Mubarak Al-Sabah anxiety over possible encroachment by the Great Powers, most notably Britain and Russia into the region due to the construction of the Baghdad Railway. They thought that bestowing the title could dissuade any foreign powers from interfering with Kuwait. "See Anglo-Kuwaiti Agreement of 1899" The long Ottoman indecisiveness in naming Mubarak kaymakam, as well as feelings of vulnerability helped pave the way for Mubarak to pursue British ties. On January 18, 1899 Mubarak signed a secret agreement with Major M.J. Meade, British political resident in Bushire, that guarded Kuwait against any outside foreign aggression. It also required Mubarak and his
Rise of the Ottoman Empire judge ("Kazasker") was created, indicating an increasing level of social stratification between the emerging military-administrative class ("askeri") and the rest of society. Murad I also instituted the practice of appointing particular frontier warriors as "Lords of the Frontier" ("uc begleri"). Such power of appointment indicated that the Ottoman rulers were no longer merely "primus inter pares" but sat at the top of a hierarchy of leadership. As a way of openly declaring this new status, Murad became the first Ottoman ruler to adopt the title of sultan. Beginning at the latest by the 1430s, but most likely earlier, the Ottomans