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
A khaganate or khanate was a polity ruled by a Khan (title), khan, khagan, khatun, or khanum. That political territory was typically found on the Eurasian Steppe and could be equivalent in status to tribe, tribal chiefdom, principality, monarch ...
(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
The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into th ...
, as recorded in
Book of Song
The ''Book of Song'' (''Sòng Shū'') is a historical text of the Liu Song Dynasty of the Southern Dynasties of China. It covers history from 420 to 479, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories, a traditional collection of historical records ...
.
[''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