and title of Emperor of India. This ceremony was presided over by the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon. Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (May 25, 1803 – January 18, 1873) was an English novelist, playwright, and politician. ... 1877 (MDCCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Victoria Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria) (24 May 1819–22 January 1901) was a Queen of the United Kingdom, reigning from 20 June 1837 until her death. ... Signature of King Edward VIII The R and I after his name indicate king and emperor in Latin (Rex and Imperator, respectively). ... 1900 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of the Commonwealth Realms, and the Emperor of India. ... The Governor-Generals Flag (1885–1947) depicted the Star of India on a Union Flag. ... George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston (January 11, 1859 - March 20, 1925), was a conservative British statesman and sometime Viceroy of India. ...

The practice of the durbar culminated in the magnificent spectacle that was the Delhi Durbar, which was held in December of 1911 to officially crown the newly-enthroned George V and his wife, Queen Mary as Emperor and Empress of India. The King and Queen attended the Durbar in person and wore their Coronation robes, an unprecedented event in both Indian and Imperial history held with unprecedented pomp and glamour, and to this day remain the only British monarchs to visit India during the period of British rule. Practically every ruling prince, nobleman and person of note, attended the ceremonies to pay obeisance to their sovereign, in person. Delhi Durbar means Court of Delhi which took place in 1911. ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 - 20 January 1936) was the first British monarch belonging to the House of Windsor, as a result of his creating it from the British branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. ... Mary of Teck (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes; 26 May 1867 – 24 March 1953) was the Queen Consort of George V. Queen Mary was also the Empress of India and Queen of Ireland. ...

These were perhaps the greatest official shows on earth, parading with great pomp, including elephants, as a dazzling demonstration of the successful British colonial formula of indirect rule: the raj could largely depend on the loyalty of most princely state rulers because of their feudal allegiance to the paramount ruler, a position the British crown (especially since it formally took over from the HEIC) occupied in stead of the toppled Mughal dynasty, as the first durbar consecrated symbolically expressed in the new style of Kaiser of Hind (Emperor of India). Several monuments in India serve as memorials of the King and Queen's visit, most notably the Gateway of India in Mumbai. Indirect rule is a type of European colonial policy as practiced in large parts of British India (see Princely states) and elsewhere in the British Empire (including Malaya), in which the traditional local power structure, or at least part of it, is incorporated into the colonial administrative structure. ... The term Paramount Ruler, or sometimes Paramount King, is a generic description, rarely an actual title, for a number of rulers position in relative terms, as the summit of a feudal-type pyramid of rulers of lesser polities (such as vassal princes) in a given historical and geographical context, often... The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was a joint-stock company of investors, which was granted a Royal Charter by Elizabeth I on December 31, 1600, with the intent to favour trade privileges in India. ... The Gateway of India as seen from the water. ... “Bombay” redirects here. ...

Malaysia

In Malaysian history, Durbar is the Conference of Rulers that begun in 1897. It was a platform for Federated Malay States rulers under British protectorate to discuss issues pertaining state policies. The membership of Durbar increased after the Federation of Malaya was formed in 1948 to encompass other states of Malaya. The Conference of Rulers (also Council of Rulers, Malay: Majlis Raja-Raja) in Malaysia is a group comprising the nine rulers of the Malay states, and the governors or Yang di-Pertua Negeri of the other four states. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The Federated Malay States (FMS) was a federation of four states on the Malay Peninsula - Pahang, Perak, Selangor, and Negeri Sembilan - established by the British government in 1895, and lasted until 1946, when they together with the Straits Settlements and the Unfederated Malay States formed the Malayan Union. ... This article is about states protected and/or dominated by a foreign power. ... The Federation of Malaya, or in Malay Persekutuan Tanah Melayu, was formed in 1948 from the British settlements of Penang and Malacca and the nine Malay states and replaced the Malayan Union. ...

It was further enlarged after modern federal Malaysia was formed in 1963, and became the electoral college for the federal paramount ruler. 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... The term Paramount Ruler, or sometimes Paramount King, is a generic description, rarely an actual title, for a number of rulers position in relative terms, as the summit of a feudal-type pyramid of rulers of lesser polities (such as vassal princes) in a given historical and geographical context, often...

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.