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| Khagan | |
| Old Turkic | |
|---|---|
| Latin alphabet: | kaɣan |
| Mongolian | |
| Cyrillic alphabet: | хаан |
| Latin alphabet: | khaan |
| Chinese Characters | |
| Chinese Character: | 可汗 |
| Standard Mandarin Chinese | |
| Hanyu Pinyin : | kèhán |
| Korean | |
| Hangul: | 가한 |
| Revised Romanization: | gahan |
| McCune-Reischauer: | kahan |
Khagan or Great Khan (Old Turkic kaɣan 1; Mongolian: хаган; Chinese: 可汗; pinyin: kèhán; alternatively spelled Chagan, Khaghan, Kagan, Kağan, Qagan, Qaghan), is a title of imperial rank in the Turkic and Mongolian languages equal to the status of emperor and someone who rules a Khaganate (empire, greater than an ordinary Khanate, but often referred to as such in western languages). It may also be translated as Khan of Khans, equivalent to King of Kings. In modern Mongolian, the title became Khaan with the 'g' sound becoming almost silent or non-existent (i.e., a very light voiceless velar fricative); the ğ in modern Turkish Kağan is also silent.
The common western rendering as Great Khan or Grand Khan, notably in the case of the Mongol Empire, is technically not correct, but it has been well established by long-standing convention and is reasonably clear in suggesting paramount status.
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Origin
The title was first seen in a speech between 283 and 289, when the Xianbei chief Murong Tuyuhun tried to escape from his younger stepbrother Murong Hui, and began his route from Liaodong to the areas of Ordos Desert. In the speech one of the Murong's general named Yinalou addressed him as kehan (可寒, later as 可汗), some sources suggests that Tuyuhun might also have used the title after settling at Koko Nor in the 3rd century.2
The first to adopt the title for the state was the nomadic Juan Juan confederacy (4th–6th century AD) or the Xianbei, on China's northern border.
The Avars, who may have included Juan Juan elements after the Göktürks crushed the Juan Juan who ruled Mongolia, also used this title. The Avars invaded Europe, and for over a century ruled the Hungarian region. Westerners Latinized the title "Khagan" into "Gaganus" or Cagan et Iugurro principibus Hunorum.
Mongol Khaghans
The Secret History of the Mongols, written for that very dynasty, clearly distinguishes Khaghan and Khan: only Genghis and his ruling descendants are called Khaghan, while other rulers are referred to as Khan. Over time, though, the distinction became blurred by the large number of rulers who claimed it.
The Khaghans of the Mongol Empire prior to the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty were:
The Mongol Empire became split with the succession war in 1260-1264 and the death of Kublai Khan, but the term Khaghan (Great Khan, or emperor) was still used by the Chingisid rulers of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), who assumed the role of Chinese emperors, and the Northern Yuan.3 Thus, the Yuan is sometimes referred to as the Empire of the Great Khan, coexisting with the virtually independent Mongol khanates in the west, including the Chagatai Khanate, Golden Horde, and the Ilkhanate. Although during the last years of his reign, Temur Khan (r. 1294-1307),4 the second ruler of this empire, made peace with the three western khanates and was recognized as nominal suzerain of the Mongol world in 1304, they each continued their own separate developments.5 Mongolian last Khagan Ligdan of Chahar died in 1634 while fighting the Qing Dynasty founded by the Manchus.
The gh sound in "Khaghan" later weakened and disappeared becoming Khaan in modern Mongolian.
Among Turkic peoples
The title became associated with the Ashina rulers 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.
Interestingly, both Khakhan 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 the titles in the official full style of the Great Sultan (and later Caliph) of the Ottoman Empire (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 the Prophet of the Lord of the Universe; next followed a series of specifical 'regional' titles, starting with Protector of the Holy Cities of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem), reflecting the historical legitimation of the dynasty's rule as political successor to various conquered (often Islamised) states.
Among the Slavs
In the early 10th century, princes of Eastern Slavs employed the title of kagan (or qaghan), reported by the Arab geographer Ibn Rusta writing between 903 and 913. This tradition endured in the eleventh century, as the metropolitan of Russia Hilarion calls both grand prince Vladimir (978–1015) and grand prince Iaroslav (1019–1054) by the title of kagan, while a graffito on the walls of the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Kiev gives the same title to the son of Iaroslav, grand prince Sviatoslav II (1073–1076).
Notes
- ^ Fairbank 1978, p. 367
- ^ Zhou 1985, p. 3-6
- ^ H.Howorth - History of The Mongols - vol:1, Rene Grousset - The Empire of Steppes, D.Pokotilov-History of the Eastern Mongols during the Ming Dynasty from 1368 to 1631
- ^ Most medieval historians such as Rashid al-Din and Alugh Beg Mirza described him as Grand khaan, see: Universal history and The Shajrat ul Atrak
- ^ The Mongol Empire and Its Legacy, p14
Sources and references
- Mark Whittow, The Making of Byzantium, 600–1025, University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, 1996.
- Zhou, Weizhou [1985] (2006). A History of Tuyuhun. Guilin: Guangxi Normal University Press. ISBN 7-5633-6044-1.
- Fairbank, John King. The Cambridge History of China . Cambridge University Press, 1978. web page
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| Politics, organization and daily life | Military campaigns and battles | People | Terms | |||
Notable cities |
Asia
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Prominent military generals |
Titles
Political and military terms |
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| Khagans of the Mongol Empire | ||
|---|---|---|
| Genghis Khan (1206–1227) · Tolui Khan (regent) (1227–1229) · Ögedei Khan (1229–1241) · Töregene Khatun (regent) (1241–1245) · Güyük Khan (1246–1248) · Oghul Qaimish (regent) (1248-1251) · Möngke Khan (1251–1259) · Kublai Khan (partially recognized) (1260–1294)
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- This page was last modified on 20 November 2008, at 01:11.
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