Mian (title)

The Mian or miyan is a royal title of the Indian subcontinent, also sometimes used as a surname. Begum or Beygum, is used to describe the wife of a Mian. It is used by several monarchs of Indian states.

In the Mughal Empire, mian indicated a king or a prince under the suzerainty of the Mughal emperor; it is hence roughly equivalent to the title of raja, but could also take the higher meaning of maharaja, in which sense it was used by the Kalhora dynasty of Sindh. It was also conferred by the Mughal emperor Jahangir upon Rajput rulers in the group of northern princely states known as the Indian Hill States.^[1] The title is mentioned by the British in The Golden Book of India^[2] as one of the principal titles used by "Mohammedan Princely States":

Other Mohammadan titles sometimes equivalent in consideration to Nawab, but not always are Wali, Sultan, Shah, Amir, Mir, Mirza, Mian, Khan ; also Sardar and Diwan, which are common to Hindus and Mohammadans.^[3]