In place of surnames, Muslims in the Empire carried titles such as "Sultan", "Paşa", "Ağa", "Hoca", "Bey", "Hanım", "Efendi", etc.
The sovereigns' main titles were Sultan, Padishah (Emperor) and Khan; which were of various origins such as Arabic, Persian and Turkish or Mongolian.
His full style was the result of a long historical accumulation of titles expressing the empire's rights and claims as successor to the various states it annexed or subdued.
The title sultan (سلطان), originally meaning "authority" or "dominion", used in an ungendered manner to encompass the whole imperial family, men and women, reflected the Ottoman conception of sovereign power as a "family prerogative".
The emperors' formal title consisted of Sultan together with Khan (in Turkish language the word became Han).