Tumen, or tümen ("unit of ten thousand"; ; , ''tümen''; ), was a

decimal The decimal numeral system (also called the base-ten positional numeral system and denary or decanary) is the standard system for denoting integer and non-integer numbers. It is the extension to non-integer numbers (''decimal fractions'') of th ...

unit of measurement A unit of measurement, or unit of measure, is a definite magnitude (mathematics), magnitude of a quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law, that is used as a standard for measurement of the same kind of quantity. Any other qua ...

used by the Turkic and Mongol peoples to quantify and organize their societies in groups of 10,000. A ''tumen'' denotes an administrative unit of 10,000 households, or a

military unit Military organization ( AE) or military organisation ( BE) is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. Formal military organization tends to use hiera ...

of 10,000 soldiers. English Orientalist Sir Gerard Clauson (1891-1974) defined ''tümän'' as immediately borrowed from Tokharian ''tmān'', which according to Edwin G. Pulleyblank might have been etymologically inherited from

Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese language, Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones ...

''tman'' or .

Magyar military organization of the conquest era

It was thought that the same kind of military organization was used by the

Magyars Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common culture, language and history. They also have a notable presence in former parts of the Kingdom of Hungary. The Hungarian language belongs to the ...

during the conquest of Hungary. According to Ahmad ibn Rustah (c. 930), a Persian explorer and geographer relying on second-hand information, the "Magyars are a race of Turks and their king rides out with horsemen to the number of 10,000 and this king is called Kanda".

Genghis Khan's organization

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...

's military system, a tumen was recursively built from units of 10 (''aravt''), 100 (''zuut'') and 1000 ( mingghan), each with a leader reporting to the next higher level. Tumens were considered a practical size, neither too small for an effective campaign nor too big for efficient transport and supply. The military strategy was based on using tumens as a useful building block for shock assaults. A Mongol army usually consisted of three tumen, but armies consisting of only one tumen were also deployed. Regardless, tumen would often be understrength and the number of tumen deployed doesn't provide an accurate number of combatants. The commander of a tumen was a ''tümen-ü noyan'', a term sometimes translated as "myriarch" (cf. myriad), meaning commander of 10,000.

In modern armies

Tümen is a military unit still used in the Turkish Land Forces, comprising 6000 to 10000 soldiers.

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

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''Turkish Armed Forces''
/ref> Its commander is a ''tümgeneral'' " major general" there and in the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

and a ''tümamiral'' "

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

" in the

Naval Forces A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operati ...

. It is the equivalent of a modern division.

References

{{Mongol Empire Genghis Khan Military units and formations of the Mongol Empire Military units and formations by size Mongolian words and phrases Turkish words and phrases 10000 (number) tr:Tümen

Magyar military organization of the conquest era

Genghis Khan's organization

In modern armies

See also

References