This paper seeks to look at the origins, employment, and claims associated with the title sāhib-qirān. Occurring throughout the mediaeval to modern period, with special prominence during the early modern, the title underwent various transformations within particular polities and beyond. While any discussion of the sāhib-qirān must give significant place to the life and career of Timur, the title is far older than the Central Asian conqueror. As is shown, roots of the title and its historical background suggest a pre-Islamic Iranian origin, particularly traced in Pahlavi literature.