The history of the Arab states has never known kings, kings or emperors, their political system and state structure for many centuries are completely subordinated to the norms and dogmas of the dominant religions, in most states it is Islam.
In Arab countries, the structure of the country is also designated by the name of the ruler.
Caliphs
The very title of Caliph means that this ruler is the representative of both secular and religious government in the country. According to legend, the caliphs were the governors of the prophet Muhammad. Caliph is the title of the ruler of the state in which secular power is inseparable from the religious component.
Currently, the countries of the Arab world have various forms of government.
So, in Qatar in 1970, a constitution was adopted, according to which representatives of the principalities - the emirates, elected from their composition the supreme ruler - the president for a period of five years. The President is the head of state and has all the powers stipulated by the country's constitution.
Sheikhs
The dynasties of the rulers of Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates appeared at a time when tribes were settled in their territories. Over the course of time, the tribes were divided, they chose their own tribal leaders - sheikhs. Sheikhs, who were more influential than the rest of the tribal leaders, strengthened their power, asserting their superiority among the rest of the tribes. This process continued until one of the powerful sheikhs founded a dynasty from his family. This dynasty enjoyed the right of inheritance to govern the tribes. So the current ruler of Bahrain is the hereditary ruler of a dynasty that was founded in the eighteenth century.
Emirs
In all monarchies, a single power is concentrated in the hands of the head of state, in fact, turning this state into a unitary monarchy. It could be the king. As in Morocco and Jordan, the emir is in the United Arab Emirates. However, you need to understand that the title "king" is not Arab, it was introduced by the colonialists and those countries that at one time carried out expansion on the territory of the country, for example, Great Britain in Morocco.
In the United Arab Emirates, since 1971, the emir of the largest emirate of the country, Abu Dhabi, has been the ruler of the state. This title is hereditary for the dynasty of these emirs and is passed down from generation to generation. The current ruler is the Emir - Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. All seven emirates into which the country is divided are independent administrative territories that are subordinate to the supreme ruler of the UAE - the emir.
Ayatollahs
In some Arab countries, where the religious component of state power is strong, the ruler can be called a Muslim religious title, which was awarded to zealous Islamist scholars, such as the Ayatollah or Grand Ayatollah.
Often in the Arab states, the name of the ruler of the state also means the form of government: the sultan is the sultanate; emir - emirate; caliph - caliphate.
