Tudun Darqan

Overall strategy
Tudun Darqan (Viceroyal Champions, or "Lord of the Tuduns") are drawn from either the Tudun class or their retainers, and as such are attired as archer cavalry. They may not be as powerful as the elite Bori Darqan in the field, but when it comes to mastering horse archery, they are some of the best units there are on the field. Aside from being possibly the most powerful cavalry archer unit of all in Swords of the Prophets, Tudun Darqan too have another ability that should not be overlooked — their ability to decimate low-tier Turkish melee cavalry, as well as Turkic mercenaries wherever they find them. Normally, light cavalry would be the bane of most missile cavalry units yet for the Tudun Darqan this would not be so. It is perfectly possible for the Khazar player to consider using Tudun Darqan to whittle down another Turkic player's forces using the superior stats of Tudun Darqan, or as a defensive force against them.

Even so, other Turkic players can find ways to strike back. For one, the Bulgars, Avars and Magyars all have access to their own indigenous unique Turkic-style cavalry to which the combat bonuses of Tudun Darqan do not apply - namely, the Avar Nobles and the Magyar Kiseret, as well as the Slavic konnica trained by the Bulgars. Of these, the Avar and Magyar units may pose the greatest problems as they are not only superior to any non-Turkic low-tier cavalry unit, but are also superior to the Bek Cavalry which they replace, and can be relied upon perchance to hold off attacks by Tudun Darqan. Note, too, that Tudun Darqan, while fast, aren't fully invincible to infantry either - most factions in Swords of the Prophets have access to either longbows or crossbow units, so if these are properly positioned and guarded, can be easily used to counter Khazar offensives using Tudun Darqan as an opener.

History
At its height, the Khazar Khaganate was probably highly organised and socially stratified, with a very developed state dispensing its authority across Khazar lands. To facilitate Khazar rule. these lands were organised into smaller territories, each one ruled over by a governor or tudun.