Baghatur
Encyclopedia
Baghatur is a historical Turco-Mongol
honorific title, in origin a term for "hero
" or "valiant warrior
".
The term was first used by the steppe peoples to the north and west of China as early as the 7th century as evidenced in Sui dynasty
records. It is attested for the Köktürk khanate in the 8th century, and among the Bulgars
of the First Bulgarian Empire
in the 9th century.
The word was common among the Mongols and became especially widespread, as an honorific title, in Genghis Khan
's Mongol Empire
in the 13th century; the title persisted in its successor-states, and later came to be adopted also as a regnal title
in the ilkhanate
, in Timurid
dynasties etc.
The term Baghatur and its variants – Bahadur, Bagatur, or Baghadur, was adopted by the following historical individuals:
to many non-Turkic languages as a result of the Turco-Mongol conquests, and now exists in different forms such as the Bulgarian language
"Багатур (Bagatur)", Russian
Богатырь (Bogatyr
), Polish
Bohater (meaning "hero"), Persian
and North Indian
Bahadur, and Georgian
Bagatur.
It is also preserved in the modern Turkic and Mongol languages as Turkish
Batur/Bahadır, Tatar
and Kazakh
Батыр (Batyr), Uzbek
Batyr and Mongolian
Baatar (as in Ulaanbaatar) as well as in Hungarian Bátor. Also cognate is the Tibetan
dpa' rtul or "warrior," as in th the dpa' rtul sum cu of the Tibetan Epic of Gesar.
Turco-Mongol
Turko-Mongol is a modern designation for various nomads who were subjects of the Mongol Empire. Being progressively Turkicized in terms of language and identity following the Mongol conquests, they derived their ethnic and cultural origins from steppes of Central Asia...
honorific title, in origin a term for "hero
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
" or "valiant warrior
Warrior
A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
".
The term was first used by the steppe peoples to the north and west of China as early as the 7th century as evidenced in Sui dynasty
Sui Dynasty
The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....
records. It is attested for the Köktürk khanate in the 8th century, and among the Bulgars
Bulgars
The Bulgars were a semi-nomadic who flourished in the Pontic Steppe and the Volga basin in the 7th century.The Bulgars emerge after the collapse of the Hunnic Empire in the 5th century....
of the First Bulgarian Empire
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...
in the 9th century.
The word was common among the Mongols and became especially widespread, as an honorific title, in Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
's Mongol Empire
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
in the 13th century; the title persisted in its successor-states, and later came to be adopted also as a regnal title
Regnal title
A regnal title is the title held by a monarch while in office. Monarchs can have various titles, including king or queen, prince or princess , emperor or empress , or even duke or grand duke or duchess...
in the ilkhanate
Ilkhanate
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate , was a Mongol khanate established in Azerbaijan and Persia in the 13th century, considered a part of the Mongol Empire...
, in Timurid
Timurid Dynasty
The Timurids , self-designated Gurkānī , were a Persianate, Central Asian Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turko-Mongol descent whose empire included the whole of Iran, modern Afghanistan, and modern Uzbekistan, as well as large parts of contemporary Pakistan, North India, Mesopotamia, Anatolia and the...
dynasties etc.
The term Baghatur and its variants – Bahadur, Bagatur, or Baghadur, was adopted by the following historical individuals:
- ModuModu ShanyuModu Chanyu was born c. 234 BCE was the fourth known emperor and founder of the Xiongnu Empire after he killed his father in 209 BCE. The years of his rule were 209 BCE to 174 BCE...
, the founding shanyu of the XiongnuXiongnuThe Xiongnu were ancient nomadic-based people that formed a state or confederation north of the agriculture-based empire of the Han Dynasty. Most of the information on the Xiongnu comes from Chinese sources...
empire. - YesugeiYesugeiYesügei Baghatur , was major chief of the Kiyad-Borjigin clan and the father of Temüjin , Hasar, Hachiun, Temüge, Temülen, Behter, and Belgutei. Yesügei was the son of Bartan Baghatur, who was the son of Khabul Khan, who was recognized as a khagan by the Jin Dynasty...
, the father of Genghis KhanGenghis KhanGenghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death.... - Baghatur Khagan, KhaganKhaganKhagan or qagan , alternatively spelled kagan, khaghan, qaghan, or chagan, is a title of imperial rank in the Mongolian and Turkic languages equal to the status of emperor and someone who rules a khaganate...
of the KhazarsKhazarsThe Khazars were semi-nomadic Turkic people who established one of the largest polities of medieval Eurasia, with the capital of Atil and territory comprising much of modern-day European Russia, western Kazakhstan, eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan, large portions of the northern Caucasus , parts of...
, c. 760760Year 760 was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 760 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- China :* Emperor Xuanzong is placed under house arrest...
. - The Mongol general SubutaiSubutaiSubutai was the primary military strategist and general of Genghis Khan and Ögedei Khan...
is referred to in the Secret History of the Mongols as ba'tur. - Ilkhan Abu Said took the name bahadur khan after defeating Uzbek khan of Golden HordeGolden HordeThe Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
. - Two MughalMughal EmpireThe Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
emperors were named Bahadur Shah: Bahadur Shah IBahadur Shah IBahadur Shah was a Mughal Emperor, who ruled India from 1707 to 1712. His original name was Qutb ud-Din Muhammad Mu'azzam later titled as Shah Alam by his father. He took the throne name Bahadur Shah in 1707. His name Bahādur means "brave" & "hero" in Turko-Mongol languages...
and Bahadur Shah Zafar II. - Banda Singh Bahadur, great SikhSikhA Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
warrior and general - Stephen IX Báthory (1533–1586), Prince of Transylvania and King of Poland.
- Erdeni BaturErdeni BaturErdeni Batur was a Choros-Oirat prince and is generally considered the founder of a new Oirat state in Central Asia known as the Dzungar Khanate....
, founder of the Zunghar KhanateZunghar KhanateThe Zunghar Khanate was a nomadic power on the Eurasian steppe. It covered the area called Dzungaria and stretched from the west end of the Great Wall of China to present-day eastern Kazakhstan, and from present-day northern Kyrgyzstan to southern Siberia .In 1678 Galdan received from the Dalai...
. - AbulghaziAbulghazi BahadurAbulghazi Bahadur was khan of the Khanate of Khiva from 1643-1663. Having spent ten years in Persia before becoming khan, he was very well educated. Under his rule Khiva experienced a golden age. He had successfully repelled the Kalmyk raiders...
, ruler of the Khanate of KhivaKhanate of KhivaThe Khanate of Khiva was the name of a Uzbek state that existed in the historical region of Khwarezm from 1511 to 1920, except for a period of Persian occupation by Nadir Shah between 1740–1746. It was the patrilineal descendants of Shayban , the fifth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan...
, had the title of Bahadur Khan. He wrote the famous epic of the Mongols called the genealogical tree of the Mongols (or General history of Tatars). - Field Marshal Sam ManekshawSam ManekshawField Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, MC "Sam Bahadur" was a Field Marshal of the Indian Army. His distinguished military career spanned four decades and five wars...
, the second Indian soldier to be so honored, was known as "Sam Bahadur." - Bagatur Bagaina Sevar, 9th century commander in BulgariaBulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
Derived terms
The word was also introduced in the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
to many non-Turkic languages as a result of the Turco-Mongol conquests, and now exists in different forms such as the Bulgarian language
Bulgarian language
Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
"Багатур (Bagatur)", Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
Богатырь (Bogatyr
Bogatyr
The bogatyr was a medieval heroic warrior of Kievan Rus' and the Novgorodian Republic, akin to a Western European knight errant.- Kievan Rus' :...
), Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
Bohater (meaning "hero"), Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
and North Indian
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
Bahadur, and Georgian
Georgian language
Georgian is the native language of the Georgians and the official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus.Georgian is the primary language of about 4 million people in Georgia itself, and of another 500,000 abroad...
Bagatur.
It is also preserved in the modern Turkic and Mongol languages as Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
Batur/Bahadır, Tatar
Tatar language
The Tatar language , or more specifically Kazan Tatar, is a Turkic language spoken by the Tatars of historical Kazan Khanate, including modern Tatarstan and Bashkiria...
and Kazakh
Kazakh language
Kazakh is a Turkic language which belongs to the Kipchak branch of the Turkic languages, closely related to Nogai and Karakalpak....
Батыр (Batyr), Uzbek
Uzbek language
Uzbek is a Turkic language and the official language of Uzbekistan. It has about 25.5 million native speakers, and it is spoken by the Uzbeks in Uzbekistan and elsewhere in Central Asia...
Batyr and Mongolian
Mongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
Baatar (as in Ulaanbaatar) as well as in Hungarian Bátor. Also cognate is the Tibetan
Tibetan language
The Tibetan languages are a cluster of mutually-unintelligible Tibeto-Burman languages spoken primarily by Tibetan peoples who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering the Indian subcontinent, including the Tibetan Plateau and the northern Indian subcontinent in Baltistan, Ladakh,...
dpa' rtul or "warrior," as in th the dpa' rtul sum cu of the Tibetan Epic of Gesar.