Tartan

Tartan was the title (not a personal name) of the commander-in-chief of the Assyrian army, second only to the king in the military hierarchy. The Assyrian word turtanu is confirmed in cuneiform records. Two biblical accounts mention a Tartan: (1) The Tartan of Sargon II came against the Philistine city of Ashdod c. 711 B.C. (Isa. 20:1), the occasion for Isaiah's three-year symbolic act of going naked and barefoot as a sign of coming Assyrian captivity for Egypt and Cush. (2) Sennacherib sent his Tartan along with the Rabshakeh and Rabsaris with a large army to demand Jerusalem's surrender from Hezekiah (2 Kgs. 18:17).