See Also: khan(dictionary)
Aga Khan(encyclopedia)
Aga Khan, the(dictionary)
khan(encyclopedia)
khan(2)(dictionary)
khan(1)(dictionary)
Aga Khan Hospital(health)
Kublai Khan(encyclopedia)
khan (as used in expressions)(encyclopedia)
Genghis Khan(dictionary)

Aga Khan (sh)




Persian agha Khan or aqa Khan

Title of the imams of the Nizari Ismaili sect of Shiite Islam.

The title was first granted in 1818 to ?asan ?Ali Shah (1800-81) by the shah of Iran. As Aga Khan I, he later revolted against Iran (1838) and, defeated, fled to India. His eldest son, ?Ali Shah (d. 1885), was briefly Aga Khan II. ?Ali Shah's son Sultan Sir Mo?ammed Shah (1877-1957) became Aga Khan III. He acquired a leading position among India's Muslims, served as president of the All-India Muslim League, and played an important part in the Round Table conferences on Indian constitutional reform (1930-32); in 1937 he was appointed president of the League of Nations. He chose as his successor his grandson Karim al-?usayn Shah (b. 1937), who, as Aga Khan IV, became a strong leader; he founded the Aga Khan Foundation, an international philanthropic organization, and other agencies offering educational and other services.