A takht is a seat of temporal authority. There are five.
Akal Takht Sahib at Amritsar, built by Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji in 1606, facing the Harmandir. It is the highest and its jathedar can issue a hukamnama binding on the Panth.
Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib at Anandpur, where the Khalsa was created in 1699.
Takht Sri Damdama Sahib at Talwandi Sabo, where Guru Gobind Singh Ji dictated the final recension of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji. It was recognised as a takht only in 1966 and the recognition was contested.
Takht Sri Patna Sahib in Bihar, the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh Ji.
Takht Sri Hazur Sahib at Nanded in Maharashtra, where he died in 1708 and where the guruship passed to the Guru Granth Sahib Ji.
Three are in Punjab and two are not. The two outside are administered under different laws by different bodies, which is why a hukamnama issued at Amritsar and one issued at Nanded have on occasion contradicted each other with no mechanism to resolve it.
A takht is a seat of authority. The Akal Takht at Amritsar is the first and the senior, and Kesgarh, Damdama, Patna Sahib and Hazur Sahib are the others.
Their jathedars are appointed by the SGPC in three cases and by local committees in the two outside Punjab, which is a structural source of the disagreements between them.
A hukamnama issued from the Akal Takht binds the community in principle. Who may issue one, and on whose advice, is the central unresolved question in Sikh institutional life.