Sultan vs. Emperor — What's the Difference?

Sultan (; Arabic: سلطان‎ sulṭān, pronounced [sʊlˈtˤɑːn, solˈtˤɑːn]) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun سلطة sulṭah, meaning "authority" or "power".

An emperor (from Latin: imperator, via Old French: empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother (empress dowager), or a woman who rules in her own right (empress regnant).

A ruler of a Muslim country, especially of the former Ottoman Empire.

A sovereign ruler of an empire

A powerful person

An orange and brown North American butterfly with a swift dodging flight, breeding chiefly on hackberries.

(historical) The holder of a secular office, formally subordinate to, but de facto the power behind the throne of, the caliph.

The male ruler of an empire.

A hereditary ruler in various Muslim states (sultanate), varying from petty principalities (as in Yemen), often vassal of a greater ruler, to independent realms, such as Oman, Brunei, Morocco (until 1956) or an empire such as the Turkish Ottoman Empire.

The emperor butterfly.

A variant of solitaire, played with two decks of cards.

The emperor moth.

A breed of chicken originating in Turkey, kept primarily in gardens for ornamental reasons. See: sultan (chicken)

The emperor penguin.

A ruler, or sovereign, of a Mohammedan state; specifically, the ruler of the Turks; the Padishah, or Grand Seignior; - officially so called.

The male monarch or ruler of an empire.

The ruler of a Muslim country (especially of the former Ottoman Empire)

Any monarch ruling an empire, irrespective of gender, with "empress" contrasting to mean the consort of an emperor.

(political theory) Specifically, the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire; the world-monarch.

(tarot) The fourth trump or major arcana card of the tarot deck.

A large, relatively valuable marble in children's games.

Any fish of the family Lethrinidae.

(entomology) Any of various butterflies of the subfamily Charaxinae.

(entomology) Any of various large dragonflies of the cosmopolitan genus Anax.

An emperor penguin.

The sovereign or supreme monarch of an empire; - a title of dignity superior to that of king; as, the emperor of Germany or of Austria; the emperor or Czar of Russia.

The male ruler of an empire

Red table grape of California

Large moth of temperate forests of Eurasia having heavily scaled transparent wings

Large richly colored butterfly