Padeshah, Padshah, Padishah or
Badishah (, ) is a superlative royal
title, composed of the Persian
pad "master" and the widespread
shah "king", which was adopted by several
monarchs claiming the highest rank, roughly equivalent to the ancient
Persian notion of "
The Great" or "
Great King", and later adopted by post-
Achaemenid and
Christian Emperors. Its
Arabized pronunciation as Badshah was used by Mughal emperors, and Bashah or
Pasha was used by
Ottoman Sultans.