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Khagan or Qaghan (Mongolian:; or ''Khagan''; otk, 𐰴𐰍𐰣 ), or , tr, Kağan or ; ug, قاغان, Qaghan,
Mongolian Script The classical or traditional Mongolian script, also known as the , was the first Mongolian alphabet, writing system created specifically for the Mongolian language, and was the most widespread until the introduction of Cyrillic script, Cyrillic ...
: ; or ; fa, خاقان ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan, Khaqan, Xagahn, Qaghan, Chagan, Қан, or Kha'an is a title of
imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...
rank in the Turkic, Mongolic and some other languages, equal to the status of
emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, 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 ( ...
and someone who rules a khaganate (empire). The female equivalent is
Khatun Khatun ( Mongolian: хатан; otk, 𐰴𐰍𐰣, katun; ota, خاتون, hatun or قادین ''kadın''; fa, خاتون ''khātūn''; ; hi, ख़ातून ') is a female title of nobility and counterpart to "khan" or " Khagan" promine ...
. It may also be translated as "
Khan Khan may refer to: *Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan *Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name *Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...
of Khans", equivalent to
King of Kings King of Kings; grc-gre, Βασιλεὺς Βασιλέων, Basileùs Basiléōn; hy, արքայից արքա, ark'ayits ark'a; sa, महाराजाधिराज, Mahārājadhirāja; ka, მეფეთ მეფე, ''Mepet mepe'' ...
. 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. Since the division of the Mongol Empire, monarchs of the
Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...
and the Northern Yuan held the title of ''Khagan''. ''Kağan, Hakan'' and ''Kaan'', Turkish equivalents of the title are common
Turkish names A Turkish name consists of an ''ad'' or an ''isim'' (given name; plural ''adlar'' and ''isimler'') and a ''soyadı'' or ''soyisim'' (surname). Turkish names exist in a "full name" format. While there is only one ''soyadı'' (surname) in the full na ...
in
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
. The common western rendering as Great Khan (or ''Grand Khan''), notably in the case of the
Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...
, is a translation of ''Yekhe Khagan'' (''Great Emperor'' or ').


Etymology

The term is of unknown origin and possibly a loanword from the Ruanruan language. Canadian sinologist Edwin G. Pulleyblank (1962) first suggested that a
Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...
title, transcribed as (
Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 12 ...
: *''hʷaʔ-hʷaʰ'') might have been behind Proto-Turkic *''qaɣan'' ~ *''xaɣan''.Vovin, Alexander (2007). "Once again on the etymology of the title ''qaγan''". ''Studia Etymologica Cracoviensia'', vol. 12
online ressource
 According to Vovin (2007, 2010) the term comes from ''qaγan'' (meaning "
emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, 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 ( ...
" or "supreme ruler") and was later borrowed and used in several languages, especially in Turkic and Mongolic. Turkic and
Para-Mongolic Para-Mongolic is a proposed group of languages that is considered to be an extinct sister branch of the Mongolic languages. Para-Mongolic contains certain historically attested extinct languages, among them Khitan and Tuyuhun. Languages The ...
origin has been suggested by a number of scholars including Ramstedt, Shiratori, Pulleyblank, Sinor and Doerfer, and was reportedly first used by the Xianbei, as recorded in Book of Song.''Songshu''
vol. 96
quote: "" translation: "Lou T'u-yü-hun.html"_;"title="Tuyuhun.html"_;"title="he_envoy_of_the_younger_brother_to_Tuyuhun">T'u-yü-hun">Tuyuhun.html"_;"title="he_envoy_of_the_younger_brother_to_Tuyuhun">T'u-yü-hunwas_glad._He_bowed_and_said:_"_"._The_barbarian_words_ch'u_k'o_han_mean_in_the_language_of_ T'u-yü-hun.html"_;"title="Tuyuhun.html"_;"title="he_envoy_of_the_younger_brother_to_Tuyuhun">T'u-yü-hun">Tuyuhun.html"_;"title="he_envoy_of_the_younger_brother_to_Tuyuhun">T'u-yü-hunwas_glad._He_bowed_and_said:_"_"._The_barbarian_words_ch'u_k'o_han_mean_in_the_language_of_Liu_Song_dynasty">Song_ A_song_is_a__musical_composition_intended_to_be_performed_by_the__human_voice._This_is_often_done_at__distinct_and_fixed_pitches_(melodies)_using_patterns_of_sound_and_silence._Songs_contain_various_forms,_such_as_those_including_the_repetiti_...
,_'Be_it_so,_sire_()'."_by_Pulleyblank,_E._G._(1962)_"The_consonantal_system_of_Old_Chinese._Part_II
pdf
_''Asia_Major''_9;_p._261_of_206‒65._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")_is_of_non-Altaic_origin,_but_instead_linked_to_
T'u-yü-hun.html"_;"title="Tuyuhun.html"_;"title="he_envoy_of_the_younger_brother_to_Tuyuhun">T'u-yü-hun">Tuyuhun.html"_;"title="he_envoy_of_the_younger_brother_to_Tuyuhun">T'u-yü-hunwas_glad._He_bowed_and_said:_"_"._The_barbarian_words_ch'u_k'o_han_mean_in_the_language_of_Liu_Song_dynasty">Song_ A_song_is_a__musical_composition_intended_to_be_performed_by_the__human_voice._This_is_often_done_at__distinct_and_fixed_pitches_(melodies)_using_patterns_of_sound_and_silence._Songs_contain_various_forms,_such_as_those_including_the_repetiti_...
,_'Be_it_so,_sire_()'."_by_Pulleyblank,_E._G._(1962)_"The_consonantal_system_of_Old_Chinese._Part_II
pdf
_''Asia_Major''_9;_p._261_of_206‒65._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")_is_of_non-Altaic_origin,_but_instead_linked_to_Yeniseian_languages">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_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_languages.html" "title="Yeniseian_languages.html" ;"title="Liu_Song_dynasty.html" "title="Tuyuhun">T'u-yü-hun.html" ;"title="Tuyuhun.html" ;"title="he envoy of the younger brother to Tuyuhun">T'u-yü-hun">Tuyuhun.html" ;"title="he envoy of the younger brother to Tuyuhun">T'u-yü-hunwas glad. He bowed and said: " ". The barbarian words ch'u k'o han mean in the language of Liu Song dynasty">Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...
, 'Be it so, sire ()'." by Pulleyblank, E. G. (1962) "The consonantal system of Old Chinese. Part II
pdf
''Asia Major'' 9; p. 261 of 206‒65. 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") is of non-Altaic origin, but instead linked to Yeniseian languages">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 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 languages">Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...
 *''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 Khatun ( Mongolian: хатан; otk, 𐰴𐰍𐰣, katun; ota, خاتون, hatun or قادین ''kadın''; fa, خاتون ''khātūn''; ; hi, ख़ातून ') is a female title of nobility and counterpart to "khan" or " Khagan" promine ...
may be derived from Eastern Iranian languages, specifically from "Early Saka language, Saka *''hvatuñ'', cf. the attested Soghdian words ''xwt'w'' ‘ruler’ (< *''hva-tāvya-'') and ''xwt'yn'' ‘wife of the ruler’ (< *''hva-tāvyani'')".


History

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'' (, later ); some sources suggests that Tuyuhun might also have used 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 Chanyu () or Shanyu (), short for Chengli Gutu Chanyu (), 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 rulin ...
of the
Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...
, 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 the
Göktürks The Göktürks, Celestial Turks or Blue Turks ( otk, 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Türük Bodun; ; ) were a nomadic confederation of Turkic peoples in medieval Inner Asia. The Göktürks, under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan (d. 552) a ...
crushed the Rouran ruling Mongolia, also used this title. The Avars invaded
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, 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 ''History of the Lombards'' or the ''History of the Langobards'' ( la, Historia Langobardorum) is the chief work by Paul the Deacon, written in the late 8th century. This incomplete history in six books was written after 787 and at any rate ...
).


Mongol khagans

'' The Secret History of the Mongols'', written for that very dynasty, clearly distinguishes ''Khagan'' and ''Khan'': only
Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; ; xng, Temüjin, script=Latn; ., name=Temujin – August 25, 1227) was the founder and first Great Khan (Emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in history a ...
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 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 The Toluid Civil War was a war of succession fought between Kublai Khan and his younger brother, Ariq Böke, from 1260 to 1264. Möngke Khan died in 1259 with no declared successor, precipitating infighting between members of the Tolui family ...
during 1260–1264 and the death of
Kublai Khan Kublai ; Mongolian script: ; (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder of the Yuan dynasty of China and the fifth khagan-emperor of ...
in 1294, but the term ''Ikh Khagan'' (Great Khan, or Emperor) was still used by the emperors of the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), who also took on the title of the
Emperor of China ''Huangdi'' (), translated into English as Emperor, was the superlative title held by monarchs of China who ruled various imperial regimes in Chinese history. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was considered the Son of Heav ...
. After the fall of the Yuan dynasty, the title continued to be used by monarchs of the
Northern Yuan dynasty The Northern Yuan () was a dynastic regime ruled by the Mongol Borjigin clan based in the Mongolian Plateau. It existed as a rump state after the collapse of the Yuan dynasty in 1368 and lasted until its conquest by the Jurchen-led Later Ji ...
. 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 The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fragmen ...
. Only the
Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm ...
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 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 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 Jurchen may refer to: * Jurchen people, Tungusic people who inhabited the region of Manchuria until the 17th century ** Haixi Jurchens, a grouping of the Jurchens as identified by the Chinese of the Ming Dynasty ** Jianzhou Jurchens, a grouping of ...
-led Later Jin dynasty. In contemporary
Mongolian language Mongolian is the official language of Mongolia and both the most widely spoken and best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residen ...
the words "Khaan" and "Khan" have different meanings, while
English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...
usually does not differentiate between them. The title is also used as a generic term for a king or emperor (as , ), as in "" (, "king/khaan of Spain Juan Carlos"). The early Khagans of the
Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...
were: #
Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; ; xng, Temüjin, script=Latn; ., name=Temujin – August 25, 1227) was the founder and first Great Khan (Emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in history a ...
(1206–1227; 21 years) # Ögedei Khan (1229–1241; 12 years) # Güyük Khan (1246–1248; 2 years) #
Möngke Khan Möngke ( mn, ' / Мөнх '; ; 11 January 1209 – 11 August 1259) was the fourth khagan-emperor of the Mongol Empire, ruling from 1 July 1251, to 11 August 1259. He was the first Khagan from the Toluid line, and made significant reform ...
(1251–1259; 8 years)


Among Turkic peoples

The title became associated with the Ashina ruling clan of the
Göktürks The Göktürks, Celestial Turks or Blue Turks ( otk, 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Türük Bodun; ; ) were a nomadic confederation of Turkic peoples in medieval Inner Asia. The Göktürks, under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan (d. 552) a ...
and their dynastic successors among such peoples as the
Khazars The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...
(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 Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
''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 the titles in the official full style of the Great Sultan (and later Caliph) of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
, 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 Sultan of Sultans is the literal English translation of the Ottoman Turkish royal title ''Sulṭānü's-Selāṭīn''. The title was firstly used by Sultan of Delhi Sultanate in Persian context. As with various other laudatory titles of Semitic ...
, Khan of Khans, Commander of the Faithful and Successor of 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 the glory of Solomon).


Ottoman Empire

Ottoman rulers, after the 14th century, used only two titles "shah" and "khan" until end of the empire. Sultans like
Mehmed the Conqueror Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...
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 the Ottoman sultans primacy among Turkish monarchs. Though it was not entirely an imitation of
Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; ; xng, Temüjin, script=Latn; ., name=Temujin – August 25, 1227) was the founder and first Great Khan (Emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in history a ...
id doctrine, the Oghuz claim to sovereignty followed the same pattern. Bayezid I advanced this claim against
Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kü ...
, who denigrated the Ottoman lineage.


Chinese Khagans

Emperor Taizong of Tang was crowned
Tian Kehan Khan of Heaven or Tian Kehan, Celestial Kha(ga)n, Heavenly Kha(ga)n, Tengri Kha(ga)n (; Old Turkic: 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃𐰴𐰍𐰣‬) was a title addressed to the Emperor Taizong of Tang by various Turkic nomads. It was first mentioned in accounts on ...
, or "heavenly Khagan" after defeating the Tujue (
Göktürks The Göktürks, Celestial Turks or Blue Turks ( otk, 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Türük Bodun; ; ) were a nomadic confederation of Turkic peoples in medieval Inner Asia. The Göktürks, under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan (d. 552) a ...
). A later letter sent by the Tang court to the
Yenisei Kirghiz The Yenisei Kyrgyz ( otk, 𐰶𐰃𐰺𐰴𐰕:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Qyrqyz bodun), were an ancient Turkic people who dwelled along the upper Yenisei River in the southern portion of the Minusinsk Depression from the 3rd century BCE to the 13t ...
Qaghan explained that "the peoples of the northwest" had requested Tang Taizong to become the "Heavenly Qaghan". The
Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
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, the king of Tashkent, addressing
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (; 8 September 685 – 3 May 762), personal name Li Longji, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756 CE. His reign of 44 years was the longest during the Tang dynasty. In the early ...
as Tian Kehan during the
Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
expansion.Xue, pp. 674–675.


Among the Slavs

In the early 10th century, the Rus' people employed the title of ''kagan'' (or ''qaghan''), reported by 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 In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis. Originally, the term referred to the ...
of Kiev in the
Kievan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas o ...
, 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 the same title to the son of Iaroslav, grand prince Sviatoslav II of Kiev (1073–1076).


See also


Notes


References


Citations


Sources

* Fairbank, John King. ''The Cambridge History of China ''.
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pr ...
, 1978.
''web page''
* Grousset, René. (1970). ''The Empire of the Steppes: a History of Central Asia''. Translated by Naomi Walford. Rutgers University Press. New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.A.Third Paperback printing, 1991. (casebound); (pbk). * Whittow, Mark. ''The Making of Byzantium, 600–1025'', University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, 1996. * Xue, Zongzheng (1992). ''A History of Turks''. Beijing: Chinese Social Sciences Press. . * Zhou, Weizhou 985(2006). ''A History of Tuyuhun''. Guilin: Guangxi Normal University Press. .


Further reading

* {{cite encyclopedia , title = Khagan , last = de la Vaissière , first = Étienne , author-link = Étienne de la Vaissière , url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/khagan , encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia Iranica , year = 2017 Titles Ottoman titles Heads of state Khazar titles Royal titles Noble titles Lists of khans Titles of national or ethnic leadership Mongolian nobility Chinese royal titles Titles of the Göktürks