Tartan Next to the Assyrian king in apparent rank. The commander-in-chief, who commanded his armies in his absence (Isaiah 20:1). One sent against Ashdod by Sargon, distinct from Sennacherib's tartan (2 Kings 18:17). After the tartan came the rubsaris, "chief eunuch," who had right of near approach to the king's person, and introduced strangers and attended to his comforts; then the rabshakeh, "chief cupbearer," representing his master in embassies.