ĀQĀ (or ĀḠĀ), Mongolian title, essentially meaning “elder brother” and by extension “senior member of the family.” It was in the latter capacity that Batu convened the quriltai that elected Möngke as Great Khan (see P. Jackson, “The Dissolution of the Mongol Empire,” Central Asiatic Journal 22/3-4, 1978, p. 203 and n. 68). When in conjunction with īnī (younger brother), the phrase āqā wa īnī should be taken to imply “the entire family.” Āqā sometimes forms part of a name, as in the case of the notable early Mongol governor of Khorasan, Arḡūn Āqā.
Āḡā is sometimes spelt āqā, but should not be confused with it. Āḡā means “princess,” and is applied to female members of the royal house (e.g., Ḡāzān Khan’s consort Arḡūn Āḡā).
Bibliography:
G. Doerfer, Türkische und mongolische Elemente im Neupersischen I, Wiesbaden, 1963, pp. 131-40.
Further discussion by E. Quatremère in Raschid-eldin, Histoire des Mongols de la Perse, Paris, 1836, pp. xxxviii-xl, n. 70.
See also “Āghā,” EI2 I, pp. 245-46.
(D. O. Morgan)
Originally Published: December 15, 1986
Last Updated: August 5, 2011
This article is available in print.
Vol. II, Fasc. 2, p. 168
