The Khanate of Khiva (, , uz-Latn-Cyrl, Xiva xonligi, Хива хонлиги, , ) was a

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

n polity that existed in the historical region of

Khorezm Khwarazm (; ; , ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the east by the Kyzylkum Desert, on the south by t ...

from 1511 to 1920, except for a period of Afsharid occupation by

Nader Shah Nader Shah Afshar (; 6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747, when he was a ...

between 1740 and 1746. Centred in the irrigated plains of the lower

Amu Darya The Amu Darya ( ),() also shortened to Amu and historically known as the Oxus ( ), is a major river in Central Asia, which flows through Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Rising in the Pamir Mountains, north of the Hindu Ku ...

, south of the

Aral Sea The Aral Sea () was an endorheic lake lying between Kazakhstan to its north and Uzbekistan to its south, which began shrinking in the 1960s and had largely dried up into desert by the 2010s. It was in the Aktobe and Kyzylorda regions of Kazakhst ...

, with the capital in the city of

Khiva Khiva ( uz-Latn-Cyrl, Xiva, Хива, ; other names) is a district-level city of approximately 93,000 people in Khorazm Region, Uzbekistan. According to archaeological data, the city was established around 2,500 years ago. In 1997, Khiva celebr ...

. It covered present-day western

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

, southwestern

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

and much of

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

before the Russian conquest at the second half of the 19th century. In 1873, the

Khanate A khanate ( ) or khaganate refers to historic polity, polities ruled by a Khan (title), khan, khagan, khatun, or khanum. Khanates were typically nomadic Mongol and Turkic peoples, Turkic or Tatars, Tatar societies located on the Eurasian Steppe, ...

of Khiva was greatly reduced in size and became a

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...

. The other regional protectorate that lasted until the Revolution was the

Emirate of Bukhara The Emirate of Bukhara (, ) was a Muslims, Muslim-Uzbeks, Uzbek polity in Central Asia that existed from 1785 to 1920 in what is now Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. It occupied the land between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rive ...

. Following the

Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

, Khiva had a revolution too, and in 1920 the Khanate was replaced by the

Khorezm People's Soviet Republic The Khorezm People's Soviet Republic was the state created as the successor to the Khanate of Khiva in February 1920, when the Khan abdicated in response to pressure. It was officially declared by the First Khorezm Kurultay (Assembly) on 26 Apri ...

. In 1924, the area was formally incorporated into the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and today it is largely a part of

Karakalpakstan Karakalpakstan, officially the Republic of Karakalpakstan, is an autonomous republic and part of Uzbekistan. It spans the northwestern portion of Uzbekistan. Its capital is Nukus (' / ). Karakalpakstan has an area of , and has a population of a ...

Xorazm Region Khorazm Region, also known as the Khorezm or Xorazm Region, () is a viloyat (region) of Uzbekistan located in the northwest of the country in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya River. It borders with Turkmenistan, Karakalpakstan, and the Bukha ...

, and

Daşoguz Region Daşoguz Region (, formerly Daşhowuz) is one of the regions of Turkmenistan. It is in the north of the country, bordering Uzbekistan. The area of the province is 73,430 square kilometers, and the total population is 1,550,354 (2022 census).''S ...

Name

The terms "Khanate of Khiva" and "Khivan Khanate", by which the polity is commonly known in Western scholarship, are a

calque In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language ...

that derive from the .Wood, W. Khorezm and the Khanate of Khiva. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History. Retrieved 4 May. 2023, from https://oxfordre-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/asianhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277727-e-284. The term was first used by the Russians in the second half of the 17th century, or in the 18th century. Locals of the polity did not use this term, and instead referred to it as the ''vilayet Khwārazm'' ("country of Khwārazm"). Prior to the 17th/18th centuries, the polity was often called "Urgench" (or "Iurgench" in Russian sources). This name was also sometimes used in Iran and Bukhara, with the designation "Urganji" often being used as the collective name for its inhabitants.

History

Early history

See

, the local name of the region.

After 1500

CEM-44-La-Chine-la-Tartarie-Chinoise-et-le-Thibet-1734-Central-Asia-2574

After the capital was moved to

came to be called the Khanate of Khiva (the state had always referred to itself as Khorezm, the Khanate of Khiva as a name was popularized by

historians in honor of its capital, Khiva). Some time around 1600, the Daryaliq or west branch of the

Oxus The Amu Darya ( ),() also shortened to Amu and historically known as the Oxus ( ), is a major river in Central Asia, which flows through Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Rising in the Pamir Mountains, north of the Hindu Ku ...

dried up causing the capital to be moved south to

from

Konye-Urgench Konye-Urgench (, ; , ), also known as Old Urgench or Urganj, was a city in north Turkmenistan, just south from its border with Uzbekistan. It is the site of the ancient town of Gurgānj, which contains the ruins of the capital of Khwarazm. Its in ...

. Although based in the Oxus delta, the Khanate usually controlled most of what is now

. The population consisted of agriculturalists along the river, the Turkic

Sart Sart is a name for the settled inhabitants of Central Asia which has had shifting meanings over the centuries. According to Great Soviet Encyclopedia, before the October Revolution of 1917, the name “Sart” was used in ...

s, and nomads or semi-nomads away from the river. It is arbitrary to anachronistically project modern ethnic and national identifications, largely based on Soviet national delimitation policies, on pre-modern societies. The settled population was composed of aristocrats and peasants bound to the land. During the mid-1600s many

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

slaves were captured by

Turkmens Turkmens (, , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, living mainly in Turkmenistan, northern and northeastern regions of Iran and north-western Afghanistan. Sizeable groups of Turkmens are found also in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, ...

and a few

and Turkic slaves. Before and during this period, the settled area was increasingly infiltrated by

Uzbeks The Uzbeks () are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, being among the largest Turkic ethnic groups in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakhs, Kazakh and Karakalpaks, Karakalpak ...

from the north, with their Turkic dialects evolving into what is now the

Uzbek language Uzbek is a Karluk Turkic language spoken by Uzbeks. It is the official and national language of Uzbekistan and formally succeeded Chagatai, an earlier Karluk language endonymically called or , as the literary language of Uzbekistan in the 19 ...

, while the original influence of Khorezmian Turkic Language decreased. The swampy area of the lower delta was increasingly populated by

Karakalpaks The Karakalpaks or Qaraqalpaqs (; ), are a Kipchak languages, Kipchak-Nogai Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Karakalpakstan in Northwestern Uzbekistan. During the 18th century, they settled in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya a ...

and there were Kazakh nomads on the northern border. The Turkmen nomads paid taxes to the

Khan Khan may refer to: * Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name * Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by various ethnicities Art and entertainment * Khan (band), an English progressiv ...

and were a large part of his army, but often revolted. Since the heart of the Khanate was surrounded by semi-desert the only easy military approach was along the

. This led to many wars with the

Khanate of Bukhara The Khanate of Bukhara was an Uzbek state in Central Asia from 1501 to 1785, founded by the Abu'l-Khayrid dynasty, a branch of the Shaybanids. From 1533 to 1540, Bukhara briefly became its capital during the reign of Ubaidullah Khan. The Khana ...

further up the river (1538–40, 1593, 1655, 1656, 1662, 1684, 1689, 1694, 1806, and others). Persian slave

Before 1505,

was nominally dependent on the Timurid

Sultan Husayn Mirza Bayqara Sultan Husayn Bayqara Mirza ( ''Husayn Bāyqarā''; June/July 1438 – 4 May 1506) was the Timurid ruler of Herat from 1469 until May 4, 1506, with a brief interruption in 1470. A skilled statesman, Sultan Husayn Bayqara was best known for ...

based in

Khorasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West and Central Asia that encompasses western and no ...

. From 1488

Muhammad Shaybani Muhammad Shaybani Khan ( Chagatai and ; – 2 December 1510) was an Uzbek leader who consolidated various Uzbek tribes and laid the foundations for their ascendance in Transoxiana and the establishment of the Khanate of Bukhara. He was a Sh ...

built a large but short-lived empire in southern

, taking Khorezm in 1505. At nearly the same time, Shah

Ismail I Ismail I (; 17 July 1487 – 23 May 1524) was the founder and first shah of Safavid Iran, ruling from 1501 until his death in 1524. His reign is one of the most vital in the history of Iran, and the Safavid period is often considered the beginn ...

was building a powerful

Shiite Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

state in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. The two consequently clashed in 1510 near

Merv Merv (, ', ; ), also known as the Merve Oasis, was a major Iranian peoples, Iranian city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, near today's Mary, Turkmenistan. Human settlements on the site of Merv existed from the 3rd millennium& ...

with Muhammad killed in the battle and Khorezm shortly occupied. The Shah's religion provoked resistance and in 1511 his garrison was expelled and power passed to Ilbars, who founded the long-lived Arabshahid dynasty. Around 1540 and 1593, the Khans were driven out by the Bukharans. In both cases they fled to Persia and soon returned. In 1558,

Anthony Jenkinson Anthony Jenkinson (1529 – 1610/1611) was born at Market Harborough, Leicestershire. He was one of the first Englishmen to explore Tsardom of Russia, Muscovy and present-day Russia. Jenkinson was a traveller and explorer on behalf of the ...

visited Old Urgench and was not impressed. Following Arap Muhammad (1602–23), who moved the capital to

, there was a period of disorder, including an invasion by the

Kalmyks Kalmyks (), archaically anglicised as Calmucks (), are the only Mongolic ethnic group living in Europe, residing in the easternmost part of the European Plain. This dry steppe area, west of the lower Volga River, known among the nomads as ...

, who left laden with plunder. Disorder was ended by

Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur ( Chagatai and , Abulgazi, Ebulgazi, Abu-l-Ghazi, August 24, 1603 – 1663) was the Khan of Khiva from 1643 to 1663. He was a member of the Uzbek Shaybanid dynasty. He spent ten years in Persia before becoming khan, and was ...

(1643–1663) who twice defeated the Kalmyks and wrote a history of Central Asia. His son Anusha (1663–1685) presided over a period of urban growth until he was deposed and blinded. From 1695, Khiva was for some years a vassal of Bukhara which appointed two khans. Shir Gazi Khan (1714–1727), who was killed by slaves, is said to have been the last proper Arabshahid. Khan Ilbars (1728–40) was a Shibanid ruler, son of Shakhniyaz khanŠir-Moḥammad Mirāb Munes and Moḥammad-Reżā Mirāb Āgahi, Ferdaws al-eqbāl, ed., tr., and annotated by Yuri Bregel as Firdaws al-iqbal: History of Khorezm, 2 vols., Leiden, 1988–99. p. 162,62,567–68 who unwisely killed some Persian ambassadors. In a repeat of the

Shah Ismail Ismail I (; 17 July 1487 – 23 May 1524) was the founder and first shah of Safavid Iran, ruling from 1501 until his death in 1524. His reign is one of the most vital in the history of Iran, and the Safavid period is often considered the beginn ...

story,

Nadir Shah Nader Shah Afshar (; 6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747, when he was a ...

conquered Khiva, beheaded Ilbars and freed some 12,000–20,000 slaves. Next year the Persian garrison was slaughtered, but the rebellion was quickly suppressed. Persian pretensions ended with Nadir's murder in 1747. After 1746, the Qongrat tribe became increasingly powerful and appointed puppet khans. Their power was formalized as the Qongrat dynasty by Iltuzar Khan in 1804. Khiva flourished under Muhammad Rahim Khan (1806–1825) and Allah Quli Khan (1825–1840) and then declined. After Muhammad Amin Khan was killed trying to retake

Sarakhs Sarakhs () is a city in the Central District (Sarakhs County), Central District of Sarakhs County, Razavi Khorasan province, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Sarakhs was once a stopping po ...

on March 19, 1855, there was a long Turkmen rebellion (1855–1867). In the first two years of the rebellion, two or three Khans were killed by Turkmens.

Russian Empire period

Representatives of the Khanate of Khiva at the coronation of Nicholas II

Russians made five attacks on Khiva. Around 1602 some free

Ural Cossacks The Ural Cossack Host was a cossack host formed from the Ural Cossacks – those Eurasian cossacks settled by the Ural River. Their alternative name, Yaik Cossacks, comes from the old name of the river. They were also known by the names: * ...

unsuccessfully raided Khorezm. In 1717

Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky Prince Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky (), born Devlet-Girei-mırza (; died 1717), was a Imperial Russia, Russian officer of Circassians, Circassian origin who led the first Russian military expedition into Central Asia. Background A Muslims, Mus ...

attacked Khiva from the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

. After he won the battle, Shir Ghazi Khan (1715–1728) made a treaty and suggested that the Russians disperse so that they could be better fed. After they dispersed they were all killed or enslaved, only a few surviving to tell the tale. In 1801 an army was sent toward Khiva but was recalled when

Paul I Paul I may refer to: *Paul of Samosata (200–275), Bishop of Antioch *Paul I of Constantinople (died c. 350), Archbishop of Constantinople *Pope Paul I (700–767) *Paul I Šubić of Bribir (c. 1245–1312), Ban of Croatia and Lord of Bosnia *Paul ...

was murdered. In the Khivan campaign of 1839 Perovsky tried an attack from

Orenburg Orenburg (, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies in Eastern Europe, along the banks of the Ural River, being approximately southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is close to the ...

. The weather was unusually cold and he was forced to turn back after losing many men and most of his camels. Khiva was finally conquered by the Khivan campaign of 1873. The Russians installed Sayyid Muhammad Rahim Bahadur Khan II as the

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

ruler of the region. The conquest of Khiva was part of the

Russian conquest of Turkestan In the 16th century, the Tsardom of Russia embarked on a campaign to Territorial evolution of Russia, expand the Russian frontier to the east. This effort continued until the 19th century under the Russian Empire, when the Imperial Russian Army ...

. British attempts to deal with this were called the

Great Game The Great Game was a rivalry between the 19th-century British Empire, British and Russian Empire, Russian empires over influence in Central Asia, primarily in Emirate of Afghanistan, Afghanistan, Qajar Iran, Persia, and Tibet. The two colonia ...

. One of the reasons for the 1839 attack was the increasing number of Russian slaves held at Khiva. To remove this pretext Britain launched its own effort to free the slaves. Major Todd, the senior British political officer stationed in

Herat Herāt (; Dari/Pashto: هرات) is an oasis city and the third-largest city in Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Se ...

(in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

) dispatched Captain James Abbott, disguised as an Afghan, on 24 December 1839, for Khiva. Abbott arrived in late January 1840 and, although the Khan was suspicious of his identity, he succeeded in talking the Khan into allowing him to carry a letter for the Tsar regarding the slaves. He left on 7 March 1840, for Fort Alexandrovsk, and was subsequently betrayed by his guide, robbed, then released when the bandits realized the origin and destination of his letter. His superiors in

, not knowing of his fate, sent another officer, Lieutenant Richmond Shakespear, after him. Shakespear had more success than Abbott: he convinced the khan to free all Russian subjects under his control, and also to make the ownership of Russian slaves a crime punishable by death. The freed slaves and Shakespear arrived in Fort Alexandrovsk on 15 August 1840, and Russia lost its primary motive for the conquest of Khiva, for the time being. A permanent Russian presence on the

began in 1848 with the building of Fort Aralsk at the mouth of the

Syr Darya The Syr Darya ( ),; ; ; ; ; /. historically known as the Jaxartes ( , ), is a river in Central Asia. The name, which is Persian language, Persian, literally means ''Syr Sea'' or ''Syr River''. It originates in the Tian Shan, Tian Shan Mountain ...

. The Empire's military superiority was such that Khiva and the other Central Asian principalities,

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

and

Kokand Kokand ( ) is a city in Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southwestern edge of the Fergana Valley. Administratively, Kokand is a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlement Muqimiy. The population of Kokand was ap ...

, had no chance of repelling the Russian advance, despite years of fighting. In 1873, after

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

conquered the great cities of

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

and

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

, General Von Kaufman launched an attack on Khiva consisting of 13,000 infantry and cavalry. The city of Khiva fell on 10 June 1873 and, on 12 August 1873, a peace treaty was signed that established Khiva as a quasi-independent Russian

. The conquest ended the

Khivan slave trade The Khanate of Khiva was a major center of slave trade in Central Asia from the 17th century until the Khivan campaign of 1873, Russian conquest in 1873. The slave market in Khiva mainly trafficked slaves from Russia and Persia to the Islami ...

. After the conquest of what is now

(1884) the protectorates of Khiva and Bukhara were surrounded by Russian territory. The first significant settlement of Europeans in the Khanate was a group of

Mennonites Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

who migrated to Khiva in 1882. The German-speaking Mennonites had come from the

Volga The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

region and the

Molotschna Molotschna Colony or Molochna Colony was a Russian Mennonite settlement in what is now Zaporizhzhia Oblast in Ukraine. Today, the central village, known as Molochansk, has a population less than 10,000. The settlement is named after the Molochna R ...

colony under the leadership of Claas Epp Jr. The Mennonites played an important role in modernizing the Khanate in the decades prior to the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

by introducing photography, resulting in the development of Uzbek photography and filmmaking, more efficient methods for cotton harvesting, electrical generators, and other technological innovations.

Civil war and Soviet Republic

After the 1917

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

seizure of power in the

, anti-monarchists and Turkmen tribesmen joined forces with the Bolsheviks at the end of 1919 to depose the khan. By early February 1920, the Khivan army under

Junaid Khan Junaid Khan may refer to: * Junaid Khan (Basmachi leader), political leader in the Khanate of Khiva and the Basmachi movement * Junaid Khan (cricketer) (born 1989), Pakistani cricketer * Junaid Khan (Pakistani actor) (born 1981), Pakistani singer ...

was completely defeated. On 2 February 1920, Khiva's last Kungrad khan, Sayid Abdullah, abdicated and a short-lived

(later the Khorezm SSR) was created out of the territory of the old Khanate of Khiva, before it was finally incorporated into the

in 1924, with the former khanate divided between the new

Turkmen SSR The Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Turkmenistan, the Turkmen SSR, TuSSR, Turkmenistan, or Turkmenia, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union located in Soviet Central Asia, ...

and

Uzbek SSR The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (, ), also known as Soviet Uzbekistan, the Uzbek SSR, UzSSR, or simply Uzbekistan and rarely Uzbekia, was a union republic of the Soviet Union. It was governed by the Uzbek branch of the Soviet Communist P ...

. Following the collapse of the

in 1991, these became

and

respectively. Today, the area that was the khanate has a mixed population of

, and

Kazakhs The Kazakhs (Kazakh language, Kazakh: , , , ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia and Eastern Europe. They share a common Culture of Kazakhstan, culture, Kazakh language, language and History of Kazakhstan, history ...

Society

Economy

Culture

Military

Khans of Khiva (1511–1920)

Data on the Khivan Khans is sparse and sometimes contradictory, especially for the minor khans. Names and dates from Bregel/Muniz which probably gives the best modern scholarship. Short biographies are from Howarth's 1880 book which is old but has biographies of most of the khans.

Arabshahid dynasty (Yadigarid Shibanid dynasty, 1511–1804)

According to Howorth, the ancestors of Ilbars were Arabshah, Haji Tuli, Timur Sheikh, Yadigar Khan, Bereke, Ilbars. Arabshah's brother was Ibrahim Oghlan, ancestor of the khans of Bukhara. #Ilbars I (1511–1518): Enthroned by locals, fought several months to drive the

Persians Persians ( ), or the Persian people (), are an Iranian ethnic group from West Asia that came from an earlier group called the Proto-Iranians, which likely split from the Indo-Iranians in 1800 BCE from either Afghanistan or Central Asia. They ...

out, brought in

in numbers to raid

. #Sultan Haji (1518–1519): Nephew of Ilbars I, had a short reign; real power in the hands of his cousin Sultan Ghazi. #Hasan Quli (1519–1524, ru:1519): cousin of Ilbar I, killed by Ilbars' sons after 4-month siege of Urganch. #Sufyan (1529–1535, ru:1519–1522): 'Sofian Khan', second cousin of Ilbars, fought

on lower Uzboy River, which then had water. #Bujugha (1524–1529, ru:1522–1526): brother of Sufyan, raided

, concluded a marriage alliance with

Tahmasp I Tahmasp I ( or ; 22 February 1514 – 14 May 1576) was the second shah of Safavid Iran from 1524 until his death in 1576. He was the eldest son of Shah Ismail I and his principal consort, Tajlu Khanum. Tahmasp ascended the throne after the ...

using Sufyan's daughter. Dates from Bregel/Muniz reverse 4 and 5. #Avniq (1535–1538, ru:1526–1538): 'Avaneq', brother of Sufyan, blood feud with Ilbars' family and others led to an invasion by

and his death. Bukharans held

until they were driven out by his son, Din Muhammed. #Qal (1539–1549, ru:1541–1547): 'Khal Khan', son of Avniq, prosperous reign. #Aqatay (1549–1557, ru:1547–1557): 'Akatai', brother of Sufyan, fought the sons of several of his brothers, defeated and impaled. #Dust Muhammad (1557–1558): 'Dost Khan', son of 5, fought his brother Ish and both were killed. #Haji Muhammad I (1558–1602): son of 8, fought

, which conquered Khiva, 3 years in

, regained homeland, driven out, retook it. Visit of

. #Arab Muhammad I (1602–1623, ru:1603–1621): son of 10, Ural Cossack raid defeated, two Kalmyk raids, weak, two sons rebelled, blinded, later killed. #Isfandiyar (1623–1643) 12. son of 11, killed his rebellious brothers, pro- Turkmen, anti- Uzbek. #

(1643–1663): son of 11, khan after defeating Turkmen-Bukharan faction, fought

and

, wrote the Genealogy of Turkmens, an important historical source. #Anusha (1663–1685): son of 13, took

ru: has Samarqand, Howorth says 'the city' implying Bukhara. and lost it, three more failures at Bukhara, overthrown and blinded by son Erenk. # Between Anusha and Sher Gazi (1685–1714) Bregel and Howorth diverge, as do entries in the Russian Wikipedia. Howorth has A. Muhammed Erenk, failed attack on

, poisoned, B. Shah Niaz (1687 – after 1700) appointed by Bukhara, letter to czar in 1700. C. Arab Muhammed, letter from Czar in 1703. D. Haji Muhammed Behadur envoy to czar in 1714, E. Yadiger (d. 1714), F. Arank, a Karakalpak, father of Shir Gazi. #Khudaydad (1685–1687) ru: 1686–1689, son of Anusha, enthroned at 15, killed. #Muhammad Awrang I (1687–1694) ru:1689–1694, son of Anusha, killed by fall from horse. #Chuchaq (1694–1697) ru: calls him 'Jochi Khan', descendant of Haji Muhammad I. #Vali (1697–1698) ru: descendant of Haji Mukhammad, could not maintain stability and was removed. #Ishaq Agha Shah Niyaz (1698–1701) ru: son of Jochi/Chuchaq. Howorth has Shah Niyaz appointed by

in 1687. #Awrang II (1701–1702) #ru only:Shakhbakht Khan (1702–03) son of Shah Niyaz, overthrown. #ru only:Sayyid Ali Khan (1703) son of Shah Niyaz, reign lasted several days. #Musa (1702–1712) ru:1703–04, son of Jochi/Chucaq, fled to

. #Yadigar I (1712–1713) ru:1704–1714, son of Haji Muhammad I, followed by Sher Ghazi. #Awrang III (). #Haji Muhammad II () envoy to czar in 1714, grandson of Abul Ghazi. #Shir Ghazi (1714–1727) from Bukhara, defeated

, fought rival state on lower delta under Timur Sultan, visited by Florio Beneveni, minor slave rebellion. ru:killed by slaves in same year as Howorth's slave rebellion, descendant of Sultan Gazi (see Sultan Haji). #Sarigh Ayghir (1727) #Ilbars II (1728–1740), son of Shakhniyaz khan, rejected threat from

, surrendered to him, executed by Nadir because he had killed Nadir's envoys. Nadir freed many slaves. #Tahir (1740–1742) cousin of Bukharan khan, appointed by Nadir Shah, killed when Nadir's army was elsewhere. #Nurali I (1742) Kazakh, son of

Abul Khair Khan Mirza Abū'l-Khair Mūhammed Khan bin Qājı Abdūllah Sultan (, , ), more commonly known by his short name Abū'l-Khair Khan (1693–1748) was leader of the Kazakh Little jüz in present-day western and central Kazakhstan. During this perio ...

, helped expel Nadir's garrison, fled to steppe before Persian army returned. ru: expelled by Persians. #Abu Muhammad (1742) son of Ilbars, appointed by returning Persians #Abu al-Ghazi II Muhammad (1742–1747) resisted returning Persians? #Ghaib ( Kaip Khan) (1747–1758) a Kazakh, enemy of Nurali, driven out, later khan of Little Horde. # Between Kaip and 1804 Howorth cannot identify khans. He says that they were titular rulers and often exiled after a few years. Real power was in the hands of Inaks or hereditary prime ministers who were also chiefs on the Qungrat tribe in the lower delta. He lists these Inaks: A. Ishmed bi; B. Muhammed Amin (1755–1782) son of A; C. Ivaz (died 1804), son of B, Dr Blankenagel (1793) could not cure his brother's blindness but left account; D. Iltazar, son of C, after six months expelled last Arabshahid khan. #Abdullah Qara Beg (1758) #Timur Ghazi (1758–1764) #Tawke (1764–1766) #Shah Ghazi (1766–1768) #Abu al-Ghazi III (1768–1769) ru: son of Kaip, later khan of

, later on lower

, died in poverty in 1815. #Nurali II (1769) #Jahangir (1769–1770) ru: son of Kaip. #Bölekey (1770) ru: a Kazakh from lower

, expelled above and soon driven out himself. #Aqim (first time, 1770–1771) #Abd al-Aziz () #Artuq Ghazi () #Abdullah () #Aqim (second time, ) #Yadigar II (first time, –1775) #Abu'l Fayz (1775–1779) #Yadigar II (second time, 1779–1781) #Pulad Ghazi (1781–1783) #Yadigar II (third time, 1783–1790) #Abu al-Ghazi IV (1790–1802) visit of Russian Dr. Blankenagel in 1793. #Abu al-Ghazi V ibn Gha'ib (1802–1804)

Qungrat dynasty (1804–1920)

Qungrat Inaqs

*Ishmed bi: Howorth only, information from Muraviev who visited in 1820 *Muhammed Amin Biy: ru: 1763–1790, slowly restored relative peace, defeated

in 1770 and

in 1782. *Avaz-Inak or Ivaz-Inak: ru: 1790–1804, son of above, relative peace and stability, in 1793 rebellion in lower delta suppressed, but area somewhat independent for about 20 years, in 1793 Russian visitor Dr. Egor Blankennagel was unable to cure his brother's blindness, but left a report. According to Howorth, the brother, Fazil bi was 'always consulted' by Avaz and his father. * Eltuzar-Inak (1804): son of above, made himself khan after a few months.

Qungrat Khans

* Eltuzar-Inak, son of Ivaz-Inak Biy (1804–1806), exiled the last Arabshahid Khan, said he would find another, collected an army and had himself made Khan, attacked Yomuds towards

Asterabad Gorgan (; ) is a city in the Central District (Gorgan County), Central District of Gorgan County, Golestan province, Golestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It lies approximately to the nor ...

, then allied with them, attacked

, defeated, fled across the

in a boat, so many people piled onto it that it sank and he was drowned. * Muhammad Rahim Bahadur I. (1806–1825) son of above, said to be cruel but strong measures restored order, conquered lower delta (ru:1811), subjugated tribes, fought

and

, visited by Muraviev (1820) who left report. wrote history of Khiva used by Bregel. * Allah Quli Bahadur (1825–1842) son of above, took

and

Serakhs Sarahs (, also written Saraghs, Serahs, Sarakhs, Saragt, or Serakhs, the last a backformation of ) is an oasis city in Ahal Province, Turkmenistan, and the administrative center of Sarahs district (). It is located at latitude 36°31' North; lon ...

Alexander Burnes Captain Sir Alexander Burnes (16 May 1805 – 2 November 1841) was a Scottish explorer, military officer and diplomat associated with the Great Game. He was nicknamed Bokhara Burnes for his role in establishing contact with and expl ...

met his army there, 1839 Russian invasion defeated by cold weather, visited by James Abbott, Richmond Shakespear and Arthur Conolly. *Muhammad Rahim Quli (1842–1846) son of above, fought tribes south of Merv, brother defeated Bukharan invasion. * Abu al-Ghazi Muhammad Amin Bahadur (1846 – 19 March 1855), brother of above, took Merv, garrison expelled, retaken, fought Tekes,

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

built forts on the

, but Khivans only raided the surrounding areas, campaigned south of Merv,

intervened, captured and beheaded because he unwisely pitched his tent on the edge of the camp. *Abdullah (1855) ( ru) grandson of Ittazar's second son (ru:son of Muhammad Amin), enthroned by defeated army, soon killed by Turkmen rebels. *Kutlugh Muhammad Murad Bahadur ( ru) (1855–1856) brother of above, fought same rebels, assassinated by rebel ally who pretended to pay homage. * Sayyid Muhammad (1856 – September 1864) son of second Qungrat khan, civil war, famine and plague, Ignatiev mission (1858),

Ármin Vámbéry Ármin Vámbéry (born Hermann Wamberger; 19 March 183215 September 1913), also known as Arminius Vámbéry, was a Hungarian Turkologist and traveller. Early life Vámbéry was born in 1832 in the Hungarian city of Szentgyörgy within the ...

's visit (1863). * Muhammad Rahim Bahadur II (Feruz Khan) (10 September 1864 – September 1910) son of above, conquered by Russia in 1873, Khiva became a Russian

. * Isfandiyar Jurji Bahadur (September 1910 – 1 October 1918) son of the above.

Following ''Following'' is a 1998 British independent neo-noir crime thriller film written, produced, directed, photographed, and edited by Christopher Nolan in his feature film directorial debut. It tells the story of a young man who follows strange ...

the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

, lost the country to

of the Turkmen

Yomut The Yomut, also spelled Yomud or Iomud, are a Turkmen tribe who reside in Turkmenistan and Iran. There is a common belief about the origin of the name Yomut. It is said that a long time ago, Indigenous people settled by the Caspian Sea and we ...

tribe and was executed by him. Isfandiyar Jurji Bahadur

* Sayid Abdullah (1 October 1918 – 1 February 1920) brother of the above. Real power in hands of Junaid Khan.

Notes and sources

*M Annanepesov and H. N. Bababekov, "The Khanates of Khiva and Kokand", in ''History of Civilizations in Central Asia'', Volume V, pp63–71, 2008 * Frederick Burnaby, ''A Ride to Khiva: Travels and Adventures in Central Asia'' (1876)
History of the Mongols
From the 9th to the 19th Century, By Sir

Henry Hoyle Howorth Sir Henry Hoyle Howorth (1 July 1842 – 15 July 1923) was a British Conservative politician, barrister and amateur historian and geologist.''Obituary: Sir Henry Howorth, A Life of Wide Interests, Politics, Science, and Art'', The Times, ...

(biographies of the Khans)

External links

"Russian Invasion (the end of the XIX century)"Map of the Khanates of Bukhara, Khiva, and Khokand and Part of Russian Turkistan
from 1875 by

Eugene Schuyler Eugene Schuyler (February 26, 1840 – July 16, 1890) was a nineteenth-century United States, American scholar, writer, explorer and diplomat. Schuyler was one of the first three Americans to earn a Ph.D. from an American university; and the firs ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Khiva States and territories established in 1511 States and territories disestablished in 1920 Khanates Central Asia in the Russian Empire Lists of khans Former Russian protectorates Former monarchies