Chieftain of the Jiralhanae

The Chieftain of the Jiralhanae is the central political and military leader within the Jiralhanae contingent of the Covenant, responsible for representing their interests in the Covenant.

Function
A Chieftain of the Jiralhanae has requirements and functions beyond those of a regular Chieftain. He represents the Jiralhanae as a populace and operates as an emissary on their behalf within the Covenant, likely to the Ministry of Concert, and also functions as the Commander-in-Chief of his entire race. Past Chieftains of the Jiralhanae have been issued tasks deemed important by the Prophets - Maccabeus was tasked with recovering the Forerunner "relics" at Harvest, and later, Tartarus was given the task of recovering the Index from Installation 05 and activating the installation.

Inheritance
It appears that the title of "Chieftain of the Jiralhanae" is a title and designation that is passed through a specific ruling family. The most recent Chieftain of the Jiralhanae, Tartarus, inherited the title from his uncle Maccabeus, who in turn inherited it from his own father. In most, if not all cases, the title is passed on when a high-ranking son or relative of the current Chieftain challenges and kills his predecessor in ritual combat.

Notable Chieftains

 * Tartarus - Served as Chieftain from 2525, when he killed Maccabeus and took his position, until the end of the Battle of Installation 05 in November 2552, in which he was killed doing Truth's bidding by the Arbiter.

Trivia
After the death of Tartarus at the hands of Arbiter Thel 'Vadam, it is unknown whether another Chieftain of the Jiralhanae would have been instituted, since the killer was not a Jiralhanae.

List of appearances

 * Halo: First Strike
 * Halo 2
 * Halo Graphic Novel
 * Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
 * Halo: Contact Harvest