Tartan
TARTAN (Heb. תַּרְתָּן; from Akk. turtānu or tartān), title of the Assyrian commander in chief who came immediately after the king. The title is attested as early as the reign of Adad-nirari II (911–891 B.C.E.). A general bearing the title tartan was sent by Sargon II in 711 against Ashdod (Isa. 20:1); another tartan headed a delegation sent by Sennacherib to Hezekiah (II Kings 18:17).
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
E. Ebeling and B. Meissner, in: Reallexikon der Assyriologie, 1 (1932), 460.
Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.
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