Khwarazmshah was an ancient title used regularly by the rulers of the

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 region of

Khwarazm 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 th ...

starting from the

Late Antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

until the advent of the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

in the early 13th-century, after which it was used infrequently. There were a total of four families who ruled as Khwarazmshahs—the Afrighids (305–995),

Ma'munids The Maʾmunids () were an independent dynasty of Iranian rulers in Khwarazm. Their reign was short-lived (995–1017), and they were in turn replaced by the expansionist Ghaznavids. History The ancient Iranian kingdom of Khwarazm had been ruled ...

(995–1017), the line of Altuntash (1017–1041), and the most prominent ones, the Anushteginids (1097–1231). Like other contemporary Central Asian titles, such as ''

Afshin Afshin () is a common Persian language, Persian given name derived from Avestan. Afshin was used by the Sogdians. Historically, it was the title of the rulers of Principality of Ushrusana in Transoxiana before the Muslim conquest of Persia.. Etym ...

'' and '' Ikhshid'', the title of Khwarazmshah is of

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

origin.

History

Afrighids

Most of Afrighid history was recorded by the Khwarazmian scholar

al-Biruni Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (; ; 973after 1050), known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously "Father of Comparative Religion", "Father of modern ...

(died 1050), whose reliability has been questioned. According to the latter, the Afrighids were founded by Afrig in 305, succeeding the semi-legendary line of the Siyavushids, founded by the Iranian king Kay Khosrow. However, extensive

Soviet 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 ...

archeological findings demonstrate that al-Biruni was in reality not well-acquainted with pre-Islamic Khwarazmian history. Coin findings show that before the advent of the Afrighids, Khwarazm was part of the

Parthian Empire The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power centered in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe ...

. The start of the Khwarazmian era seemingly took place in the early 1st-century, after they had freed themselves of Parthian rule, and established their own local dynasty of shahs. The dynastic name of "Afrighid" ( Khwarazmian: ''ʾfryḡ'') is not attested anywhere besides al-Biruni, which has led scholars to suggest that the name never existed. Likewise, many of the Khwarazmshahs recorded by al-Biruni are not supported by archeological evidence; however, this may be due to scribal errors. The Afrighids and the local population were most likely adherents of

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...

. The first Khwarazmshah to convert to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

was Azkajwar-Abdallah, who ruled in the early 9th-century, perhaps coinciding with the reign of the

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

al-Ma'mun Abū al-ʿAbbās Abd Allāh ibn Hārūn al-Maʾmūn (; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name al-Ma'mun (), was the seventh Abbasid caliph, who reigned from 813 until his death in 833. His leadership was marked by t ...

(). Regardless, the Islamization of the local population was much slower. In the early 10th-century, the Khwarazmshahs were made vassals of the Samanid dynasty, a

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 ...

family which ruled mainly in Transoxania and

Khurasan 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 Asia, West and Central Asia that encompasses wes ...

. Although the Khwarazmshahs sometimes granted sanctuary to Samanid rebels, they generally ruled a peaceful domain. During the end of the Samanids, the Khwarazmshahs extended their rule as far as the northern edges of Khurasan, ruling frontier posts such as Farawa and

Nasa The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

. An uncertain part of Khwarazmian history is the rise of Ma'munid family, who came to rule their hometown of

Gurganj 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 ...

, one of the three main cities of the country. The city had risen to rival the Afrighid capital of Kath, most likely due to its commercial success as a trading post between the

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropica ...

and the

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...

. The Ma'munids and Afrighids eventually became rivals, with conflict soon ensuing. The Ma'munid Ma'mun I deposed and killed the Afrighid shah Abu 'Abdallah Muhammad (), thus marking the end of the first Khwarazmshah line of the Afrighids, and the inauguration of the second Khwarazmshah line of the Ma'munids.

Ma'munids

Under the Ma'munids, their capital of Gurganj became a centre of learning, attracting many prominent figures, such as the philosophers

Avicenna Ibn Sina ( – 22 June 1037), commonly known in the West as Avicenna ( ), was a preeminent philosopher and physician of the Muslim world, flourishing during the Islamic Golden Age, serving in the courts of various Iranian peoples, Iranian ...

and Abu Sahl al-Masihi, the mathematician

Abu Nasr Mansur Abū Naṣr Manṣūr ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿIrāq al-Jaʿdī (; c. 960 – 1036) was a Persian Muslim mathematician and astronomer. He is well known for his work with the spherical sine law.Bijli suggests that three mathematicians are in contention ...

, the physician Ibn al-Khammar, and the

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

al-Tha'alibi. The Ma'munids also embellished their capital with buildings such as a

minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

which still survives till this day, and has an inscription crediting Ma'mun II () its founder. However, the Ma'munids soon fell into conflict with the

Ghaznavid The Ghaznavid dynasty ( ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin. It ruled the Ghaznavid Empire or the Empire of Ghazni from 977 to 1186, which at its greatest extent, extended from the Oxus to the Indus Va ...

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

Mahmud (), who sought to pressurize his Qarakhanid enemies by extending his rule into Khwarazm. In 1014, Mahmud demanded that Ma'mun II should add his name in the '' khutba'' (Friday sermon) in Khwarazm, thus acknowledging his suzerainty. Unable to gain military assistance or appease Mahmud through other means, Ma'mun II was forced to accept his demands, much to the dislike of the Khwarazmian nobles and military officers. This eventually resulted in a patriotic revolt, led by the commander-in-chief Alptigin, which led to the murder of Ma'mun II and accession of his nephew Abu'l-Harith Muhammad in March 1017. Ma'mun II was the brother-in-law of Mahmud, which afforded the latter a pretext to invade Khwarazm. The Ghaznavid army defeated the local Khwarazmian forces at

Hazarasp Khazarasp (), or by its more ancient name Hazarasp (, meaning ''"thousand horses"''), is an urban-type settlement in Uzbekistan, administrative centre of the Hazorasp District. Its population is 18,800 (2016). It lies at the head of the Amu Darya ...

, brutalized the population of Gurganj, and captured many Khwarazmians, who were taken to the capital of

Ghazni Ghazni (, ), historically known as Ghaznayn () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana (), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan with a population of around 190,000 people. The city is strategica ...

as slaves. Abu'l-Harith Muhammad was deposed and imprisoned, while Khwarazm was incorporated into the Ghaznavid realm, thus marking the end of the Ma'munid dynasty, the last ethnically Iranian line of Khwarazmshahs.

The line of Altuntash

Due to the difficulty to control a distant area such as Khwarazm, Mahmud installed his Turkic slave commander () Altuntash as the governor of the region, with the traditional title of Khwarazmshah, thus marking the start of the third line of Khwarazmshahs. A loyal servant of the Ghaznavids, Altuntash protected the borders of Khwarazm by enlisting additional soldiers from the Turkic groups of Qipchaq, Kujet and Chaghrat. He died of wounds in the aftermath of the Battle of Dabusiyya against the Qarakhanid ruler Ali-Tigin () in 1032. Although Sultan Mas'ud I () appointed his own son Sa'id as the new Khwarazmshah, the '' de facto'' ruler of Khwarazm was Altuntash's son Harun, who was the ''khalifat al-dar'' (lieutenant) of Sa'id. In 1034, in an alliance with the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turks, Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate society, Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persi ...

, Harun rebelled against Mas'ud, but was the following year assassinated at the instigation of the latter. Harun was succeeded by his brother Ismail Khandan, who was able to rule as an independent monarch as Mas'ud I was occupied with the Seljuk invasions. In 1038, Mas'ud gave the governorship of Khwarazm to his ally, Shah Malik, the Oghuz Yabghu of Jand. In 1041, Ismail was expelled from Khwarazm by the latter, who declared himself ruler at Gurganj, thus marking the end of the Altuntash line. During this period, however, Mas'ud had already died and Ghaznavid rule in the west had crumbled.

Anushtegin dynasty

A year after Shah Malik's conquest of Khwarazm, he was expelled by the Seljuk leaders

Tughril Abu Talib Muhammad Tughril ibn Mika'il (), better known as Tughril (; also spelled Toghril / Tughrul), was a Turkoman"The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turkomans at the battle of Malazgirt (Manzikert) is ...

and Chaghri Beg. From henceforth Khwarazm was a Seljuk province, although the title of Khwarazmshah was unused until , when the Turkic Anushtegin Gharchai was made its governor by Sultan

Malik-Shah I Malik-Shah I (, ) was the third sultan of the Seljuk Empire from 1072 to 1092, under whom the sultanate reached the zenith of its power and influence. During his youth, he spent his time participating in the campaigns of his father Alp Arslan, ...

(). He was succeeded by fellow Turkic Ekinchi as Khwarazmshah in 1097, but the latter died in the same year. Sultan Berkyaruq () then made Anushtegin's son Qutb al-Din Muhammad (who became known as Muhammad I) the new Khwarazmshah, thus marking the start of the fourth and final Khwarazmshah line of the Anushteginids. Muhammad I was loyal to the Seljuks, attending the Seljuk court with diligence. It was his son and successor

Atsiz Ala al-Din wa-l-Dawla Abu'l-Muzaffar Atsiz ibn Muhammad ibn Anushtegin (; 1098 – 1156), better known as Atsiz () was the second Khwarazmshah from 1127 to 1156. He was the son and successor of Muhammad I. Ruler of Khwarazm Warfare with the ...

() who established the Khwarazmshahs' grandeur, being determined in his pursuit of autonomy and expansion of his realm, conquering the

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, ...

of the eastern Caspian shores and the Manghislak peninsula. Regardless, he nominally acknowledged the suzerainty of Sultan

Ahmad Sanjar Sanjar (, ; full name: ''Muizz ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Adud ad-Dawlah Abul-Harith Ahmad Sanjar ibn Malik-Shah'') (6 November 1086 – 8 May 1157) was the Seljuq ruler of Khorasan from 1097 until 1118,Il-Arslan was able to gain greater autonomy after the death of Sanjar and disintegration of Seljuk authority in the east. As long as he paid tribute to the

Qara Khitai The Qara Khitai, or Kara Khitai ( zh, t=喀喇契丹, s=哈剌契丹, p=Kālā Qìdān or zh, c=黑契丹, p=Hēi Qìdān, l=Black Khitan, links=no), also known as the Western Liao ( zh, t=西遼, p=Xī Liáo, links=no), officially the Great L ...

, they had little interest in meddling in his affairs, and thus he was free to focus on expanding his rule into the Qarakhanid domains. The power of the Khwarazmshahs even further increased under Il-Arslan's son and successor

Ala al-Din Tekish Ala al-Din Tekish (Persian language, Persian: علاء الدين تكش; full name: ''Ala ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Abul Muzaffar Tekish ibn Il-Arslan'') or Tekesh or Takesh was the Shah of Khwarazmian Empire from 1172 to 1200. He was the son of Il-Arsl ...

() was able to slow down the

Ghurid The Ghurid dynasty (also spelled Ghorids; ; self-designation: , ''Šansabānī'') was a Persianate dynasty of eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Tajik people, Tajik origin, which ruled from the 8th-century in the region of Ghor, and became an Emp ...

expansion into Khurasan and destroy the Seljuk Empire. Furthermore, he also declared independence against his Qara Khitai suzerains, whose attacks he repelled. At the time of his death, his realm stretched as far as

Persian Iraq Persian Iraq, also uncommonly spelled Persian Irak ( ''Erāq-e Ajam'' or ''Erāq-e Ajami''; ''ʿIrāq al-ʿAjam'' or ''al-ʿIrāq al-ʿAjamī'', literally, "Iraq of the Ajam"), is a historical region of the western parts of Iran. The region, ...

to the west. His son and successor Muhammad II () was occupied with his rivals in the east (Ghurids, Qara Khitai, the Qipchaq of the northern steppes, and the Qarakhanids) for much of his reign. He initially maintained cordial relations with the Qara Khitai, who helped him fend off the 1204 invasion of Khurasan by the Ghurid ruler Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad Ghuri (), who later died in 1206. His death led to the disintegration of his empire, and Khwarazmian conquest over much of it. He could now distance himself from the Qara Khitai, and while the latter were preoccupied by the revolt of the Mongol leader

Kuchlug Kuchlug (also spelled ''Küchlüg'', ''Küçlüg'', ''Güčülüg'', ''Quqluq'') (; ; d. 1218) was a member of the Naiman tribe who became the last emperor of the Western Liao dynasty (Qara Khitai). The Naimans were defeated by Genghis Khan and h ...

in Semirechye, Muhammad II capitalized on this by defeating and killing the Qarakhanid leader Uthman Khan, thus putting an end to Qarakhanid rule in Transoxiana. Muhammad II was now a towering figure in the eastern Islamic world, but like his father, was content with the limited titles of Khwarazmshah and Sultan. He now sought to the deal with the Abbasid Caliphate, who had in the past supported the Ghurids against him; he marched towards

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, but the extreme weather conditions during the winter and unrest amongst the Qipchaq forced him to return to Khwarazm. His son and successor Jalal al-Din Mangburni () was unable to contain the

Mongol invasions The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire, the Mongol Empire (1206–1368), which by 1260 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...

, which led to the collapse of the Khwarazmian Empire.

Aftermath and Final Usage

The title of Khwarazmshah was seemingly unused by the Mongol governors of Khwarazm and the later

Sufi dynasty The Sufid dynasty was a Turco-Mongol tradition, Turco-Mongol dynasty that ruled in Khwarazm within the realm of the Golden Horde in the Amu Darya river delta. Although the dynasty's independence was short-lived (c. 1361 – 1379), its later me ...

. It was revived under the

Timurid Empire The Timurid Empire was a late medieval, culturally Persianate, Turco-Mongol empire that dominated Greater Iran in the early 15th century, comprising modern-day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, much of Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and parts of co ...

, after which it was infrequently used, such as under Shah Malik, the governor of Khwarazm under

Shah Rukh Shah Rukh or Shahrukh Mirza (, ''Šāhrokh''; 20 August 1377 – 13 March 1447) was the ruler of the Timurid Empire between 1405 and 1447. He was the son of the Central Asian conqueror Timur (Tamerlane), who founded the Timurid dynasty in 1370 ...

() and Shah Malik's son, Nasir al-Din Sultan Ibrahim. The title was informally used by the Uzbek Arabshahid and later dynasties 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 ...

in various literary works but never officially adopted. The final official use of the title was under Eltuzar-Inak – the founder of the Qungrat line (1804-1920) of the Khans of Khiva – who titled himself ''Wāriṯẖ-i Kẖwārazm-Sẖāhān'' ("Heir of the Khwarazmshahs") on his coins, however he died in 1806 before they could ever be issued.

References

Sources

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