Khan is a historic Turkic and Mongolic title originating among nomadic tribes in the Central and Eastern Eurasian Steppe to refer to a king. It first appears among the Rouran and then the Göktürks as
Eurasia on the eve of the Mongol invasions, c. 1200 AD
Mongol Empire's largest extent outlined in red; the Timurid Empire is shaded.
Two Khans in Turkoman Tribal Costume, One of 274 Vintage Photographs. Brooklyn Museum.
Genghis Khan, also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongol tribes, he launched a series of military campaigns, c
Khan (title)
…adopted it. Khagan is rendered as Khan of Khans. It was the title of Chinese Emperor Emperor Taizong of Tang (Heavenly Khagan, reigned 626 to 649) 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…
Reproduction of a 1278 portrait taken from a Yuan-era album
15th-century copy of the Jami' al-tawarikh by Rashid al-Din Hamadani
The Onon River, near which Temüjin was born, pictured here in Khentii Province, Mongolia
Statue of Hö'elün located near the equestrian statue of her son at Tsonjin Boldog, Mongolia