Tarkhan
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- This article is about Tarkhan, an ancient Turkic title. For other uses, see Tarkan (disambiguation)
Tarkhan, Tarkhaan, or Tarqan (達干) is an ancient Turkic title, apparently related to the title khan.
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[edit] History
It was used among the Gokturks, Khazars, Uyghurs and other steppe empires, and was a high rank in the army of Tamerlane. Tarkhans commanded military contingents (roughly of regimental size under the Khazar khan) and were, roughly speaking, generals. They could also be assigned as military governors of conquered regions.
- Like many titles, Tarkhan also occurs as a personal name, independent of a person's rank, which makes some historical references confusing. For example, Arab texts refer to a "Tarkhan, king of the Khazars" as reigning in the mid ninth century. Whether this is a confused reference to a military official or the name of an individual Khazar khagan remains unclear.
Tarkhan established the Tarkhan Dynasty ruling parts of modern Pakistan from 1554 to 1591 AD.
[edit] In fiction
- In C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series of novels, the apparent spelling variation Tarkaan is the title of a Calormen nobleman, tarkheena that of a noble woman.
