Editing Shah (section)

==Etymology==
The word descends from [[Old Persian]] ''xšāyaθiya'' 'king', which used to be considered a borrowing from [[Median language|Median]]<ref>[http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~iranian/OldPersian/opcomplete.pdf An introduction to Old Persian] (p. 149). Prods Oktor Skjærvø. Harvard University. 2003.</ref> as it was compared to [[Avestan]] ''xšaθra-'', 'power' and 'command', corresponding to [[Sanskrit]] ''kṣatra-'' (same meaning), from which ''[[Kshatriya|kṣatriya]]-'', 'warrior', is derived. Most recently, the form ''xšāyaθiya'' has been analyzed as a genuine, inherited Persian formation with the meaning 'pertaining to reigning, ruling'. This formation with the 'origin' suffix ''-iya'' is derived from a deverbal abstract noun *''xšāy-aθa-'' 'rule, ruling, ''Herrschaft''{{'}}, from the (Old Persian) verb ''xšāy-'' 'to rule, reign'.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Wörterbuch der altpersischen Königsinschriften|last=Schmitt|first=Rüdiger|publisher=Reichert Verlag|year=2014|isbn=978-3954900176|location=Wiesbaden|pages=286–287}}</ref> The full, [[Old Persian]] title of the [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]] rulers of the First Persian Empire was ''Xšāyaθiya Xšāyaθiyānām'' or (Middle Persian) ''Šâhân Šâh'', 'King of Kings'<ref>Old Persian. Appendices, Glossaries, Indices & Transcriptions. Prods Oktor Skjærvø. Harvard University. 2003.</ref> or 'Emperor'. This title has ancient Near Eastern or Mesopotamian precedents. The earliest attestation of such a title dates back to the Middle Assyrian period as ''šar šarrāni'', in reference to the Assyrian ruler [[Tukulti-Ninurta I]] (1243–1207 BC).