Khan of Heaven

{{Short description|Turkic title given to the Tang dynasty}} '''Khan of Heaven''' or '''Tian Kehan''', '''Celestial Kha(ga)n''', '''Heavenly Kha(ga)n''', '''Tengri Kha(ga)n''' ({{zh|c=天可汗|p=Tiān Kèhán|w=''T'ien K'ehan''}}; [[Old Turkic]]: 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃𐰴𐰍𐰣‬) was a title addressed to the [[Emperor Taizong of Tang]] by various Turkic nomads.<ref>Liu, 79</ref><ref>{{cite book |access-date=February 8, 2012 |title = The Chinese, their history and culture, Volumes 1-2 |author=Kenneth Scott Latourette |quote = territories within his empire. He took the title "Heavenly Khan," thus designating himself as their ruler. A little later the Western Turks, although then at the height of their power, were badly defeated, and the Uighurs, a Turkish tribe, were detached from them and became sturdy supporters of the T'ang in the Gobi. The Khitan, Mongols in Eastern Mongolia and Southern Manchuria, made their submission (630). In the Tarim basin |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=MkBwAAAAMAAJ&q=heavenly+khan+ruler |edition = 4, reprint |year=1964 |publisher = Macmillan |page = 144}}</ref> It was first mentioned in accounts on May 20, 630 and again on October 24, 646, shortly after the [[Emperor Taizong's campaign against Eastern Tujue|Eastern Turkic Khaganate]] and [[Emperor Taizong's campaign against Xueyantuo|Xueyantuo]] were annihilated by the [[Tang dynasty]].<ref>Liu, 74-76</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=qTm6Yka5GigC&pg=PA120 Skaff 2012], pp. 120-121.</ref>

The title Tengri Khagan also used to refer other [[Turkic people|Turkic]] rulers, both known as the Tengri Khagan ({{zh|links=no|登里可汗|}} or {{lang|zh|登利可汗}}) or Täŋridä qaγan ({{zh|騰里可汗|links=no}}) to the Chinese, during the Second Eastern Turkic Khaganate (r. 739–741) and [[Uyghur Khaganate]] (r. 759–779) periods.<ref>Liu, 81-83</ref>

The title remained in use by Taizong's successors until 779 AD, including [[Wu Zetian]] who assumed the title along with also the masculine form of the title emperor ("Huangdi", rather than "Nühuang" or "Huanghou", an empress) from 685 to 705. <ref>朱振宏《唐代“皇帝·天可汗”释义》，《汉学研究》第21卷第1期，2003年</ref>

To name a few instances of the title "Khan of Heaven" in use, two appeal letters from the Turkic hybrid rulers, Ashina Qutluγ Ton Tardu in 727, the Yabgu of [[Tokharistan]], and Yina Tudun Qule in 741, the king of [[Tashkent]], addressed the [[Emperor Xuanzong of Tang]] as '''Tian Kehan''' during the [[Umayyad]] expansion.<ref>Bai, 230</ref><ref>Xue, 674-675</ref>

A later letter sent by the Tang court to the [[Yenisei Kirghiz]] Qaghan explained that "the peoples of the northwest" had requested Emperor Taizong of Tang to become the "Heavenly Qaghan".<ref>{{cite book |access-date=February 8, 2012 |title=Tang China and the collapse of the Uighur Empire: a documentary history |author=Michael Robert Drompp|quote=the successes of Emperor Taizong of Tang and to his taking the title of "Heavenly Qaghan" at the request of "the peoples of the northwest" in 630/631. The letter goes on to describe how Taizong's envoy was sent to pacify the Kirghiz in 632/633 and how in 647/648 a Kirghiz chieftain came to the Tang court where he was granted titles, including commander-in-chief of the Kirghiz (Jian-kun). All of this implied Kirghiz subordination to Tang authority, at least in Chinese eyes. According to the letter, Kirghiz tribute had come to the Tang court "uninterruptedly" until the end of the Tianbao reign period (742-756) when Kirghiz contact with the Tang state was cut off by the rise of Uighur power in Mongolia. |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NB6DEdAxLOsC&dq=li+ling+kirghiz&pg=PA126 |edition=illustrated |volume=13 of Brill's Inner Asian library |year=2005|publisher=BRILL|isbn = 90-04-14129-4 |page=126}}</ref>

== See also == {{Portal|China|History|Asia|Politics|Monarchy}}

* [[Chinese Tributary System]] ** ''[[Pax Sinica]]'' * [[Emperor of China]] ** [[Emperor Taizong of Tang]] * [[Khan (title)|Khan]] ** [[Khagan]] (Great Khan) ** [[Bogda Khan]] * [[Sinocentrism]] * [[Tang dynasty]] ** [[Tang dynasty in Inner Asia]] * [[Tian]] ('''''[[Heaven]]''''') / [[Shangdi]] ('''''[[God]]''''') ** [[Tian Xia]] (''[[All under Heaven]]'') ** [[Tian Chao]] (''[[Dynasty of Heaven]]'') ** [[Tian Ming]] (''[[Mandate of Heaven]]'') ** [[Tian Zi]] (''[[Son of Heaven]]'') * [[Tengri]]

== References == === Citations === {{Reflist}}

=== Sources === {{refbegin}} * [[Bai Shouyi|Bai, Shouyi]] et al. (2003). ''A History of Chinese Muslim (Vol. 2)''. Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company. {{ISBN|7-101-02890-X}}. * Liu, Yitang (1997). ''Studies of Chinese Western Regions''. Taipei: Cheng Chung Book Company. {{ISBN|957-09-1119-0}}. * [[Xue Zongzheng|Xue, Zongzheng]] (1992). ''A History of Turks''. Beijing: Chinese Social Sciences Press. {{ISBN|7-5004-0432-8}}. {{refend}}

[[Category:Chinese royal titles]] [[Category:Chinese-language titles]] [[Category:Emperors of the Tang dynasty|+]] [[Category:History of Central Asia]] [[Category:Emperor Taizong of Tang]]