Khan of Heaven

Khan of Heaven or Tian Kehan, Celestial Kha(ga)n, Heavenly Kha(ga)n, Tengri Kha(ga)n (; Old Turkic: 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃𐰴𐰍𐰣‬) was a title addressed to the Emperor Taizong of Tang by various Turkic nomads.Liu, 79 It was first mentioned in accounts on May 20, 630 and again on October 24, 646, shortly after the Eastern Turkic Khaganate and Xueyantuo were annihilated by the Tang dynasty.Liu, 74-76Skaff 2012, pp. 120-121. 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".

According to Jonathan Karam Skaff, the title deviated from both Chinese and Turkic orthodoxy by bridging them through centering Heaven as the supreme deity in both cultures. The title conferred the right to rule and acknowledged the equality of Chinese and Turkic peoples within the Tang Empire.

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.朱振宏《唐代“皇帝·天可汗”释义》，《汉学研究》第21卷第1期，2003年 The title "Khan of Heaven" was used in 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.Bai, 230Xue, 674-675

Khan of Heaven

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