Khatun ( ) is a title of the female counterpart to a khan or a khagan of the Mongol Empire.
According to Bruno De Nicola in Women in Mongol Iran: The Khatuns, 1206–1335, the linguistic origins of the term "khatun" are unknown, though possibly of Old Turkic or Sogdian origin. De Nicola states that prior to the spread of the Mongols across Central Asia, Khatun meant 'lady' or 'noblewoman' and is found in broad usage in medieval Persian and Arabic texts.
Peter Benjamin Golden observed that the title qatun appeared among the Göktürks as the title for the khagan's wife and was borrowed from Sogdian language xwāten "wife of the ruler"Peter Benjamin Golden (1998), "Turks and Iranians: An historical sketch" in
, page 5 Earlier, British Oriental studies Gerard Clauson (1891–1974) defined xa:tun as "'lady' and the like" and says there is "no reasonable doubt that it is taken from Sogdian xwt'yn ( xwatēn), in Sogdian xwt'y ('lord, ruler') and xwt'yn 'lord's or ruler's wife'), "which is precisely the meaning of xa:tun in the early period."
By the beginning of the 16th century, the title hatun for sultan's mother, princesses, and sultan's main consort was replaced by "sultan" and they started to carry it after their given names. This usage underlines the Ottoman conception of sovereign power as family prerogative.
Consequently, the title valide hatun also turned into valide sultan.
Nilüfer Hatunنیلوفر خاتون | unknown | Greeks | Orhan | March 1362 son's ascension | 1363 | Murad I (son) | |
Gülçiçek Hatunكلچیچك خاتون | Maria | Greeks | Murad I | 16 June 1389 son's ascension | Bayezid I (son) | ||
Devlet Hatunدولت خاتون | unknown | unknown | Bayezid I | 5 July 1413 son's ascension | 26 May 1421 son's death | 1422 | Mehmed I (son) |
Emine Hatunامینہ خاتون | Emine | Dulkadirid | Mehmed I | 26 May 1421 son's ascension | August 1444 | Murad II(son) | |
September 1446 son's reinstatement | 1449 | ||||||
Hüma Hatun هما خاتون | Stella or Esther | disputed | Murad II | August 1444 son's first ascension | September 1446 | Mehmed II (son) | |
Mara Despina Hatun | Mara | Serbian | Murad II | 1457 Her return to Ottoman's court on Mehmed's invite | 3 May 1481 Mehmed's death | Mehmed II (stepson) | |
Gülbahar Hatun گل بھار مکرمه خاتون | unknown | Greeks o Albania | Mehmed II | 3 May 1481 son's ascension | 1492 | Bayezid II (son) |
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