Қан титулының тарихы мен этимологиясы

Historical title for a ruler or military leader

Khan (/k//ɑː//n/) is a historic Mongolic and Turkic title originating among nomadic tribes in the Central and Eastern Eurasian Steppe to refer to king. It first appears among the Rouran and then the Göktürks as a variant of khagan (sovereign, emperor) and implied a subordinate ruler. In the Seljuk Empire, it was the highest noble title, ranking above malik (king) and emir (prince). In the Mongol Empire it signified the ruler of a horde (ulus), while the ruler of all the Mongols was the khagan or great khan. The title subsequently declined in importance. During the Safavid and qajar dynasty it was the title of an army general high noble rank who ruling a province, and in Mughal India it was a high noble rank restricted to courtiers. After the downfall of the Mughals it was used promiscuously and became a surname. Khan and its female forms occur in many personal names, generally without any nobiliary of political relevance, although it remains a common part of noble names as well.

The origin of the term is disputed and unknown, possibly a loanword from the Rouran language. According to Vovin, the word *qa qan "great qan" (*qa for "great" or "supreme") is of non Altaic origin, but instead linked to Proto Yeniseian *qεʔ "big" or "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 Proto Yeniseian words *qij or *qaj meaning "ruler". Dybo (2007) suggests that the ultimate etymological root of Khagan/Khan comes from the Middle Iranian *hva kama 'self ruler, emperor', following the view of Benveniste 1966. Savelyev and Jeong 2020 note that both the etymological root for Khagan/Khan 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)".

"Khan" is first encountered as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289. The Rourans may have been the first people who used the titles khagan and khan for their emperors. However, Russian linguist Alexander Vovin (2007) and Genghis Khan's successors selected to rule the Mongol Empire starting from 1229. Genghis Khan himself was referred as qa'an (khagan) only posthumously. For instance Möngke Khan (reigned 1251–1259) and Ogedei Khan (reigned 1229–1241) would be "Khagans" but not Chagatai Khan, who was not proclaimed ruler of the Mongol Empire by the Kurultai.

In imperial Persia, Khan (female form Khanum in Persia) was the title of a nobleman, higher than Beg (or bey) and usually used after the given name. At the Qajar court, precedence for those not belonging to the dynasty was mainly structured in eight classes, each being granted an honorary rank title, the fourth of which was Khan, or in this context synonymously Amir, granted to commanders of armed forces, provincial tribal leaders; in descending order. In neighboring Ottoman Turkey and subsequently the Republic of Turkey, the term Khanum was and is still written as Hanım in Turkish/Ottoman Turkish language. The Ottoman title of Hanımefendi (lit translated; lady of the master), is also a derivative of this. The titles Khan and Khan Bahadur (from the Altaic root baghatur), related to the Turkic batyr or batur and Mongolian baatar ("brave, hero"); were also bestowed in feudal India by the Mughals, who although Muslims were of Turkic origin upon Muslims and awarded this title to Hindus generals in army particularly in Gaud or Bengal region during Muslim rulers, and later by the British Raj, as an honor akin to the ranks of nobility, often for loyalty to the crown. Khan Sahib was another title of honour. In the major Indian Muslim state of Hyderabad, Khan was the lowest of the aristocratic titles bestowed by the ruling Nizam upon Muslim retainers, ranking under Khan Bahadur, Nawab (homonymous with a high Muslim ruler's title), Jang, Daula, Mulk, Umara, Jah. The equivalent for the courts Hindu retainers was Rai. In Swat, a Pakistani Frontier State, it was the title of the secular elite, who together with the Mullahs (Muslim clerics), proceeded to elect a new Amir i Shariyat in 1914. It seems unclear whether the series of titles known from the Bengal sultanate are merely honorific or perhaps relate to a military hierarchy.

Like many titles, the meaning of the term has also extended southwards into South Asian countries, and Central Asian nations, where it has become a common surname. Khan and its female forms occur in many personal names, generally without any nobiliary of political relevance, although it remains a common part of noble names as well. Notably in South Asia it has become a part of many South Asian Muslim names, of Indian subcontinent who were awarded this surname by Turkic Mughals for their bravery. and it's widely used by Baloch and Awan tribes.