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Khagan
Khagan or Qaghan (Middle Mongol:ᠬᠠᠭᠠᠨ; Khaan or Khagan; Old Turkic: 𐰴𐰍𐰣 Kaɣan) is a title of imperial rank in Turkic, Mongolic, and some other languages, equal to the status of emperor and someone who rules a khaganate (empire). The female equivalent is Khatun.
It may also be translated as "Khan of Khans", equivalent to King of Kings. In Bulgarian, the title became known as Khan,[clarification needed] while in modern Turkic, the title became Khaan with the g sound becoming almost silent or non-existent; the ğ in modern 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 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 Их Хаан).
The term is of unknown origin and might be a loanword from the Rouran language. Canadian sinologist Edwin G. Pulleyblank first suggested that a Xiongnu title, transcribed as 護于 (Old Chinese: *hʷaʔ-hʷaʰ) might have been the original behind Turkic qaɣan ~ xaɣan. 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.
Turkic and Mongolic (or Para-Mongolic) origin has been suggested by a number of scholars including Ramstedt, Shiratori, Pulleyblank, Sinor and Doerfer, and was reportedly first used by the Xianbei, as recorded in Book of Song. 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.
According to Vovin, the word *qa-qan "great-qan" (*qa- for "great" or "supreme") is of non-Altaic origin, but instead linked to 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".
Dybo (2007) suggests that the ultimate etymological root of Khagan comes from the Middle Iranian *hva-kama- ‘self-ruler, emperor’, following the view of Benveniste (1966). 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 *hvatuñ, cf. the attested Soghdian words xwt'w ‘ruler’ (< *hva-tāvya-) and xwt'yn ‘wife of the ruler’ (< *hva-tāvyani)".
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Khagan
Khagan or Qaghan (Middle Mongol:ᠬᠠᠭᠠᠨ; Khaan or Khagan; Old Turkic: 𐰴𐰍𐰣 Kaɣan) is a title of imperial rank in Turkic, Mongolic, and some other languages, equal to the status of emperor and someone who rules a khaganate (empire). The female equivalent is Khatun.
It may also be translated as "Khan of Khans", equivalent to King of Kings. In Bulgarian, the title became known as Khan,[clarification needed] while in modern Turkic, the title became Khaan with the g sound becoming almost silent or non-existent; the ğ in modern 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 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 Их Хаан).
The term is of unknown origin and might be a loanword from the Rouran language. Canadian sinologist Edwin G. Pulleyblank first suggested that a Xiongnu title, transcribed as 護于 (Old Chinese: *hʷaʔ-hʷaʰ) might have been the original behind Turkic qaɣan ~ xaɣan. 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.
Turkic and Mongolic (or Para-Mongolic) origin has been suggested by a number of scholars including Ramstedt, Shiratori, Pulleyblank, Sinor and Doerfer, and was reportedly first used by the Xianbei, as recorded in Book of Song. 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.
According to Vovin, the word *qa-qan "great-qan" (*qa- for "great" or "supreme") is of non-Altaic origin, but instead linked to 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".
Dybo (2007) suggests that the ultimate etymological root of Khagan comes from the Middle Iranian *hva-kama- ‘self-ruler, emperor’, following the view of Benveniste (1966). 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 *hvatuñ, cf. the attested Soghdian words xwt'w ‘ruler’ (< *hva-tāvya-) and xwt'yn ‘wife of the ruler’ (< *hva-tāvyani)".