Baghatur

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Baghatur is an old Turkic term for a warrior, military commander or an epic hero.[1] The word exists in many languages, most of them non Turkic, in different forms such as the Russian Bogatyr, Polish Bohater (meaning hero), Persian and North Indian Bahadur, Turkish Batur, Georgian Bagatur, Tatar Batır and Mongolian Baatar (as in Ulaanbaatar). Some of the earliest records of the word Bagatur come from the exinct Bulgar language[2].

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[edit] Usage

The term Baghatur and its variants - Bahadur, Bagatur, or Baghadur, has also been attested as a personal name belonging to several important historical figures, including:

  1. Yesugei , the father of Genghis Khan
  2. Baghatur Khagan, Khagan of the Khazars, c. 760.
  3. The Mongol general Subutai is referred to in the Secret History of the Mongols as ba'tur.
  4. Two Mughal emperors were named Bahadur Shah: Bahadur Shah I and Bahadur Shah Zafar II.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Grousset 194.
  2. ^ Old Bulgar words from 6th-9th c. sources

[edit] See also

[edit] Sources

  • Brook, Kevin Alan. The Jews of Khazaria. 2nd ed. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2006.
  • Grousset, R. The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia. Rutgers Univ. Press, 1988.
  • Saunders, J. The History of the Mongol Conquests. Univ. of Penn. Press, 2001.