Baghatur Explained

Baghatur is a historical Turkic and Mongol honorific title,^[1] in origin a term for "hero" or "valiant warrior". The Papal envoy Plano Carpini (1185–1252) compared the title with the equivalent of European Knighthood.^[2]

The word was common among the Mongols and became especially widespread, as an honorific title, in the 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 and the Timurid dynasty, among others.

The concept of the Baghatur is present in Turco-Mongol folklore, one instance is the Bashkir epic poem Ural-batyr . The Bogatyr of Eastern Slavic legends is derived from the turkic term. Baghaturs were heroes of extraordinary courage, fearlessness, and decisiveness, often portrayed as being descended from heaven and capable of performing extraordinary deeds. Baghatur was the heroic ideal Turco-Mongol warriors strove to live up to, hence its use as a military honorific of glory.

Etymology and distribution

The term was first used by the steppe peoples to the north and west of China proper as early as the 7th century as evidenced in Sui dynasty records.^{[3] [4]} It is attested for the Second Turkic Khaganate in the 6th century, and among the Bulgars of the First Bulgarian Empire in the 6th century. Some authors claim Iranian origin of the word, the first syllable is very likely the Iranian title word

• bag

"god, lord". According to Gerard Clauson, bağatur by origin almost certainly a Xiongnu (which Clauson proposes to be Hunnic) name, and specifically of the second Xiongnu Chanyu, whose name was transliterated by the Han Chinese as (with -n for foreign -r), now pronounced Mòdùn ~ Màodùn in standard Chinese.^{[5] [6]}

The word was introduced in many cultures as a result of the Turco-Mongol conquests, and now exists in different forms in various languages: |Baga; Mongolian: {{MongolUnicode|ᠪᠠᠭᠠᠲᠦᠷ Baγatur, Khalkha Mongolian: Баатар Bātar; ; Turkish: Bağatur, Batur, Bahadır; Russian: Богатырь [[Bogatyr]]; Bulgarian: Багатур Bagatur; Persian: بهادر; Panjabi; Punjabi: ਬਹਾਦੁਰ {{small|([[Gurmukhi]]), Urdu: بہادر, Bulgarian and Russian: Багатур (Bagatur), Persian Bahador, Georgian Bagatur, and Hindi Bahadur.

It is also preserved in the modern Turkic and Mongol languages as Altai Баатыр (Baatïr), Turkish Batur/Bahadır, Tatar and Kazakh Батыр (Batyr), Uzbek Batyr and Mongolian Baatar (as in Ulaanbaatar).

It is the origin of a number of terms and names, such as Bahadur (in Persian, South Asian Muslim, Sikh and other cultures), Bahadır, Baturu, Bey, Mete, Metehan, Russian: Богатырь ([[Bogatyr]])|links=no, Polish Bohater, Hungarian: Bátor|links=no (meaning "brave"), among others.

Titles Incorporating Bahadur

Bahadur was often included in titles in Mughal Empire and later during the British Raj to signify a higher level of honor above the title without the word. For example:

• Nawab Bahadur, a title of honour bestowed during Mughal Empire and later during British Raj.
• Rao Bahadur or Rai Bahadur, a title of honour bestowed during British rule in India
• Sawai Bahadur, used as a title for rulers of Kutch. See individuals below.
• Informally used to upgrade a title or title of address (often sarcastically) in South Asia. For example Saahab Bahadur (see, for example, the movie Saheb Bahadur); Company Bahadur (for the East India Company); Angrez Bahadur (for the British Raj); and so on.

List of individuals with this title

The term Baghatur and its variants – Bahadur, Bagatur, or Baghadur, was adopted by the following historical individuals:

• Modu Chanyu, the founding chanyu of the Xiongnu empire.^[7]
• Tonyukuk, military commander of Second Turkic Khaganate.
• Bagatur Bagaina Sevar, 6th century commander in First Bulgarian Empire
• Alogobotur, 10th century commander in the First Bulgarian Empire
• Habich Baghatur, a tribal Khan of Borjigin and son of the founder of Borijigid Clan Bodonchar Khan
• Bartan Bagatur, the Borjigin prince and grandfather of Genghis Khan
• Yesugei, the father of Genghis Khan, is called Yesugei Baghatur
• The Mongol general Subutai is referred to in the Secret History of the Mongols as baghatur.
• Il khan Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan took the title Ba'atur after his name for his victory over the rebellion of the Mongol Keraits in Iran.^[8]
• Bayan of the Merkid, the Grand councillor of the Yuan dynasty, was awarded Baghatur for his merit during the Ogedeid-Yuan conflict.^[9]
• Two Mughal emperors used the regnal name Bahadur Shah: Bahadur Shah I (also called Shah Alam I), and Bahadur Shah II, more commonly referred to as Bahadur Shah Zafar, incorporating his takhallus, or pen name as a poet.
• Banda Singh Bahadur, Sikh warrior and general
• Altani, relative of Genghis Khan
• Stephen Báthory (1533–1586), Prince of Transylvania, and King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania.
• Erdeni Batur, founder of the Dzungar Khanate.
• Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur, ruler of the Khanate of Khiva, 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).
• Khengarji III, was the first ruler of Kutch to be given title of Sawai Bahadur.
• Vijayarajaji, ruler of Kutch, used Bahadur as a hereditary title.
• Madansinhji, ruler of Kutch, used Bahadur as a hereditary title.
• Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, the second Indian soldier to be so honored, was known as "Sam Bahadur."
• Damdin Sükhbaatar, was a founding member of the Mongolian People's Party and leader of the Mongolian partisan army that liberated Khüree during the Mongolian Revolution of 1921. Enshrined as the "Father of Mongolia's Revolution", he is remembered as one of the most important figures in Mongolia's struggle for independence.
• Osman Batur, a Chinese warlord of Kazakh ethnicity

References

• Book: Beckwith, Christopher I. . Christopher I. Beckwith . 16 March 2009 . Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present . . 978-0691135892 . 30 May 2015 .
• Brook, Kevin Alan. The Jews of Khazaria. 3rd ed. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2018.
• Grousset, René. The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia. Rutgers University Press, 1970.
• Saunders, J. J. The History of the Mongol Conquests. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001.

Notes and References

1. Ed. Herbert Franke and others – The Cambridge History of China: Volume 6, Alien Regimes and Border States, 710–1368, p. 567.
2. James Chambers The Devil's horsemen: the Mongol invasion of Europe, p. 107.
3. C. Fleischer, "Bahādor", in Encyclopædia Iranica
4. Grousset 194.
5. Book: Sir Gerard Clauson. An Etymological Dictionary of Pre-Thirteenth-Century Turkish. 301–400. 1972.
6. [Edwin G. Pulleyblank|Pulleyblank, E.G.]
7. Web site: TÜRK – TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi.
8. Web site: Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica.
9. Ed. Herbert Franke and others – The Cambridge History of China: Volume 6, Alien Regimes and Border States, 710–1368, p.568