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53-621: It may also be translated as " Khan of Khans", equivalent to King of Kings . In Bulgarian, the title became known as Khan , while in modern Turkic, the title became Khaan with the g sound becoming almost silent or non-existent; the ğ in modern Turkish Kağan is also silent. After the division of the Mongol Empire , monarchs of the Yuan dynasty and the Northern Yuan held the title of Khagan . Kağan, Hakan and Kaan , Turkish equivalents of

106-691: A "full" khan , too. Compare also the rendition of the name of early Bulgarian ruler Pagan as Καμπαγάνος ( Kampaganos ), likely resulting from a misinterpretation of "Kan Pagan", in Patriarch Nicephorus 's so-called Breviarium . In general, however, the inscriptions as well as other sources designate the supreme ruler of Danube Bulgaria with titles that exist in the language in which they are written – archontes , meaning 'commander or magistrate' in Greek , and knyaz , meaning "duke" or "prince" in Slavic . Among

159-822: A common surname. Khan and its female forms occur in many personal names, generally without any nobiliary of political relevance, although it remains a common part of noble names as well. Notably in South Asia it has become a part of many South Asian Muslim names, especially when Pashtun (also known as Afghan ) descent is claimed. It is also used by many Muslim Rajputs of Indian subcontinent who were awarded this surname by Mughals for their bravery. and it's widely used by Baloch and Awan tribes. Chanyu Chanyu ( simplified Chinese : 单于 ; traditional Chinese : 單于 ; pinyin : Chányú ) or Shanyu ( Chinese : 善于 ), short for Chengli Gutu Chanyu ( Chinese : 撐犁孤塗單于 ; pinyin : Chēnglí Gūtu Chányú ),

212-617: A political turmoil. Dayan Khan (1464–1517/1543) once revived the Emperor's authority and recovered its reputation on the Mongolian Plateau , but with the distribution of his empire among his sons and relatives as fiefs it again caused decentralized rule. The last Khagan of the Chahars , Ligdan Khan , died in 1634 while fighting the Jurchen -led Later Jin dynasty . In contemporary Mongolian language

265-556: A serious threat to empires in the Central Plain and Central Asia . One of the earliest notable examples of such principalities in Europe was Danube Bulgaria (presumably also Old Great Bulgaria ), ruled by a khan or a kan at least from the 7th to the 9th century. The title "khan" is not attested directly in inscriptions and texts referring to Bulgar rulers – the only similar title found so far, Kanasubigi , has been found solely in

318-642: A subordinate ruler. In the Seljük Empire , it was the highest noble title, ranking above malik (king) and emir (prince). In the Mongol Empire it signified the ruler of a horde ( ulus ) , while the ruler of all the Mongols was the khagan or great khan. It is a title commonly used to signify the head of a Pashtun tribe or clan. The title subsequently declined in importance. During the Safavid and Qajar dynasty it

371-519: Is of non-Altaic origin, but instead linked to Yeniseian *qεʔ ~ qaʔ "big, great". The origin of qan itself is harder according to Vovin. He says that the origin for the word qan is not found in any reconstructed proto-language and was used widely by Turkic, Mongolic, Chinese and Korean people with variations from kan, qan, han and hwan. A relation exists possibly to the Yeniseian words *qʌ:j or *χʌ:j meaning "ruler". It may be impossible to prove

424-431: Is rendered as Khan of Khans . It was the title of Chinese Emperor Emperor Taizong of Tang ( Heavenly Khagan , reigned 626 to 649) and Genghis Khan 's successors selected to rule the Mongol Empire starting from 1229. Genghis Khan himself was referred as qa'an (khagan) only posthumously. For instance Möngke Khan (reigned 1251–1259) and Ogedei Khan (reigned 1229–1241) would be "Khagans" but not Chagatai Khan , who

477-672: The Book of Han , "the Xiongnu called the Heaven (天) ' Chēnglí ' (撐犁) and they called a child (子) gūtú (孤塗). As for Chányú (單于), it is a "vast [and] great appearance" (廣大之貌).". L. Rogers and Edwin G. Pulleyblank argue that the title chanyu may be equivalent to the later attested title tarkhan , suggesting that the Chinese pronunciation was originally dān-ĥwāĥ , an approximation for *darxan . Linguist Alexander Vovin tentatively proposes

530-771: The Ashina ruling clan of the Göktürks and their dynastic successors among such peoples as the Khazars (cf. the compound military title Khagan Bek ). Minor rulers were rather relegated to the lower title of khan. Both Khagan as such and the Turkish form Hakan, with the specification in Arabic al-Barrayn wa al-Bahrayn (meaning literally "of both lands and both seas"), or rather fully in Ottoman Turkish Hakan ül-Berreyn vel-Bahreyn , were among

583-485: The British Raj , as an honor akin to the ranks of nobility, often for loyalty to the crown. Khan Sahib was another title of honour. In the major Indian Muslim state of Hyderabad , Khan was the lowest of the aristocratic titles bestowed by the ruling Nizam upon Muslim retainers, ranking under Khan Bahadur , Nawab (homonymous with a high Muslim ruler's title), Jang, Daula , Mulk , Umara , Jah . The equivalent for

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636-585: The Eastern Orthodox faith. The title Khan rose to unprecedented prominence with the Mongol Temüjin 's creation of the Mongol empire , the largest contiguous empire in history, which he ruled as Genghis Khan . Before 1229 the title was used to designate leaders of important tribes as well as tribal confederations (the Mongol Empire considered the largest one), and rulers of non-Mongol countries. Shortly before

689-660: The Great Khans . The title Khan of Khans was among numerous titles used by the Sultans of the Ottoman empire as well as the rulers of the Golden Horde and its descendant states. The title Khan was also used in the Seljuk Turk dynasties of the near-east to designate a head of multiple tribes, clans or nations, who was below an Atabeg in rank. Jurchen and Manchu rulers also used

742-553: The Göktürks adopted the title and brought it to the rest of Asia. In the middle of the sixth century the Iranians knew of a "Kagan – King of the Turks". Various Mongolic and Turkic peoples from Central Asia gave the title new prominence after period of the Mongol Empire (1206–1368) in the Old World and later brought the title "khan" into Northern Asia, where locals later adopted it. Khagan

795-919: The Göktürks crushed the Rouran ruling Mongolia, also used this title. The Avars invaded Europe , and for over a century ruled the Carpathian region. Westerners Latinized the title "Khagan" into "Gaganus" (in Historia Francorum ), "Cagan" (in the Annales Fuldenses ), or "Cacano" (in the Historia Langobardorum ). The Secret History of the Mongols , written for that very dynasty, clearly distinguishes Khagan and Khan : only Genghis Khan and his ruling descendants are called Khagan , while other rulers are referred to as Khan . The title "Khagan" or "Khaan" most literally translates to "great/supreme ruler" in

848-576: The Ilkhanate truly recognized the Yuan's overlordship as allies (although it was effectively autonomous). Because Kublai founded the Yuan, the members of the other branches of the Borjigin could take part in the election of a new Khagan as the supporters of one or other of the contestants, but they could not enter the contest as candidates themselves. Later, Yuan emperors made peace with the three western khanates of

901-821: The Safavids , or their successive Afsharid and Qajar dynasties outside their territories of Persia proper. For example, in present Armenia and nearby territories to the left and right, there was the khanate of Erivan (sole incumbent 1807–1827 Hosein Quli Khan Qajar). Diverse khanates existed in Dagestan (now part of Russia), Azerbaijan , including Baku (present capital), Ganja , Jawad , Quba (Kuba), Salyan , Shakki ( Sheki , ruler style Bashchi since 1743) and Shirvan= Shamakha (1748–1786 temporarily split into Khoja Shamakha and Yeni Shamakha ), Talysh (1747–1814); Nakhichevan and (Nagorno) Karabakh . As hinted above,

954-507: The Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289. The Rourans may have been the first people who used the titles khagan and khan for their emperors. However, Russian linguist Alexander Vovin (2007) believes that the term qaγan originated among the Xiongnu people, who were Yeniseian -speaking (according to Vovin), and then it diffused across language families. Subsequently,

1007-606: The Manchu-led Qing dynasty which extended into Inner Asia by the 18th century, their Turkic Muslim subjects (and surrounding Muslim khanates like the Khanate of Kokand ) associated the Qing rulers with this name and commonly referred to the Qing emperors as the "Chinese khagan" ( Khāqān-i Chīn ). In the early 10th century, the Rus' people employed the title of kagan (or qaghan ), reported by

1060-409: The Mongol Empire and were considered as their nominal suzerain. The nominal supremacy, while based on nothing like the same foundations as that of the earlier khagans (such as the continued border clashes among them), did last for a few decades, until the Yuan dynasty collapsed in 1368. After the breakdown of Mongol Empire and the fall of the Yuan dynasty in the mid-14th century, the Mongols turned into

1113-521: The Mongol language, and by extension "sovereign", "monarch", "high king", or "emperor". The title can also be expanded with the addition of "Yekhe" (meaning "great" or "grand") to produce "Yekhe Khagan", meaning "Great Emperor". The Mongol Empire began to split politically with the Toluid Civil War during 1260–1264 and the death of Kublai Khan in 1294, but the term Ikh Khagan (Great Khan, or Emperor)

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1166-551: The Ottoman sultans primacy among Turkish monarchs . Though it was not entirely an imitation of Genghis Khanid doctrine, the Oghuz claim to sovereignty followed the same pattern. Bayezid I advanced this claim against Timur , who denigrated the Ottoman lineage. Emperor Taizong of Tang was crowned Tian Kehan , or "heavenly Khagan" after defeating the Tujue ( Göktürks ). A later letter sent by

1219-572: The Persian geographer Ahmad ibn Rustah , who wrote between 903 and 913. It is believed that the tradition endured in the eleventh century, as the metropolitan bishop of Kiev in the Kievan Rus' , Hilarion of Kiev , calls both grand prince Vladimir I of Kiev (978–1015) and grand prince Yaroslav the Wise (1019–1054) by the title of kagan , while a graffito on the walls of Saint Sophia's Cathedral gives

1272-639: The Prophet of the Lord of the Universe; next followed a series of specifically "regional" titles, starting with Protector of the Holy Cities of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.) "Khagan" is the second title of Safavid and Qajar shahs (kings) of Iran. For example, Agha Muhammad Khan Qajar, Fath Ali Shah and other Qajar shahs used this title. The nickname of Shah Ismail and other Safavid shahs is Kagan-i Suleyman shan (Khagan with

1325-610: The Tang court to the Yenisei Kirghiz Qaghan explained that "the peoples of the northwest" had requested Tang Taizong to become the "Heavenly Qaghan". The Tang dynasty Chinese emperors were recognized as khagans of the Turks at least from 665 to 705; moreover, two appeal letters from the Turkic hybrid rulers, Ashina Qutluγ Ton Tardu in 727, the Yabgu of Tokharistan , and Yina Tudun Qule in 741,

1378-597: The attested Soghdian words xwt'w ‘ruler’ (< * hva-tāvya- ) and xwt'yn ‘wife of the ruler’ (< * hva-tāvyani )". The title was first seen in a speech between 283 and 289, when the Xianbei chief Tuyuhun tried to escape from his younger stepbrother Murong Hui , and began his route from the Liaodong Peninsula to the areas of Ordos Desert . In the speech one of Murong's generals, Yinalou, addressed him as kehan ( Chinese : 可寒 , later Chinese : 可汗 ); some sources suggests that Tuyuhun might also have used

1431-634: The best known Bulgar khans were: Khan Kubrat , founder of Great Bulgaria ; Khan Asparukh , founder of Danubian Bulgaria (today's Bulgaria ); Khan Tervel , who defeated the Arab invaders in 718 Siege of Constantinople (718) , thus stopped the Arab invasion in Southeast Europe; Khan Krum , "the Fearsome". "Khan" was the official title of the ruler until 864 AD, when Knyaz Boris (known also as Tsar Boris I ) adopted

1484-613: The courts Hindu retainers was Rai . In Swat , a Pakistani Frontier State, it was the title of the secular elite, who together with the Mullahs (Muslim clerics), proceeded to elect a new Amir-i-Shariyat in 1914. It seems unclear whether the series of titles known from the Bengal sultanate are merely honorific or perhaps relate to a military hierarchy. Like many titles, the meaning of the term has also extended southwards into South Asian countries, and Central Asian nations, where it has become

1537-512: The death of the Genghis Khan, his sons became khans in different dominions (ulus) and the title apparently became unsuitable for the supreme ruler of the empire, needing a more exalted one. Being under Uighur cultural influence, Mongols adopted the title of khagan starting with Ögedei Khan in 1229. Emperors of the Ming dynasty also used the term Xan to denote brave warriors and rulers. The title Khan

1590-529: The dynasty was mainly structured in eight classes, each being granted an honorary rank title, the fourth of which was Khan, or in this context synonymously Amir, granted to commanders of armed forces, provincial tribal leaders; in descending order. In neighboring Ottoman Turkey and subsequently the Republic of Turkey, the term Khanum was and is still written as Hanım in Turkish / Ottoman Turkish language. The Ottoman title of Hanımefendi (lit translated; lady of

1643-525: The glory of Solomon). Ottoman rulers, after the 14th century, used only two titles "shah" and "khan" until end of the empire. Sultans like Mehmed the Conqueror and Suleiman the Magnificent used the title "Khagan of the two seas". Yazıcıoğlu Ali, in early 15th century, traced Osman 's genealogy to Oghuz Khagan , the mythical ancestors of Western Turks, through his senior grandson of his senior son, so giving

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1696-411: The inscriptions of three consecutive Bulgarian rulers, namely Krum , Omurtag and Malamir (a grandfather, son and grandson). Starting from the compound, non-ruler titles that were attested among Bulgarian noble class such as kavkhan (vicekhan), tarkhan , and boritarkhan , scholars derive the title khan or kan for the early Bulgarian leader – if there was a vicekhan ( kavkhan ) there was probably

1749-536: The king of Tashkent , addressing Emperor Xuanzong of Tang as Tian Kehan during the Umayyad expansion. The name "Chinese khagan" ( Khāqān-i Chīn , "Khagan of China") referring to the ruler of China (i.e. Emperor of China ) as a symbol of power appeared in medieval Turco-Persian literature works like the great 11th-century epic poem Shahnameh , which were circulated widely in Persia , Central Asia , and Xinjiang . During

1802-625: The master ), is also a derivative of this. The titles Khan and Khan Bahadur (from the Altaic root baghatur ), related to the Turkic batyr or batur and Mongolian baatar ("brave, hero"); were also bestowed in feudal India by the Mughals , who although Muslims were of Turkic origin upon Muslims and awarded this title to Hindus generals in army particularly in Gaud or Bengal region during Muslim rulers, and later by

1855-502: The most famous rulers known as Khan : the Mongol imperial dynasty of Genghis Khan (his name was Temüjin, Genghis Khan a never fully understood unique title), and his successors, especially grandson Kublai Khan : the former founded the Mongol Empire and the latter founded the Yuan Dynasty in China . The ruling descendants of the main branch of Genghis Khan's dynasty are referred to as

1908-409: The original behind Turkic qaɣan ~ xaɣan . According to Vovin (2007, 2010) the term comes from qaγan (meaning " emperor " or "supreme ruler") and was later borrowed and used in several languages, especially in Turkic and Mongolic. Turkic and Mongolic (or Para-Mongolic ) origin has been suggested by a number of scholars including Ramstedt , Shiratori, Pulleyblank, Sinor and Doerfer , and

1961-503: The same title to the son of Iaroslav, grand prince Sviatoslav II of Kiev (1073–1076). Khan (title) Khan ( / x ɑː n / ) is a historic Turkic and Mongolic title originating among nomadic tribes in the Central and Eastern Eurasian Steppe to refer to a king. It first appears among the Rouran and then the Göktürks as a variant of khagan (sovereign, emperor) and implied

2014-476: The term is disputed and unknown, possibly a loanword from the Rouran language . A Turkic and Para-Mongolic origin has been suggested by a number of scholars including Ramstedt , Shiratori, Sinor and Doerfer , and was reportedly first used by the Xianbei . Dybo (2007) suggests that the ultimate etymological root of Khagan/Khan comes from the Middle Iranian * hva-kama- 'self-ruler, emperor', following

2067-557: The title Khan ( Han in Manchu ); for example, Nurhaci was called Genggiyen Han. Rulers of the Göktürks , Avars and Khazars used the higher title Kaghan, as rulers of distinct nations. In imperial Persia , Khan (female form Khanum in Persia) was the title of a nobleman, higher than Beg (or bey ) and usually used after the given name. At the Qajar court , precedence for those not belonging to

2120-682: The title Khan was also common in some of the polities of the various – generally Islamic – peoples in the territories of the Mongol Golden Horde and its successor states, which, like the Mongols in general, were commonly called Ta(r)tars by Europeans and Russians, and were all eventually subdued by Muscovia which became the Russian Empire . The most important of these states were: Further east, in Xinjiang flank: The higher, rather imperial title Khaqan (" Khan of Khans ") applies to probably

2173-498: The title after settling at Qinghai Lake in the 3rd century. The Rouran Khaganate (330–555) was the first people to use the titles Khagan and Khan for their emperors, replacing the Chanyu of the Xiongnu , whom Grousset and others assume to be Turkic . The Rourans were stated to be descendants of the Donghu people , who in turn are assumed to be proto-Mongols , Mongolic-speaking , or a "non-Altaic" group. The Avar Khaganate (567–804), who may have included Rouran elements after

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2226-470: The title are common Turkish names in Turkey . The common western rendering as Great Khan (or Grand Khan ), notably in the case of the Mongol Empire , is a translation of Yekhe Khagan ( Great Emperor or Их Хаан ). The term is of unknown origin and possibly a loanword from the Rouran language . Canadian sinologist Edwin G. Pulleyblank (1962) first suggested that a Xiongnu title, transcribed as 護于 ( Old Chinese : * hʷaʔ-hʷaʰ ) might have been

2279-401: The titles in the official full style of the Great Sultan (and later Caliph) of the Ottoman Empire , reflecting the historical legitimation of the dynasty's rule as political successor to various conquered (often Islamised) states. (The title began: Sultan Hân N.N., Padishah , Hünkar , Sovereign of the House of Osman, Sultan of Sultans , Khan of Khans, Commander of the Faithful and Successor of

2332-561: The ultimate origin of the title, but Vovin says: "Thus, it seems to be quite likely that the ultimate source of both qaγan and qan can be traced back to Xiong-nu and Yeniseian". Dybo (2007) suggests that the ultimate etymological root of Khagan comes from the Middle Iranian * hva-kama- ‘self-ruler, emperor’, following the view of Benveniste 1966. Savelyev and Jeong 2020 note that both the etymological root for Khagan and its female equivalent Khatun may be derived from Eastern Iranian languages , specifically from "Early Saka * hvatuñ , cf.

2385-405: The view of Benveniste 1966. Savelyev and Jeong 2020 note that both the etymological root for Khagan/Khan and its female equivalent " khatun " may be derived from Eastern Iranian languages , specifically from "Early Saka * hvatuñ , cf. the attested Soghdian words xwt'w 'ruler' (< * hva-tāvya- ) and xwt'yn 'wife of the ruler' (< * hva-tāvyani )". "Khan" is first encountered as a title in

2438-414: The words "Khaan" and "Khan" have different meanings, while English language usually does not differentiate between them. The title is also used as a generic term for a king or emperor (as эзэн хаан , ezen khaan ), as in " Испанийн хаан Хуан Карлос " ( Ispaniin khaan Khuan Karlos , "king/khaan of Spain Juan Carlos"). The early khagans of the Mongol Empire were: The title became associated with

2491-708: Was also the title of the rulers of various break-away states and principalities later in Persia , e.g. 1747–1808 Khanate of Ardabil (in northwestern Iran east of Sarab and west of the southwest corner of the Caspian Sea-Mazandaran and Gorgan provinces), 1747–1813 Khanate of Khoy (northwestern Iran, north of Lake Urmia, between Tabriz and Lake Van), 1747–1829 Khanate of Maku (in extreme northwestern Iran, northwest of Khoy, and 60 miles south of Yerevan, Armenia), 1747–1790s Khanate of Sarab (northwestern Iran east of Tabriz), 1747 – c.1800 Khanate of Tabriz (capital of Iranian Azerbaijan). There were various small khanates in and near Transcaucasia and Ciscaucasia established by

2544-437: Was not proclaimed ruler of the Mongol Empire by the Kurultai . Originally khans headed only relatively minor tribal entities, generally in or near the vast Mongolian and North Chinese steppe, the scene of an almost endless procession of nomadic people riding out into the history of the neighbouring sedentary regions. Some managed to establish principalities of some importance for a while, as their military might repeatedly proved

2597-459: Was reportedly first used by the Xianbei , as recorded in Book of Song . While Sinor believes qaγan or qapγan is an intensification of qan just as qap-qara is an intensification of qara "black", in Turkic (with the eventual loss of the p ), Shiratori rejects a Turkic etymology, instead supporting a Mongolic origin for both qan and the female form qatun . According to Vovin, the word *qa-qan "great-qan" ( *qa- for "great" or "supreme")

2650-439: Was still used by the emperors of the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), who also took on the title of the Emperor of China . After the fall of the Yuan dynasty, the title continued to be used by monarchs of the Northern Yuan dynasty . Thus, the Yuan is sometimes referred to as the Empire of the Great Khan , coexisting with the other independent Mongol-ruled khanates in the west, including the Chagatai Khanate and Golden Horde . Only

2703-400: Was the title used by the supreme rulers of Inner Asian nomads for eight centuries until superseded by the title " Khagan " in 402 CE. The title was most famously used by the ruling Luandi clan of the Xiongnu during the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE) and Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). It was later also used infrequently by the Chinese as a reference to Tujue leaders. According to

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2756-414: Was the title of an army general high noble rank who ruling a province, and in Mughal India it was a high noble rank restricted to courtiers. After the downfall of the Mughals it was used promiscuously and became a surname . Khan and its female forms occur in many personal names, generally without any nobiliary of political relevance, although it remains a common part of noble names as well. The origin of

2809-400: Was used to designate the greatest rulers of the Jurchens , who, later when known as the Manchus , founded the Qing dynasty . Once more, there would be numerous khanates in the steppe in and around Central Asia, often more of a people than a territorial state, e.g.: While most Afghan principalities were styled emirate, there was a khanate of ethnic Uzbeks in Badakhshan since 1697. Khan

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