Sultan to as a sultanate ( "). The term is distinct from king ( "), despite both referring to a sovereign ruler. The use of "sultan" is restricted to Muslim countries, where the title carries religious significance, contrasting the more secular "king", which is used in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries. A feminine form of "sultan", used by Westerners, is Sultana or Sultanah and this title has been used legally for some (not all) Muslim women monarchs and sultan's mothers and chief consorts. However, Turkish and Ottoman Turkish also uses "sultan" for imperial lady, as Turkish grammar—which is influenced by Persian
Global Arabic Encyclopedia Global Arabic Encyclopedia The Global Arabic Encyclopedia () is an encyclopedic reference work written in the Arabic language. It is in part a translation of the American "World Book Encyclopedia", edited and expanded to reflect an Arab–Muslim perspective. Its composition and publication were funded by Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. The printed edition first appeared in 1996 (1416 AH) as a 30-volume set with color illustrations. A second, revised edition appeared in 1999 (1419 AH) and in the same year a digitization project was started that resulted in an electronic internet edition in 2004. The encyclopedia contains