And this is why the distinctive practices of non-Arabs, Persians and others, appeared among fighting troops—even in their clothing, methods of warfare, and titles for offices associated with command. Examples include titles formed with dār, such as rikāb-dār, tasht-dār and khān-dār, for in Persian this means “holder” or “keeper.” Thus, when they say jān-dār, jān means “soul” in their language, so jān-dār means “keeper of the soul” or “holder of the soul.” Likewise, rikāb-dār means “holder of the stirrup” or “keeper of the stirrup”: the person who saddles and bridles the horse and attends the rider at his stirrup. Similarly, the keeper of the basin washes clothes and bodies.

They also say bard-dār, meaning the keeper of the threshold: the person entrusted with the emir’s residence, like a gatekeeper or doorkeeper who prevents or permits entry and departure.

Likewise, they use the titles jamdār, silāh-dār, jawkān-dār, bunduq-dār, dawādār, kharandār and ustādār. These designate, respectively, the keeper of the clothes, who looks after them and related matters; those responsible for weapons, the polo mallet, shooting pellets, the inkwell and the treasury; and the official responsible for istidāna—that is, administering the disbursement of money and spending it on necessary food, clothing and other things.

This usage extends to those responsible for food and drink. They say maraq-dār, meaning the person responsible for broth and related matters, and sharāb-dār for the person responsible for drink. They also say mihmāndār, meaning the person responsible for the mihm, just as they say mihmān khānāh, meaning the house of the mihm or mihma, which in their language means a guest: that is, the guesthouse and the person responsible for hospitality.