Tartan, meaning supreme commander or chief, is a title of a leader mentioned in 2 Kings 18:17 and Isaiah 20:1.
About Tartan
Title of the highest-ranking Assyrian official, second in command only to the king. The tartan was the commander in chief of the Assyrian army. The position is mentioned in two Old Testament passages:
King Sargon II of Assyria (722–705 BC) ordered his commander to subdue and capture the Philistine city of Ashdod (Isaiah 20:1).
Key References
Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They advanced up to Jerusalem and stationed themselves by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.
Before the year that the chief commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it,
All Scripture References (2)
2 Kings (1)
Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They advanced up to Jerusalem and stationed themselves by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.
Isaiah (1)
Before the year that the chief commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it,