Who or what is a…
Tartan

also known as: Turtānu

Hebrew: תַּרְתָּן —transliteration: Tartan

This is an Assyrian word meaning the highest field commander in the Assyrian military—“the commander-in-chief.”

This was the name or title of 2 biblical men.

Tartan, of Sennacherib

He was one of King Sennacherib's messengers to King Hezekiah.

Then the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rab-saris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah with a heavy military force to Jerusalem. So they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they went up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is on the highway of the fuller's field. —2 Kings 18:17

Tartan, a general

He was one of King Sargon's generals or field-marshals mentioned by the prophet Isaiah.

In the year that the commander [Tartan] came to

Ashdod

, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it —Isaiah 20:1