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 regular Chieftains. He represents the Jiralhanae as a populace and operates as a centric emissary on the Covenant's behalf, likely to the Ministry of Concert, and is also the Jiralhanae Commander in Chief of his entire race. Past Chieftains of the Jiralhanae have been given tasks deemed important by the Prophets - Maccabeus was tasked with recovering the "relics" at Harvest, and later, Tartarus was given the task of recovering the Index from Installation 05 and activating the installation.

Inheritance
It is likely that the title of Chieftain of the Jiralhanae is a title and designation that is passed through a specific "royal" family. The most recent Chieftain of the Jiralhanae, Tartarus, for example, inherited the title from his uncle, Maccabeus, who in turn inherited it from his own father; however, it could be a more Ape-like leadership, with one challenging the leader, for control of the family. And with a large number of clans, clan warfare for society roles would be common. Perhaps a leading family would be involved in feuds with itself and other families, with the assassin assuming control. This methodology is similar to the Sangheili Kaidon.

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 title was not passed on before his death.
 * According to Jiralhanae traditions, the Arbiter should have inherited the title of Chieftain of the Jiralhanae because he challenged and defeated Tartarus. Tartarus had no children. The Arbiter is a Sangheili, so the Brutes would never accept him. Because of these facts, it is unknown what happened to the title, or even if there is still a Chieftain of the Jiralhanae.
 * It is possible (however unlikely) that the Chieftain who was with the Prophet of Truth in The Ark's control room in Halo 3 was the new Chieftain of the Jiralhanae, which would mean that he, too, was killed.
 * Shown in Halo: Contact Harvest, the Chieftain of the Jiralhanae (Maccabeus)'s power armor was so strong, that when he was hit by a Warthog, he was only injured.