Sultan and king are two designations, which were used before the 19th century to represent the ruler of a country. They are still rarely used in some countries, but are now worn out of honor and respect. With the passage of time, to a certain extent, the real meaning of both terms is not used now. Some leaders and rulers still used these words just as a formality.

Who is the sultan?

Sultan is an Arabic word, which represents the strength and power of an individual who ruled in arbitrated lands as sultanate. Most of the leaders and powerful personality of the Arab countries still used the word sultan for them, although there is no area ruled by them. Now it is used simply as a noble word. The word sultan is a religious word in the sense in which it is used in the Koran, denoting the ruler of the country. It was used in the past in Africa to represent the reign of a ruler in a country. Later it also became popular in the history of the Asian kingdom.

Who is the king?

King or monarchy is the word that represents the government of one or two individuals. It is a kind of autocratic government in which one or two people control all the authority of the state. The concept of a king was most popular in European countries and was later adopted by Asian rulers as well. Until the 19th century it was the most common form of government, but now it is no longer prevalent. There are few countries in the world where the word king is still used for the head of state. The ruler of Saudi Arabia and some states of the United Arab Emirates still used the word king for them.

1. Sultan is a pure Arabic word that was commonly used to represent the ruler of Muslim countries, while King is a general word that was used equally in European, Arab, and Asian countries.
2. Sultan is now a totally impractical term. No modern state is known as a sultanate of a specific sultan or ruler. However, the word king and kingdom is still used in some countries like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ruled by King Abdullah.
3. The sultan ruled a limited land while the king ruled a huge kingdom.
4. Sultan was also used as the name of a person in general and to give honor to the person, whether he was a ruler or not. While the king was used to represent the head of state.