EurasianStudies_0110..

January-March 2010 JOURNAL OF EURASIAN STUDIES Volume II., Issue 1.
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earlier, Hunnic version, like the above mentioned titles. Therefore, as we can see from above, for the first
time, besides the Shanyu, only the head of the wings got judicial rights in their appointed territories.
In the late history of Huns, regarding its function, other name of the title appeared: gudouhou. As Sima
Qian Shi Ji wrote, gudouhou assisted the shanyu in governance. Probably, it was the first stage of those
title bearings. Later, the gudouhou became the leading judge of the empire. According to Uchiraltu, the
gudouhou took part in judicial activities, and the pronunciation of the name was kutugu; 64 he also found
that from the 2 nd century AD the Chinese sources mentioned it as the leading judge, and the name was
preserved until the Mongolian Empire, too. 65 Some Chinese scholars are of opinion that there are other
variants of qudouhou, like kadagu or katagu, etc, among those Huns, who moved westwards. 66 The data
of the ancient Hungarian historical chronicles reinforce the above mentioned scholars’ point of view.
They preserved a very significant tradition concerning the name and function of the Hunnic judge. The
Hungarian Kézai-Simon’s Chronicle and the Képes Chronicle, which were composed from ancient
sources and traditions, the Huns, after they had entered the Carpathian Basin, chose a chief-judge, who
was Kadar, from the Torda-clan. 67 In these stories the title remained in use as a personal name. Besides
the Hungarian sources there are many evidences that kadar was the name of the leading judge among
Huns and their descendants. Gyula Moravcsik found such a Hunnic tribe as kadourioi in Theophanous’
chronicle; they lived in the 5-6 th centuries at the border of Persia. 68 It is very likely that the Khazarian title
kadir was derived from it, because they lived exactly at the border of Persia, and they were one of the
descendants of the Huns. As the Hungarian historian, Györffy György stated, the Khazarian kadir title is
related to the Hungarian kadar. 69 It is an important result, which means that variants of the name for
judge existed in Inner Asia. The following list of kadar-like titles shows its significance: there is kadar in
the Uyghurian history, as Kharjaubay presented it. When he analysed the Uyghurian names, he realised
that one name of the Uyghurian tribe was not kutugu, but we had to read it as kadar. 70 The Secret History
of the Mongols recorded some tribal names, which might have connections with the Hun kutugu. We
must notice that the chronicle was written down in the 13 th century, but it preserved early customs, and
names. That is why we find kutuktu, 71 kutu, kadagin, katagin, etc. forms inside it. 72 Therefore, we have
some evidence that the Huns and their descendants preserved the name of the judge in various kinds of
forms, as personal or tribal name.
64 Uchiraltu, 2008. 42-49. The Inner Mongolian linguistics refers to the ascertainments of Chinese experts that next to the word
kutugu there existed the other one, namely katagu. On this basis, the Hungarian tradition would be right. They recorded the
chief judge as Kadar, but the Mongolian chronicles also had katagin, the latter is presently used as tribal name.
65 Uchiraltu, 2008. 42-49.
66 Uchiraltu, 2008. 42-49.
67 Képes Krónika 7. Györffy, 1986. 185. (Kézai Simon’s Chronicle)
68 Moravcsik, 1942. II. 133.
69 Györffy, 1986. 293. In footnote 399 the Hungarian historian wrote the following: “Kadir is a Khazarian title, which appeared in
the Hungarian Kingdom in the Árpád-era in personal names, geographical names and the clan Kadarkalauz.
70 Kharjaubay, 1986, 46-47.
71 Kutuktu became an ecclesiatic expression for Mongolian Buddhism, so this name is used until present day.
72 MNT (The Secret History of the Mongols. 224. kadagin, 225. katagin, kutu, kudu, ad 226-227.
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