Agha

Agha (also spelled Agha, Aga, or Ağa) is a title of honor used for men in Persian, Turkish, and related cultures. The term derives from Persian āqā, meaning master or lord, and is cognate with the Turkish ağa. Historically, the title indicated a person of authority or high social status and functioned as a form of respectful address.

In the Persianate and Ottoman worlds, agas could be administrators, tribal or family leaders, military officers, or household heads. In rural and provincial contexts, particularly in Anatolia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, an agha was often the holder of land who exercised local governance and acted as a protector or benefactor to dependents; the position could be hereditary or conferred by a ruler.

In modern usage, Agha remains a respectful form of address and can function as a surname or given name in Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and parts of the Indian subcontinent. In South Asia, it is commonly used as a polite prefix before a man’s name and has also become a family name in some communities. The compound title Aga Khan, used since the 19th century, designates the hereditary Imam of the Nizari Ismaili Muslims; the current holder is Aga Khan IV.

The term appears in literature and media as a general honorific or in historical contexts. See also ağa, the Turkish form; related titles include Khan, Pasha, and Sheikh.