Il khan

Il Khan (also il-khan, ilkhan, elkhan, etc.),[1] in Turkic languages and Mongolian, is a title of leadership. It combines the title khan with the prefix el/il, from the word ulus – 'tribe, clan', 'the people', 'nation', 'homeland', 'state', 'tribal union', etc.[2]

Not to be confused with Ilhan.
For a Turkisn footballer, see Emirhan İlkhan.

Meaning

The exact meaning depends on context:

  • Khan of the nation. The earliest mention of a similar title in this meaning, namely "Illig Qaghan", refers to Bumin Qaghan and dates to 552 CE. (In fact, Nikolai Gumilyov transcribes Bumin's title as "ilkhan".)[3]
  • More recently, the tribal chief that heads both branches of the Bakhtiari people, under whom several khans operate (20th century CE).[4]

In the context of the Hulaguid dynasty, commonly known as the Ilkhanate, the title Ilkhan was borne by the descendants of Hulagu and later other Borjigin princes in Persia, starting from c. 1259-1265.[5] Two interpretations have been proposed:

  • 'submissive', 'peaceable', 'obedient', or 'subservient' khan, or 'polity prince'. Possibly equivalent to Chinese kuo-wang, and to Islamic sultan.[6] Here the lesser "khanship" intended to indicate the initial deference of Hulagu to Möngke Khan and his successor Great Khans of the Mongol empire.
  • Sovereign khan. From ilig khan. It was possibly equivalent to Chinese zhenming huangdi ('Emperor with a genuine mandate'). It was to be construed as a power over regional affairs, not in opposition to the Great Khan, yet not conferred by him.[7]

In fiction
  • In BattleTech, the IlKhan is the highest leader of The Clans.

See also

References
  1. Tyrrell, Maliheh S. (2000). Aesopian Literary Dimensions of Azerbaijani Literature of the Soviet Period, 1920-1990. Lexington Books. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-7391-0169-8.
  2. Древнетюркский словарь (Ancient Turkic Dictionary), Leningrad, Nauka Publishers, 1969, pp. 168—169.
  3. Гумилёв Л. Н. Древние тюрки. — СПб., 2002. — С. 113—115.
  4. Salzman, Philip C. (1967). "Political Organization among Nomadic Peoples". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 111 (2): 124–125. ISSN 0003-049X. JSTOR 986038.
  5. Jackson, Peter (2017). The Mongols & the Islamic world : from conquest to conversion. New Haven. pp. 138–139. ISBN 978-0-300-22728-4. OCLC 980348050.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link), citing Kolbas, Judith G. (2006). The Mongols in Iran : Chingiz Khan to Uljaytu, 1220-1309. London: Routledge. 172–4 and n. 168 at 189. ISBN 0-7007-0667-4. OCLC 57344095. for 1265, and Amitai, Reuven (1991). "Evidence for the Early Use of the Title Ilkhan among the Mongols". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 1 (3rd Ser., 1): 353–362. doi:10.1017/S1356186300001176. S2CID 162308410., for 1259.
  6. Allsen, Thomas T. (2001). Culture and conquest in Mongol Eurasia. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 21–22. ISBN 0-511-01782-0. OCLC 52611293.
  7. Jackson, Peter (2017). The Mongols & the Islamic world : from conquest to conversion. New Haven. pp. 138–139. ISBN 978-0-300-22728-4. OCLC 980348050.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Further reading
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