Content of Khiva History

Khiva History
Period One
Period Two
Period Three
Period Four
Period Five

History of Khiva - Period Five

PERIOD FIVE (late-9th-11th century AD) During the 10th century Khiva, just like the entire Khorezmian state, became part of the Samanid Empire.

After 995 South Khorezm, Khiva included, fell under the hand of Khorezmshah Mamun bin Muhammad. The Mamunids ruled Khorezm until 1017 when they were outsted by the Gaznevids who reigned here from 1017 until 1034.

It was a period of rapid economic and cultural growth for the city. In the second half of the 10th century khiva consisted of a citadel, reinforced by the Ichan-qala and Dishan-qala walls.

The late 9th century saw the advent of a new era in Khorezmian history: in 1077 it was taken over by the Anushtegid dynasty who, under Khorezmshah Ala ad-Din Tekesh (1172-1200) and Al ad-Din Muhammad (1200-1220) established a sprawling Moslem state that witnessed another major comeback for the city.

In 1220-1221 Khorezm and Khiva, just like many other cities, were destroyed by invading hordes of Genghis Khan. It was then that they started making wet brick gravestones. Khiva, like the other cities virtually razed to the ground, was made part of the Chagatai province. Gradually, the city started looking up again thanks to the selfless effort of its citizens breathing new life in pot-making and other businesses. Tile clayware had its outsides and insides covered with glazed ornamentation. Other methods of high0quality ornamentation were also used with the emphasis made on images of animals and plants.

During the 1380s Khiva became part of the Temurid state following Tamerlane's conquers of Khorezm. Khiva remained a major city largely on the strength of the Ichan-qla wall built in the late-14th century. Straddling a major trade route connecting Khorezm and Khorasan, Khiva maintained close contacts with many cities in Central and Southwest Asia and the Volga Region.

The Khivans lived a settled life tilling land, growing cattle and gardens. The houses and the backyards look like mounds. The backyards are surrounded by clay walls, the gate, doors and the columns of the aivan have Oriental-style engravings on them. Men wore long shirts with transverse collars with a cotton-padded robe warn over with a mandatory sash, an astrakhan hat and curl-tipped high-boots. Girls and young women wore silver-embroidered skullcaps. Older women donned long dresses with a long jacket on top. Women from the high society walked around resplendent in gold-laced attire, Japanese velvet skullcaps and colored leather top-boots crafted by the best shoemakers one could find in Khorezm were also very much "in" those days.

In 1505 Khorezm and Khivawere conquered by the troops of Sheibani khan led by his brother Mahmoud Sultan. However, right after Sheibani Khan was killed near Merv in 1510, the province broke away from the Sheibanid state falling under the hand of Shah Ismail Sefevi of Iran. Khoresm regained independence in 1511-1512 when it was taken over by another branch of the Shaibanid dynasty, the very unfriendly Abulhair and his grandson Muhammad Sheibani. The deep-seated animosity between Khiva and Bukharta persited with the rival rulers using every opportunity to attack each other. In 1533-1539 Khoresm was conquered by Bukhara's Ubaidulla khan who then handed it over to his son Abulaziz. In 1593 khorezm fell to another fan of the Great Bukhara idea, Abdulla khan who actually ruled the country from 1557 to 1598. Khiva's dependence on Bukhara continued also under Ashtarkhanid Subkhan kili khan (1680-1702) from the 16th century onward, Khiva was repeated declared Khiva the nation's capital city.

During Arab Muhammed's rule the early 17th century (1602-1623) Khiva, now a full-fledged capital, enjoyed relative political stability and its political sway increased even more during the reign Arab Muhammed's son Abilgazi Bahadurhan (1643-1664). Well educated and the author of the Dynasty of Turks, the Dynasty of Turkmen and The Essence of Man books, he was a prominent statesman and just ruler.

His decrees and reforms aimed at ending the internecine strife and encouraging the nomadic tribes to settle down, did much to strengthen the hand of the Khiva state.

It was under his reign that khiva emerged as a major cultural center. In his book Firdavs-ul ikbol Munis describes Abulgazi as "an enlightened and educated man". During his and his son Abulgozi-Anusha khan's reign, Khiva enjoyed a construction boom with many Koranic schools and bathhouses built named after anushahan, along with the Shahabad and Yarmysh canals. During the second half of the 17th century Khiva was politically and economically looking up.

In 1740 Nadir Shakh of Iran (1736-1747) led his armies into Central Asia. Temporarily leaving their longstanding rivalries behind, Khiva and Bukhara joined forces and beat back the advancing enemy. Nadir Shakh eventually managed to sway Bukhara's ruler over to his side, subjugated the city and, at the head of a mighty army, moved on to Khiva and conquered it. Even after nadirshah's death Khiva took a long time to regain its former clout.

A series of plagues (1768-1769) and field-denuding locust raids also took a heavy toll on the khanate.

Muhammed Amina-inak - the man who actually ruled Khiva between 1752 and 1790 - did much to restore the city to its former might. A scion of the Kungrad and Ombai-inak, he united and led the many Uzbek tribes.

In khoresm, there were four main groups of ethnically different Uzbek tribes each led by inak. The inak were top-notch state official with a decisive say in electing the Khans.

Muhammad Amin-inak successfully fought the separatist-minded and independent provincial heads using the chiefs of the Yomut Choudor Turkmen tribes as stepping-stones on his way to supreme power. In 1804 Muhammad Amin-inoks grandson Eltuzar (1804-1806) became Khan thus becoming the founding father of the Kungrad dynasty (1763-1920), which ruled the khiva Khanate up until 1920.

During the reign of Muhammad rakhimkhan (1806-1825) the economically run down and semi-independent provinces were increasingly brought into one. To handle major state matter Muhammad Rakhimkhan established and presided over a Supreme Council of top official and Uzbek tribe representatives. Muhammad Rakhim reformed the tax system and launched the custom service.

With Khiva's foreign trade growing steadily they started minting silver and gold coins. Muhammad's son Allakulikhan expanded the khanate's boundaires.The Khan and his vizirs owned large chunks of land and water drawing huge profits from both.

The latter half of the 16th century saw a marked growth in khiva's trade and diplomatic links with Russia with the Russian and Khiva rulers exchanging letters and gifts, mainly via Astrakhan where merchants from Khiva appeared already in 1557, just a year after the russian trtroops moved in there.

In the 19th century Khiva's foreign trade was thriving on the strength of a robust exports of astrakhan, rugs and other goods going to Turkey, china and other countires.

By the late - 9th century Khiva's population of ethnic Uzbeks, Turkmens and Karakalpaks stood at just under 800000 people.

In 1864 Mohammad Rakhim II (Feruz) was declared Khan of Khiva. That coincided with the growth of capotalism in Russia, which created the need for the capture of new territories to win new markets and sources of raw materials. To this end, Russia launched an offensive against Kokand and Then Bukhara Khanates. In 1873 after several years of preparations Russia troops captured Khiva and the Gandimyan Treaty was signed.

The Russian government carried out a colonialist policy in the Khiva Khanate. The unfavorable situation made it imperative to maintain the semblance of political cooperation with local aristocrasy and even grant the Khans the right to "autonomy".

However, it has to be noted that penetration of Russia trade and industrial capital into the Khanate and Khiva becoming part of the Russian customs territory in 1884 facilitated the development of local productive forces. of great significance to the region were railways built in Turkestan to link economically important areas with one another.

Cottage industry grew vigorously. Khiva boasted about 60 handicrafts, and its capital was famous for jewelers, copper-smiths, wood and stone cutters, tanners, tailors etc.

The second decade of the 20th century was full of dramatic events that ended with the collaose of monarchy in Khiva and elimination of Khiva state itself. A turn of this sort had gradually been prepared by decades-long processas and new trends and phenomena in both foreign and domestic policies.

In the 17th-19th centuries Khiva's cultures and the arts were at high level. The might and beauty of that time were reflected in magnificent buildings, palaces, mosques and madrasahs and in intricate forms made clay. Trades were developing at fast pace too.