Baghatur (also Batur, Batyr, Baatar, etc.) is a historical Turkic peoples and Mongolic peoples honorific title,[Ed. Herbert Franke and others – The Cambridge History of China: Volume 6, Alien Regimes and Border States, 710–1368, p. 567.] in origin a term for "hero", "valiant warrior", "brave".[James Chambers The Devil's horsemen: the Mongol invasion of Europe, p. 107.]
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. In the Mughal Empire which was a successor state of the Timurids, the term was pronounced as "Bahadur". They were also respected elites in all subsequent Mongols states, including the Yuan dynasty, Dzungar Khanate, Kalmyk Khanate and even Mongolian People's Republic.
The concept of the Baghatur is present in Turco-Mongol tradition, one instance is the Bashkirs epic poem Ural-batyr. The Bogatyr of Eastern Slavic Bylina is derived from the Turkic languages 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 Turkic and Mongolic warriors strove to live up to, hence its use as a military honorific of glory.
Baghatur, or its variant spellings, are today used as personal names and name components, such as the Turkish language Bahadır, Tatar language Batırşa (Батырша), Kazakh language Batyrbek.
Etymology and distribution
The term was first used by the steppe peoples in the Mongolian Plateau as early as the 7th century as evidenced in
Sui dynasty records.
[C. Fleischer, "Bahādor", in Encyclopædia Iranica][Grousset 194.] 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.
According to
Gerard Clauson,
Bağatur by origin almost certainly a Xiongnu (which Clauson proposes to be
Hunnic language) name, and specifically of the second Xiongnu Chanyu, whose name was transliterated by the
Han Chinese as labels=no (with
-n for foreign
-r), now pronounced
Modu Chanyu in
standard Chinese.
[Pulleyblank, E.G. (1999). "The Peoples of the Steppe Frontier in Early Chinese Sources" Migracijske teme 15 1–2. footnote 3 on p. 45 of pp. 35–61]
The word was introduced in many cultures as a result of the Turco-Mongol conquests, and now exists in different forms in various languages: ; Bagatur, Khalkha Mongolian: Баатар, Багатур Bātar, Bagatur; t=巴特爾; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and tr .
It is also preserved in the modern Turkic and Mongol languages as Altai languages Баатыр (Baatïr), Turkish language Batur/Bahadır, Tatar language and Kazakh language Батыр (Batır / Batyr), Uzbek language Batyr and Mongolian Baatar (as in Ulaanbaatar). In 1928, a Russian-Tatar silent film, dedicated to the Pugachev rebellion, carried the name Bulat-Batyr.
It is the origin of a number of terms and names, such as Bahadur (in Persian language, South Asian Muslim, Sikhs, Hindus and other cultures), Bahadır (a popular male name in Turkey), Baturu, Bey, Mete, Metehan, , , , 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:
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.
-
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.
-
Bayan of the Merkid, the Grand councillor of the Yuan dynasty, was awarded Baghatur for his merit during the Ogedeid-Yuan conflict.
[Ed. Herbert Franke and others – The Cambridge History of China: Volume 6, Alien Regimes and Border States, 710–1368, p.568]
-
Two Mughal Empire 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).
-
Bahadur Shah, Chautaria & Prince Regent of Nepal from 31 August 1778 to 20 June 1779.
-
Shree Tin Jung Bahadur Rana, Founder of the Rana Dynasty, 1st Maharaja of Lamjung and Kaski, Prime Minister and the de facto ruler of Nepal from 15 September 1846 to 1 August 1856 and again from 28 June 1857 to 25 February 1877.
-
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 Kazakhs ethnicity
Notes
-
.
-
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. .
