Il Khan (also ''il-khan'', ''ilkhan'', ''elkhan'', etc.), in

Turkic languages The Turkic languages are a language family of more than 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and West Asia. The Turkic langua ...

and Mongolian, is a title of leadership. It combines the title ''khan'' with the prefix ''el/il'', from the word ''ulus'' – 'tribe, clan', 'the people', 'nation', 'homeland', 'state', 'tribal union', etc.

Meaning

The exact meaning depends on context: *Khan of the nation. The earliest mention of a similar title in this meaning, namely "Illig Qaghan", refers to Bumin Qaghan and dates to 552 CE. (In fact, Nikolai Gumilyov transcribes Bumin's title as "ilkhan".) *More recently, the tribal chief that heads both branches of the

Bakhtiari people The Bakhtiari (also spelled Bakhtiyari; Persian language, Persian:بختیاری) are a Lurs, Lur tribe from Iran. They speak the Bakhtiari dialect of the Luri language. Bakhtiaris primarily inhabit Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, Chaharmaha ...

, under whom several ''khans'' operate (20th century CE). In the context of the Hulaguid dynasty, commonly known as the

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...

, the title ''Ilkhan'' was borne by the descendants of Hulagu and later other

Borjigin A Borjigin is a member of the Mongol sub-clan that started with Bodonchar Munkhag of the Kiyat clan. Yesugei's descendants were thus said to be Kiyat-Borjigin. The senior Borjigids provided ruling princes for Mongolia and Inner Mongolia u ...

princes in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, starting from c. 1259-1265. Two interpretations have been proposed: *'submissive', 'peaceable', 'obedient', or 'subservient' khan, or 'polity prince'. Possibly equivalent to Chinese , and to Islamic ''

sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

''. Here the lesser "khanship" intended to indicate the initial deference of Hulagu to

Möngke Khan Möngke Khan (also Möngke Khagan or Möngke; 11 January 120911 August 1259) was the fourth khagan 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 reforms to im ...

and his successor Great Khans of the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in human history, 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 Euro ...

. *Sovereign khan. From ''ilig khan''. It was possibly equivalent to Chinese ('Emperor with a genuine mandate'). It was to be construed as a power over regional affairs, not in opposition to the Great Khan, yet not conferred by him.

In fiction

*In

BattleTech ''BattleTech'' is a wargaming and military science fiction franchise launched by FASA Corporation in 1984, acquired by WizKids in 2001, which was in turn acquired by Topps in 2003; and published since 2007 by Catalyst Game Labs. The trademark ...

, the IlKhan is the highest leader of The Clans.

Meaning

In fiction

See also

References

Further reading