Khagan

2025-11-03T14:14:01Z

213.130.93.191: /* Etymology */ The reference to Benveniste is a blunder. He does not offer any such etymology as the text claimed.

{{short description|Imperial title of Mongolic and Turkic societies}}
{{redirect|Mongol emperor|emperors of the [[Mughals]]|Mughal emperors}}
{{for-multi|people bearing the title|Qaghan (disambiguation){{!}}Qaghan|personal names|Hakan|and|Ibn Khaqan (disambiguation)}}

<div style="float: right; padding-left: 1em;">
{| class="wikitable wikitable mw-collapsible autocollapse"
|style="background: #cbe; min-width:18.5em" colspan=2 align="center"|<big>'''''Khagan'''''</big>
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Rouran language|Rouran]]
|-
| [[Brahmi Script]]:|| {{Script|Brah|𑀓𑀕𑀦𑁆}}
|-
| Transliteration:|| Kagan
|-
| Transcription (Vovin):|| {{IPA|qaɣan}}
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Mongolian language|Mongolian]]
|-
| [[Mongolian Script]]:|| {{MongolUnicode|ᠬᠠᠭᠠᠨ}}
|-
| [[ʼPhags-pa script]]:|| {{Phagspa|v|ꡢꡖꡋ}}
|-
| Transliteration:|| Qagan, Xagan
|-
| [[Cyrillic script]]:|| Хаан / Хаган
|-
| Transliteration:|| Khaan / Khagan
|-
! colspan="2"|[[Yeniseian languages|Yeniseian]]
|-
| [[Latin alphabet]]:|| Qaγan
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Hindustani language|Hindustani]]
|-
|[[Devanagari]]: ([[Hindi]])
|ख़ागान्
|-
|[[Devanagari transliteration|Transliteration]]:
|K͟Hāgān
|-
|[[Nastaliq|Nasta'liq]]: ([[Urdu]])
|خاقان
|-
|[[Roman Urdu|Transliteration]]:
|K͟Hāqān
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Bengali language|Bengali]]
|-
|[[Bengali script|Bengali]]:
|খাকান / খাগান
|-
|[[ISO 15919|Transliteration]]:
|khākān / khāgān
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]
|-
|[[Gurmukhi|Gurumukhi]]:
|ਖ਼ਾਗਾਨ੍
|-
|[[ISO 15919|Transliteration]]:
|K͟Hāgān
|-
|[[Shahmukhi]]:
|خاقان
|-
|[[Roman Urdu|Transliteration]]:
|K͟Hāqān
|-
! colspan="2"|[[Old Turkic language|Old Turkic]]
|-
| [[Latin alphabet]]:|| Qağan / Kaɣan
|-
| [[Old Turkic alphabet|Old Turkic]]:|| {{OldTurkicUnicode|𐰴𐰍𐰣|qaγan}}
|-
! colspan="2"|[[Turkish language|Turkish]]
|-
| [[Anatolian Turkish language]]:|| Kağan, Kaan, Hakan
|-
| [[Ottoman Turkish language]] / [[Latin alphabet]] [[transliteration]]:|| خاقان / Ḫākan
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]]
|-
| [[Latin alphabet]]:|| Xaqan
|-
! colspan="2"|[[Kazakh language|Kazakh]]
|-
| [[Cyrillic script]]:|| Қаған
|-
| [[Latin alphabet]]:|| Qağan
|-
! colspan="2"|[[Kyrgyz language|Kyrgyz]]
|-
| [[Cyrillic script]]:|| Каган
|-
| Pronunciation:|| [qɑˈʁɑn]
|-
! colspan="2"|[[Russian language|Russian]], [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]]
|-
| [[Cyrillic script]]:|| Каган
|-
| [[Latin alphabet]]:|| Kagan
|-
! colspan="2"|[[Hungarian language|Hungarian]]
|-
| [[Latin alphabet]]:|| Kagán
|-
! colspan="2"|[[Chinese language|Chinese]]
|-
| [[Traditional Chinese characters|Traditional Chinese]]:|| <big>可汗</big>
|-
| [[Simplified Chinese characters|Simplified Chinese]]:|| <big>可汗</big>
|-
| [[Pinyin|Hanyu Pinyin]]:|| Kèhán
|-
! colspan="2"|[[Persian language|Persian]]
|-
| [[Persian alphabet]]:|| خاقان
|-
| [[Latin alphabet]]:|| Khāghān
|-
! colspan="2"|[[Korean language|Korean]]
|-
| [[Hangul]]:|| {{lang|ko|가한}}
|-
| [[Hanja]]:|| {{lang|ko|可汗}}
|-
| [[Revised Romanization of Korean|Revised Romanization]]: || Gahan
|-
| [[McCune–Reischauer]]: || Kahan
|-
! colspan="2"|[[Uyghur language|Uyghur]]
|-
|[[Uyghur language|Uyghur]]
|قاغان
|-
|[[Uyghur Latin alphabet|Uyghur latin]]
|Qaghan
|}
</div>
'''Khagan''' or '''Qaghan''' ([[Middle Mongol]]:{{MongolUnicode|ᠬᠠᠭᠠᠨ|lang=mn|font-size=1em|style=middle}}; {{Transliteration|mn|Khaan}} or ''Khagan''; {{langx|otk|𐰴𐰍𐰣}} {{Transliteration|otk|Kaɣan}}){{efn|Also {{langx|ota|خاقان|Ḫākan}}, or {{lang|ota|خان}} {{Transliteration|ota|Ḫān}}, {{langx|tr|Kağan}} or {{lang|tr|Hakan}}; {{langx|ug|قاغان|Qaghan}}, [[Mongolian Script]]: {{MongolUnicode|ᠬᠠᠭᠠᠨ|Qaγan}}; {{lang-zh|c=可汗|p=Kèhán}} or {{lang-zh|c=大汗|p=Dàhán}}; {{langx|fa|خاقان}} ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled '''Kağan''', '''Kagan''', '''Khaghan''', '''Kaghan''', '''Khakan''', '''Khakhan''', '''Khaqan''', '''Xagahn''', '''Qaghan''', '''Chagan''', '''Қан''', or '''Kha'an'''}} is a title of [[empire|imperial]] rank in [[Turkic languages|Turkic]], [[Mongolic languages|Mongolic]], and some other languages, equal to the status of [[emperor]] and someone who rules a [[khaganate]] (empire).{{sfn|Allsen|1994|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=iN9Tdfdap5MC&pg=PA367 367]}} The female equivalent is [[Khatun]].

It may also be translated as "[[Khan (title)|Khan]] of Khans",<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |author= |article=Khan |article-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zQhDAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA203 |volume=21 |page=203 |encyclopedia=Alden's manifold cyclopedia of knowledge and language |date=1890 |publication-place=New York City |publisher=John B. Alden |language=en}}</ref> equivalent to [[King of Kings]]. In Bulgarian, the title became known as ''Khan'',{{efn|As in the ''[[Nominalia of the Bulgarian Khans]]'', {{lang|bg|Именник на българските ханове}}.}}{{clarify|reason=Khan is a title in its own right|date=January 2025}} while in modern Turkic, the title became ''Khaan'' with the ''g'' sound becoming almost silent{{efn|i.e. a very light [[voiceless velar fricative]]}} or non-existent; the ''ğ'' in modern [[Turkish language|Turkish]] ''Kağan'' is also silent. After the [[division of the Mongol Empire]], monarchs of the [[Yuan dynasty]] and the [[Northern Yuan]] held the title of ''Khagan''. ''Kağan, Hakan'' and ''Kaan'', [[Turkish language|Turkish]] equivalents of the title are common [[Turkish names]] in [[Turkey]].

The common western rendering as '''Great Khan''' (or ''Grand Khan''), notably in the case of the [[Mongol Empire]], is a translation of ''Yekhe Khagan'' (''Great Emperor'' or ''{{lang|mn|Их Хаан}}'').

== Etymology ==
The term is of unknown origin and might be a loanword from the [[Rouran language]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Vovin |first=Alexander |date=2011 |chapter=Once again on the Ruan-ruan language |language=en |pages=27–36 |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/1804244 |editor-last=Ölmez |editor-first=Mehmet |title=From Ötüken to İstanbul, 1290 years of Turkish (720-2010) |publication-place=Istanbul |publisher=[[Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality]] |isbn=978-605-5592-73-8}}</ref> Canadian sinologist [[Edwin G. Pulleyblank]] first suggested that a [[Xiongnu]] title, transcribed as {{lang|zh|護于}} ([[Old Chinese]]: *''hʷaʔ-hʷaʰ'') might have been the original behind [[Turkic languages|Turkic]] ''qaɣan'' ~ ''xaɣan''.<ref name=Vovin_2007>{{cite journal |last=Vovin |first=Alexander |date=2007 |title=Once again on the etymology of the title ''qaγan'' |journal=Studia Etymologica Cracoviensia |volume=12 |issn=1427-8219 |s2cid=221160500 |id={{CORE output|229243025}} |url=https://bibliotekanauki.pl/articles/700080.pdf }}</ref>{{sfn|Pulleyblank|1962}} According to [[Alexander Vovin]] the term comes from ''qaγan'' (meaning "[[emperor]]" or "supreme ruler") and was later borrowed and used in several languages, especially in Mongolic.{{sfn|Vovin|2007}}{{sfn|Vovin|2011}}

[[Turkic languages|Turkic]] and [[Mongolic languages|Mongolic]] (or [[Para-Mongolic]]) origin has been suggested by a number of scholars including [[Gustaf John Ramstedt|Ramstedt]], Shiratori, Pulleyblank, [[Denis Sinor|Sinor]] and [[Gerhard Doerfer|Doerfer]], and was reportedly first used by the [[Xianbei]], as recorded in [[Book of Song]].<ref name="songshu96">{{cite book |author=[[Shen Yue]] |date=493 |title=宋書 |language=zh |trans-title=[[Book of Song]] |volume=[[s:zh:宋書/卷96|96]]}} quote: "{{lang|zh|樓喜拜曰：「處可寒。」虜言「處可寒」，宋言爾官家也。}}" translation: "Lou [the envoy of the younger brother to [[Tuyuhun|T'u-yü-hun]]] was glad. He bowed and said: "{{Transliteration|zh|Chu k'o han}} {{lang|zh|處可寒}}". The barbarian words ch'u k'o han mean in the language of [[Liu Song dynasty|Song]], 'Be it so, sire ({{lang|zh|爾官家}})'." by {{cite journal |last=Pulleyblank |first=Edwin G. |date=1962 |title=The consonantal system of Old Chinese. Part II |url=https://www2.ihp.sinica.edu.tw/file/1114AUnNESH.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216234812/http://www2.ihp.sinica.edu.tw/file/1114AUnNESH.pdf |archive-date=2014-12-16 |journal=Asia Major |volume=9 |pages=206‒265, at p. 261}}</ref> While Sinor believes ''qaγan'' or ''qapγan'' is an intensification of ''qan'' just as ''qap-qara'' is an intensification of ''qara'' "black", in Turkic (with the eventual loss of the ''p''), Shiratori rejects a Turkic etymology, instead supporting a Mongolic origin for both ''qan'' and the female form ''qatun''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Shiratori |first=Kurakichi |date=1926 |title=On the Titles KHAN and KAGHAN |journal=Proceedings of the Imperial Academy |language=en |volume=2 |issue=6 |pages=241–244 |doi=10.2183/pjab1912.2.241 |issn=0369-9846 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Krader |first=Lawrence |date=1955 |title=Qan-qaγan and the beginnings of Mongol kingship |journal=Central Asiatic Journal |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=17–35 |issn=0008-9192 |jstor=41926298}}</ref>

According to Vovin, the word ''*qa-qan'' "great-qan" (''*qa-'' for "great" or "supreme") is of non-Altaic origin, but instead linked to [[Yeniseian languages|Yeniseian]] ''*qεʔ ~ qaʔ'' "big, great". The origin of ''qan'' itself is harder according to Vovin. He says that the origin for the word ''qan'' is not found in any reconstructed proto-language and was used widely by Turkic, Mongolic, Chinese and Korean people with variations from ''kan, qan, han and hwan.'' A relation exists possibly to the Yeniseian words ''*qʌ:j'' or ''*χʌ:j'' meaning "ruler".

It may be impossible to prove the ultimate origin of the title, but Vovin says: "Thus, it seems to be quite likely that the ultimate source of both ''qaγan'' and ''qan'' can be traced back to Xiong-nu and Yeniseian".<ref name=Vovin_2007 />

{{harvtxt|Dybo|2007}} suggests that the ultimate etymological root of Khagan comes from the Middle [[Iranian languages|Iranian]] *''hva-kama-'' ‘self-ruler, emperor’. {{harvtxt|Savelyev|Jeong|2020}} note that both the etymological root for Khagan and its female equivalent [[Khatun]] may be derived from [[Eastern Iranian languages]], specifically from "Early [[Saka language|Saka]] *''hvatuñ'', cf. the attested Soghdian words ''xwt'w'' ‘ruler’ (< *''hva-tāvya-'') and ''xwt'yn'' ‘wife of the ruler’ (< *''hva-tāvyani'')".<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Savelyev |first1=Alexander |last2=Jeong |first2=Choongwon |date=2020 |title=Early nomads of the Eastern Steppe and their tentative connections in the West |journal=Evolutionary Human Sciences |language=en |volume=2 |article-number=e20 |doi=10.1017/ehs.2020.18 |pmid=35663512 |pmc=7612788 |hdl=21.11116/0000-0007-772B-4 |s2cid=218935871 |issn=2513-843X |quote=but their ultimate origins may lie outside the Turkic family, as is most likely the case for the title of khagan (χαγάνος, chaganus) < ? Middle Iranian *hva-kama- ‘self-ruler, emperor’ {{harv|Dybo|2007|pp=119–120}}. Following {{harvtxt|Benveniste|1966}}, {{harvtxt|Dybo|2007|pp=106–107}} considers Turkic *χatun ‘king's wife’ a word of ultimate Eastern Iranian origin, borrowed presumably from Early Saka *hvatuñ, cf. the attested Soghdian words xwt'w ‘ruler’ (< *hva-tāvya-) and xwt'yn ‘wife of the ruler’ (< *hva-tāvyani).}}</ref>

== History ==
The title was first seen in a speech between 283 and 289, when the [[Xianbei]] chief [[Tuyuhun]] tried to escape from his younger stepbrother [[Murong Hui]], and began his route from the [[Liaodong Peninsula]] to the areas of [[Ordos Desert]]. In the speech one of Murong's generals, Yinalou, addressed him as ''kehan'' ({{lang-zh|c=可寒}}, later {{lang-zh|c=可汗}}); some sources suggests that Tuyuhun might also have used the title after settling at [[Qinghai Lake]] in the 3rd century.<ref name="songshu96" />{{sfn|Zhou|2006|pp=3–6}}

The [[Rouran Khaganate]] (330–555) was the first people to use the titles Khagan and Khan for their emperors, replacing the [[Chanyu]] of the [[Xiongnu]], whom Grousset and others assume to be [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]].{{sfn|Grousset|1970|pp=61, 585, n. 92}} The Rourans were stated to be descendants of the [[Donghu people]],<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Wei Shou]] |date=554 |title=魏書 |language=zh |trans-title=[[Book of Wei]] |volume=[[:s:zh:魏書/卷103#蠕蠕|103]] |quote=蠕蠕，東胡之苗裔也，姓郁久閭氏 [Rúrú, offsprings of Dōnghú, surnamed Yùjiŭlǘ]}}</ref> who in turn are assumed to be [[proto-Mongols]],<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pulleyblank |first=Edwin G. |date=2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171118181857/http://www.dartmouth.edu/~earlychina/docs/2008/ec25_pulleyblank.pdf |title=Ji 姬 and Jiang 姜: The role of exogamic clans in the organization of the Zhou polity |journal=Early China |page=20 |url=http://www.dartmouth.edu/~earlychina/docs/2008/ec25_pulleyblank.pdf |archive-date=18 November 2017}}</ref> [[Mongolic languages|Mongolic-speaking]],<ref name="Vovin 2019 162–197">{{cite journal |last=Vovin |first=Alexander |author-link=Alexander Vovin |title=A Sketch of the Earliest Mongolic Language: the Brāhmī Bugut and Khüis Tolgoi Inscriptions |url=https://www.academia.edu/39716045 |year=2019 |journal=International Journal of Eurasian Linguistics |language=en |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=162–197 |issn=2589-8825 |doi=10.1163/25898833-12340008 |s2cid=198833565}}</ref> or a "non-Altaic" group.<ref>Art, Iranian-Bulletin of the Asia Institute, volume 17, p. 122</ref><ref>Nihon Gakushiin-Proceedings of the Japan Academy, volume 2, p. 241</ref><ref>Teikoku Gakushiin (Japan) – Proceedings of the Imperial Academy, volume 2, p. 241</ref>

The [[Avar Khaganate]] (567–804), who may have included Rouran elements after the [[Göktürks]] crushed the Rouran ruling Mongolia, also used this title. The [[Pannonian Avars|Avars]] invaded [[Europe]], and for over a century ruled the Carpathian region. Westerners Latinized the title "Khagan" into "Gaganus" (in [[Historia Francorum]]), "Cagan" (in the [[Annales Fuldenses]]), or "Cacano" (in the [[Historia Langobardorum]]).

== Mongol khagans ==
{{Main list|List of Mongol rulers}}
[[File:Emperoryuandinastycollage.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|8 of 15 khagans of the [[Mongol Empire]] (Yuan-era pictures)]]
{{Royal and noble ranks in Iran, Turkey, Caucasus, the Indian subcontinent, Afghanistan}}

''[[The Secret History of the Mongols]]'', written for that very dynasty, clearly distinguishes ''Khagan'' and ''Khan'': only [[Genghis Khan]] and his ruling descendants are called ''Khagan'', while other rulers are referred to as ''Khan''.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}} The title "Khagan" or "Khaan" most literally translates to "great/supreme ruler" in the Mongol language, and by extension "sovereign", "monarch", "high king", or "emperor". The title can also be expanded with the addition of "Yekhe" (meaning "great" or "grand") to produce "Yekhe Khagan", meaning "Great Emperor".{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

The Mongol Empire began to [[Division of the Mongol Empire|split politically]] with the [[Toluid Civil War]] during 1260–1264 and the death of [[Kublai Khan]] in 1294, but the term ''Ikh Khagan'' (Great Khan, or Emperor) was still used by the [[List of emperors of the Yuan dynasty|emperors of the Yuan dynasty]] (1271–1368), who also took on the title of the [[Emperor of China]]. After the fall of the Yuan dynasty, the title continued to be used by monarchs of the [[Northern Yuan]] dynasty.<ref>H. Howorth. ''History of The Mongols'', Volume 1</ref>{{sfn|Grousset|1970}}<ref>D. Pokotilov. ''History of the Eastern Mongols during the Ming Dynasty from 1368 to 1631''</ref>

Thus, the Yuan is sometimes referred to as the ''Empire of the Great Khan'', coexisting with the other independent Mongol-ruled khanates in the west, including the [[Chagatai Khanate]] and [[Golden Horde]]. Only the [[Ilkhanate]] truly recognized the Yuan's overlordship as allies (although it was effectively autonomous). Because Kublai founded the Yuan, the members of the other branches of the [[Borjigin]] could take part in the election of a new Khagan as the supporters of one or other of the contestants, but they could not enter the contest as candidates themselves.{{sfn|Hsiao|1994|p=493}}

Later,{{efn|Beginning in the last years (1304) of [[Temür Khan]], grandson of Kublai; 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}} Yuan emperors made peace with the three western khanates of the Mongol Empire and were considered as their nominal suzerain.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jackson |first=Peter |date=1999 |chapter=From ''Ulus'' to Khanate: The making of the Mongol states c. 1220–c. 1290 |doi=10.1163/9789004492738_008 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OqflvIsBT_4C&pg=PA14 |editor-last1=Amitai-Preiss |editor-first1=Reuven |editor-last2=Morgan |editor-first2=David Orrin |title=The Mongol empire & its legacy |publication-place=Leiden |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-11048-9 |oclc=38930494 |issn=0929-2403 |pages=12-38, at p. 14}} Reprinted as {{cite book |last=Jackson |first=Peter |author-mask=0 |chapter=From ''Ulus'' to Khanate: The making of the Mongol states c. 1220–c. 1290 |pages=229–248 |chapter-url=https://dlib.scu.ac.ir/bitstream/Hannan/267594/1/9789004216358.pdf#page=243 |editor-last1=Sneath |editor-first1=David |editor-last2=Kaplonski |editor-first2=Christopher |title=The history of Mongolia |volume=1 |publisher=[[Global Oriental]] |publication-place=Folkestone, UK |date=1 May 2010 |isbn=978-1-905246-36-6 |doi=10.1163/9789004216358_012}}</ref> The nominal supremacy, while based on nothing like the same foundations as that of the earlier khagans (such as the continued border clashes among them), did last for a few decades, until the Yuan dynasty collapsed in 1368.{{efn|During this period the Mongol emperors of the Yuan held the (nominal) title of Great Khan of all Mongol Khanates (of the Mongol Empire), of which the three western Mongol khanates still showed their respect in several cases. For example, the Ilkhans' coins carried the Khagan's name up until the early 14th century. It was also once said that Khagan is "the blessing of the creator" at the court of the Golden Horde during the reign of [[Ozbek Khan]] (1313–1341).}}

After the breakdown of Mongol Empire and the fall of the Yuan dynasty in the mid-14th century, the Mongols turned into a political turmoil. [[Dayan Khan]] (1464–1517/1543) once revived the Emperor's authority and recovered its reputation on the [[Mongolian Plateau]], but with the distribution of his empire among his sons and relatives as fiefs it again caused decentralized rule. The last Khagan of the [[Chahars]], [[Ligdan Khan]], died in 1634 while fighting the [[Jurchen people|Jurchen]]-led [[Later Jin (1616–1636)|Later Jin dynasty]]. In contemporary [[Mongolian language]] the words "Khaan" and "Khan" have different meanings, while [[English language]] usually does not differentiate between them. The title is also used as a generic term for a king or emperor (as {{lang|mn-Cyrl|эзэн хаан}}, {{Transliteration|mn|ezen khaan}}), as in "{{lang|mn-Cyrl|Испанийн хаан Хуан Карлос}}" ({{Transliteration|mn|Ispaniin khaan Khuan Karlos}}, "king/khaan of Spain Juan Carlos").{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

The early khagans of the [[Mongol Empire]] were:
# [[Genghis Khan]] (1206–1227; 21 years)
# [[Ögedei Khan]] (1229–1241; 12 years)
# [[Güyük Khan]] (1246–1248; 2 years)
# [[Möngke Khan]] (1251–1259; 8 years)

== Among Turkic peoples ==
{{See also|Göktürk family tree}}
The title became associated with the [[Ashina tribe|Ashina]] ruling clan 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.

Both Khagan as such and the [[Turkish language|Turkish]] form Hakan, with the specification in [[Arabic language|Arabic]] ''al-Barrayn wa al-Bahrayn'' (meaning literally "of both lands and both seas"), or rather fully in [[Ottoman Turkish language|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]], reflecting the historical legitimation of the dynasty's rule as political successor to various conquered (often Islamised) states. (The title began: 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 specifically "regional" titles, starting with Protector of the Holy Cities of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.)

"Khagan" is the second title of [[Safavid dynasty|Safavid]] and [[Qajar dynasty|Qajar]] shahs (kings) of Iran. For example, Agha Muhammad Khan Qajar, Fath Ali Shah and other Qajar shahs used this title. The nickname of Shah Ismail and other Safavid shahs is ''Kagan-i Suleyman shan'' (Khagan with the glory of Solomon).

=== Ottoman Empire ===
{{See also|Kut (mythology)#Usage by Ottomans|List of Ottoman titles and appellations}}
Ottoman rulers, after the 14th century, used only two titles "shah" and "khan" until end of the empire.<ref>Hüseyin Yılmaz, (2018), ''Caliphate Redefined: The Mystical Turn in Ottoman Political Thought'', p. 124</ref> Sultans like [[Mehmed the Conqueror]] and [[Suleiman the Magnificent]] used the title "Khagan of the two seas".<ref>Cihan Yüksel Muslu, (2014), The Ottomans and the Mamluks: Imperial Diplomacy and Warfare in the Islamic World, p. 118</ref><ref>[[Evliya Çelebi]], ''Narrative of Travels in Europe, Asia, and Africa in the Seventeenth Century'', p. 19</ref> Yazıcıoğlu Ali, in early 15th century, traced [[Osman I|Osman]]'s genealogy to [[Oghuz Khagan]], the mythical ancestors of Western Turks, through his senior grandson of his senior son, so giving the Ottoman sultans primacy among [[Anatolian Beyliks|Turkish monarchs]].<ref>Colin Imber, (2002), ''The Ottoman Empire, 1300–1650'', p. 95</ref> Though it was not entirely an imitation of [[Genghis Khan]]id doctrine, the Oghuz claim to sovereignty followed the same pattern. [[Bayezid I]] advanced this claim against [[Timur]], who denigrated the Ottoman lineage.<ref>Douglas Streusand, (2010), ''Islamic Gunpowder Empires: Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals'', p. 66</ref>

== Chinese khagans ==
{{See also|Khan of Heaven|Bogda Khan}}
{{Main list|List of emperors of the Tang dynasty|List of emperors of the Yuan dynasty|List of emperors of the Qing dynasty}}

The ''[[Book of Wei]]'', a Chinese history book, records that the title Khagan (可汗) and the title [[Emperor of China|Huángdì]] (皇帝) are the same.<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Wei Shou]] |date=554 |title=魏書 |language=zh |trans-title=[[Book of Wei]] |volume=[[:s:zh:魏書/卷103|103]] |quote=「丘豆伐」猶魏言駕馭開張也，「可汗」猶魏言皇帝也。["Qiu Dou Fa" is similar to the Wei word for controlling and opening up, and "Khan" is similar to the Wei word for emperor.]}}</ref> [[Emperor Taizong of Tang]] was crowned [[Tian Kehan]], or "heavenly Khagan" after defeating the [[Tujue]] ([[Göktürks]]).<ref>{{harvnb|Liu|pp=81–83}}{{full citation needed|date=August 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Chinese, their history and culture |volume=1–2 |first=Kenneth |last=Scott Latourette |quote=territories within his empire. He took the title "Heavenly Khan," thus designating himself as their ruler. A little later the Western Turks, although then at the height of their power, were badly defeated, and the Uighurs, a Turkish tribe, were detached from them and became sturdy supporters of the T'ang in the Gobi. The Khitan, Mongols in Eastern Mongolia and Southern Manchuria, made their submission (630). In the Tarim basin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MkBwAAAAMAAJ |edition=4th, reprint |year=1964 |publisher=Macmillan |page=144}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Skaff |first=Jonathan Karam |date=23 August 2012 |title=Sui-Tang China and its Turko-Mongol neighbors: Culture, power, and connections, 580-800 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-973413-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qTm6Yka5GigC&pg=PA120 |pages=120–121}} Also available from [https://archive.org/details/suitangchinaitst0000skaf/page/120 Internet Archive].</ref> A later letter sent by the Tang court to the [[Yenisei Kirghiz]] Qaghan explained that "the peoples of the northwest" had requested Tang Taizong to become the "Heavenly Qaghan".<ref>{{cite book |title=Tang China and the collapse of the Uighur Empire: a documentary history |first=Michael Robert |last=Drompp |quote=the successes of Tang Taizong and to his taking the title of "Heavenly Qaghan" at the request of "the peoples of the northwest" in 630/631. The letter goes on to describe how Taizong's envoy was sent to pacify the Kirghiz in 632/633 and how in 647/648 a Kirghiz chieftain came to the Tang court where he was granted titles, including commander-in-chief of the Kirghiz (Jian-kun). All of this implied Kirghiz subordination to Tang authority, at least in Chinese eyes. According to the letter, Kirghiz tribute had come to the Tang court "uninterruptedly" until the end of the Tianbao reign period (742–756) when Kirghiz contact with the Tang state was cut off by the rise of Uighur power in Mongolia. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NB6DEdAxLOsC&pg=PA126 |version=illustrated |volume=13 |via=Brill's Inner Asian library |year=2005 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-14129-2 |page=126}}</ref> The [[Tang dynasty]] Chinese emperors were recognized as khagans of the Turks at least from 665 to 705; moreover, two appeal letters from the Turkic hybrid rulers, Ashina Qutluγ Ton Tardu in 727, the Yabgu of [[Tokharistan]], and Yina Tudun Qule in 741, the king of [[Tashkent]], addressing [[Emperor Xuanzong of Tang]] as '''Tian Kehan''' during the [[Umayyad]] expansion.<ref>{{harvnb|Bai|p=230}}{{full citation needed|date=August 2025}}</ref>{{sfn|Xue|1992|pp=674–675}}

The name "Chinese khagan" (''Khāqān-i Chīn'', "Khagan of China") referring to the ruler of China (i.e. [[Emperor of China]]) as a symbol of power<ref>{{cite journal |last=Orujova |first=Gunel Mazahir |date=30 June 2022 |title=Tendencies of change of socio-political lexicon in Persian and Azerbaijani languages |journal=Path of Science |volume=8 |issue=6 |doi=10.22178/pos.82-8 |doi-access=free |pages=4011–4014 |url=https://pathofscience.org/index.php/ps/article/download/1229/1031}}</ref> appeared in medieval [[Turco-Persian tradition|Turco-Persian]] literature works like the great 11th-century epic poem [[Shahnameh]],<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Turks in the Early Islamic World |last=Bosworth |first=C |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-351-88087-9 |pages=250}}</ref> which were circulated widely in [[Persia]], [[Central Asia]], and [[Xinjiang]]. During the Manchu-led [[Qing dynasty]] which [[Qing dynasty in Inner Asia|extended into Inner Asia]] by the 18th century, their Turkic Muslim subjects (and surrounding Muslim khanates like the [[Khanate of Kokand]]) associated the Qing rulers with this name and commonly referred to the Qing emperors as the "Chinese khagan" (''Khāqān-i Chīn'').<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/s/saksaha/13401746.0012.004/--qing-dynasty-and-its-central-asian-neighbors?rgn=main;view=fulltext |title=The Qing Dynasty and Its Central Asian Neighbors |date=2014 |doi=10.3998/saksaha.13401746.0012.004 |last1=Onuma |first1=Takahiro |journal=Saksaha: A Journal of Manchu Studies |volume=12 |issue=20220303 |doi-access=free |hdl=2027/spo.13401746.0012.004 |hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Schluessel |first=Eric |title=The Muslim Emperor of China: Everyday Politics in Colonial Xinjiang, 1877–1933 |url=https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/33493602/SCHLUESSEL-DISSERTATION-2016.pdf |page=320 |year=2016 |publisher=Harvard University}}</ref>

== Among the Slavs ==
{{Main|Rus' Khaganate}}

In the early 10th century, the [[Rus' people]] employed the title of ''kagan'' (or ''qaghan''), reported by the Persian geographer [[Ahmad ibn Rustah]], who wrote between 903 and 913.

It is believed that the tradition endured in the eleventh century, as the [[metropolitan bishop]] of [[Kiev]] in the [[Kievan Rus']], [[Hilarion of Kiev]], calls both [[grand prince]] [[Vladimir I of Kiev]] (978–1015) and grand prince [[Yaroslav the Wise]] (1019–1054) by the title of ''kagan'', while a [[Graffito (archaeology)|graffito]] on the walls of [[Saint Sophia's Cathedral, Kiev|Saint Sophia's Cathedral]] gives the same title to the son of Iaroslav, grand prince [[Sviatoslav II of Kiev]] (1073–1076).

== See also ==
{{columnslist|colwidth=30em|
* [[Mongolian nobility]]
* [[Khan (title)]]
* [[Beg Khan]]
* [[Kavkhan]]
* [[Khaganate]]
* [[Qapaghan Qaghan]]
* [[Tughra]]
}}

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Allsen |first=Thomas |date=25 November 1994 |chapter=The rise of the Mongolian empire and Mongolian rule in north China |pages=321–413 |doi=10.1017/CHOL9780521243315.006 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iN9Tdfdap5MC&pg=PA321 |editor-last1=Twitchett |editor-first1=Denis C. |editor-last2=Franke |editor-first2=Herbert |title=Alien regimes and border states, 907-1368 |series=The Cambridge History of China |volume=6 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-24331-5}}
* {{cite journal |last=Benveniste |first=Émile |date=1966 |title=Titres et noms propres en iranien ancien |language=fr |trans-title=Titles and proper names in ancient Iranian |journal=Travaux de l'Institut d'Études Iraniennes de l'Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle |volume=1 |publication-place=Paris |publisher=Librairie C. Klincksieck |issn=0553-2841 |oclc=3196699 |asin=B00251IWES |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dtr6MwEACAAJ}}
* {{cite book |last=Dybo |first=Anna Vladimirovna |author-link=Anna Dybo |date=2007 |title=Lingvističeskije kontakty rannix tjurkov: leksičeskij fond: pratjurkskij period |language=tr |trans-title=Language contacts of the early Turkic people. Vocabulary. The Proto-Turkic period |publication-place=Moscow |publisher=[[Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences]]}}
* {{cite book |last=Grousset |first=René |author-link=René Grousset |date=1970 |translator-last=Walford |translator-first=Naomi |title=The empire of the steppes |publisher=Rutgers University Press |publication-place=New Brunswick, NJ |isbn=0-8135-0627-1 |oclc=90972}}
* {{cite book |last=Hsiao |first=Ch'i-ch'ing |date=25 November 1994 |chapter=Mid-Yüan politics |pages=490–560 |doi=10.1017/chol9780521243315.008 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iN9Tdfdap5MC&pg=PA490 |editor-last1=Twitchett |editor-first1=Denis C. |editor-last2=Franke |editor-first2=Herbert |title=Alien regimes and border states, 907-1368 |series=The Cambridge History of China |volume=6 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-24331-5}}
* Whittow, Mark. ''The Making of Byzantium, 600–1025'', University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, 1996.
* {{cite book |last=Xue |first=Zongzheng |date=1992 |title=突厥史 |language=zh |trans-title=A history of Turks |publication-place=Beijing |publisher=[[China Social Sciences Press]] |isbn=978-7-5004-0432-3 |oclc=28622013}}
* {{cite book |last=Zhou |first=Weizhou |orig-year=1985 |year=2006 |title=吐古渾史 |language=zh |trans-title=A history of Tuyuhun |publication-place=Guilin |publisher=[[Guangxi Normal University Press]] |isbn=978-7-5633-6044-4 |oclc=82156837 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VZ9zAAAAIAAJ}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Encyclopædia Iranica Online |title=Khagan |last=de la Vaissière |first=Étienne |author-link=Étienne de la Vaissière |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/khagan |date=25 August 2017}}

[[Category:Titles]]
[[Category:Ottoman titles]]
[[Category:Heads of state]]
[[Category:Khazar titles]]
[[Category:Imperial titles]]
[[Category:Royal titles]]
[[Category:Noble titles]]
[[Category:Lists of khans]]
[[Category:Titles of national or ethnic leadership]]
[[Category:Mongolian nobility]]
[[Category:Chinese royal titles]]
[[Category:Titles of the Göktürks]]

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