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Noyan (fromClassical Mongolianᠨ᠋ᠣᠶ᠋ᠠᠨ 'lord, master') was atitle of authority, which was used to refer to civil-military leaders of noble ancestry in theCentral Asian khanates. The title was originally used as a title of authority in theMongol Empire. In modern times, it is used as agiven name orsurname in Asia.[1]
Initially, Noyan was a title for chieftains of Mongolian nomad communities.[2]
UnderGenghis Khan the term "Noyon" applied to leaders ofTumens andMingghans, civil and military units of 10,000 and 1,000 households respectively, each of them with one recruitable soldier. In times of peace theNoyons ruled as lords over these households and governed the use of the pasture lands. In times of war they led the warriors of their Tumens and Mingghans.[3] During conquests,Noyons used to receive territories for administration and they effectively became aristocracy, into the 20th century.Noyons were above the ordinary Mongols in social rank but below the descendants ofGenghis Khan. They were sometimes calledemir orbey in theUlus of Jochi, theIlkhanate and theChagatai Khanate while historical records of theYuan dynasty of China gave the equivalent asguanren (官人).
Usually, "Noyon" followed the name of a person similar to the usage of the title "Khan" or "Bey".
TheQing dynasty of China, whichruled Mongolia from 1694 to 1911, entrusted rule in Mongolia to the descendants of Genghis Khan, who were also calledNoyon. The termNoyon in this epoch acquired the connotation ofnobleman, since Mongolia was mostly at peace. After 1921 the wordDarga (boss) replaced the aristocraticNoyon as the term for officials.[4]
In modern Mongolian, the word is used as a form of address similar to "Mister" or "Monsieur".
In themongolian shamanism and folk religion the Noyad are a class of local spirits. They are regarded as descendants of gods or clan elders.[5]
Noyon is also used as an honorary title in mongolian buddhism for the incarnation line of theNoyon Khutagt.
Noyan (Bengali name): A common Bangladeshi variant of the first name Nayan, meaning "eyes".[6] The name is of Sanskrit origin (Nayana / नयन). It represents, among other things, wisdom, deep insight and understanding.[7] Another common spelling in Bangladesh is Noyon.