Khatun ( ) is a title of the female counterpart to a

khan Khan may refer to: * 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 various ethnicities Art and entertainment * Khan (band), an English progressiv ...

or a

khagan Khagan or Qaghan (Middle Mongol:; or ''Khagan''; ) or zh, c=大汗, p=Dàhán; ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan, Khaqan, Xagahn, Qaghan, Chagan, Қан, or Kha'an is a title of empire, im ...

of the Turkic Khaganates and in the subsequent

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 ...

Etymology and history

Before the advent of

Islam in Central Asia Islam in Central Asia has existed since the beginning of Islamic history. Non-denominational and Sunni branch of Islam is the most widely practiced religion in Central Asia. Shiism of Imami and Ismaili denominations predominating in the Pa ...

, Khatun was the title of the queen of

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

. According to the

Encyclopaedia of Islam The ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' (''EI'') is a reference work that facilitates the Islamic studies, academic study of Islam. It is published by Brill Publishers, Brill and provides information on various aspects of Islam and the Muslim world, Isl ...

, "Khatun sa title of Sogdian origin borne by the wives and female relatives of the

Göktürks The Göktürks (; ), also known as Türks, Celestial Turks or Blue Turks, were a Turkic people in medieval Inner Asia. The Göktürks, under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan (d. 552) and his sons, succeeded the Rouran Khaganate as the main powe ...

and subsequent Turkish rulers." According to Bruno De Nicola in ''Women in Mongol Iran: The Khatuns, 1206–1335'', the linguistic origins of the term "khatun" are unknown, though possibly of Old Turkic or Sogdian origin. De Nicola states that prior to the spread of the Mongols across Central Asia, Khatun meant 'lady' or 'noblewoman' and is found in broad usage in medieval Persian and Arabic texts.

Peter Benjamin Golden Peter Benjamin Golden (born 1941) is an American professor emeritus of History, Turkish and Middle Eastern Studies at Rutgers University. He has written many books and articles on Turkic peoples, Turkic and Central Asian studies, such as ''An int ...

observed that the title ''qatun'' appeared among the

as the title for the

's wife and was borrowed from Sogdian ''xwāten'' "wife of the ruler" Earlier, British Orientalist

Gerard Clauson Sir Gerard Leslie Makins Clauson (28 April 1891 – 1 May 1974) was an English civil servant, businessman, and Orientalist best known for his studies of the Turkic languages. He was born in Malta. The eldest son of Major Sir John Eugene Clauso ...

(1891–1974) defined ''xa:tun'' as "'lady' and the like" and says there is "no reasonable doubt that it is taken from Sogdian ''xwt'yn'' (''xwatēn''), in Sogdian ''xwt'y'' ('lord, ruler') and ''xwt'yn'' 'lord's or ruler's wife'), "which is precisely the meaning of ''xa:tun'' in the early period."

Modern usage

In Uzbek, the language spoken in modern-day Bukhara, in

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

, the word is spelled '' xotin'' and has come to simply refer to any woman. In

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

, it is written ''

hatun Khatun ( ) is a title of the female counterpart to a khan or a khagan of the Turkic Khaganates and in the subsequent Mongol Empire. Etymology and history Before the advent of Islam in Central Asia, Khatun was the title of the queen of Bukhara. ...

.'' The general Turkish word for 'woman', ''

kadın Kadin or Kadın may refer to *KADIN, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry *Kadin (name) *Kadın (title), for an imperial consort of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire *Kadin Island in southeastern Alaska *Kadin Jelovac, a village in Bosnia an ...

'', is a

doublet Doublet is a word derived from the Latin ''duplus'', "twofold, twice as much",