Ras Tarkhan was a
Khazar
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 ...
general of the mid 8th century, sometimes referred to as ''As Tarkhan'', who led an invasion of
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
territories in
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
,
Caucasian Albania and northwestern
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. He defeated the Arabs in the
Battle of Shirvan and ensur the dominance of the Khazar Khanate in the Caucasus, and this battle was the end of the
Khazar-Arab Wars. Scholars have debated over whether Ras
Tarkhan
Tarkhan ( otk, 𐱃𐰺𐰴𐰣, Tarqan, mn, or ; fa, ترخان; ; ar , طرخان; alternative spellings ''Tarkan'', ''Tarkhaan'', ''Tarqan'', ''Tarchan'', ''Turxan'', ''Tarcan'', ''Turgan, Tárkány, Tarján'') is an ancient Central Asia ...
is a name or a title. ''As Tarkhan'', used as a title, would mean "general of the
Alans
The Alans (Latin: ''Alani'') were an ancient and medieval Iranian nomadic pastoral people of the North Caucasus – generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern historians have connected the A ...
", possibly indicating a role as commander of Alan mercenaries or auxiliaries.
According to
Zeki Validi Togan and
Peter Benjamin Golden, Ras Tarkhan came from a clan called
Khatiriltber.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarkhan, Ras
Khazar generals
8th-century people
People of the Arab–Khazar wars