Khagan

Khagan is a supreme ruler’s title used by several Inner Asian empires. It ranked above khan and was especially associated with the Göktürk and Mongol imperial traditions.

Rouran Khaganate: A confederation of nomadic peoples that ruled much of the eastern Eurasian steppe from the fourth to sixth centuries. Its rulers are among the earliest known to have used the title khagan.
Khan: A title for a ruler or leader used across Mongolic and Turkic political traditions. The distinction between khan and khagan commonly signals a difference in imperial rank.
Khaganate: A polity ruled by a khagan, often encompassing multiple peoples and subordinate leaders. It names the political order built around the title.
Second Turkic Khaganate: A Turkic empire that restored Göktürk rule in Mongolia from 682 to 744. Its rulers revived the title and recorded their authority in monumental inscriptions.
Great Khan: A title commonly used for the supreme ruler of the Mongol Empire and its successor states. It is the closest familiar counterpart to khagan in Mongol political usage.
Göktürk Khaganate: A Turkic empire that controlled broad stretches of Inner Asia during the sixth and seventh centuries. Its rulers established khagan as a prominent title in Turkic imperial rule.
Steppe empire: A large polity organized around mobile pastoral societies and political power across the Eurasian grasslands. Khagan was a title for the paramount ruler of several such empires.
Turkic succession tradition: The customary practices through which Turkic ruling houses transmitted authority among eligible dynastic members. Disputed succession could divide a khaganate despite the ruler’s supreme title.
Uyghur Khaganate: A steppe empire centered in Mongolia that succeeded the Second Turkic Khaganate in 744. Uyghur rulers inherited the title within a new political and religious order.
Khanate: A territory or polity ruled by a khan. A khanate could be subordinate to a khaganate rather than an equal imperial center.

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