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) طرخان is an ancient Turkic title, apparently related to the title khan.
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[edit] History
It was used among the Turks, Mongols, and other steppe people, 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- Like many titles, Tarkhan also occurs as a personal name, independent of a person's rank, which makes some historical references confusing.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. The name is occasionally used today in Arabic speaking countries طرخان, e.g. Egypt and Jordan. In Persian it's also written as ترخان.
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.
