Khiva

Khiva (Uzbek: Xiva, Хива, خیوه; Persian: خیوه, Xīveh; alternative or historical names include Kheeva, Khorasam, Khoresm, Khwarezm, Khwarizm, Khwarazm, Chorezm, Arabic: خوارزم and Persian: خوارزم) is a district-level city of approximately 93,000 people in Khorazm Region, Uzbekistan.[2] According to archaeological data, the city was established around 1500 years ago.[3] It is the former capital of Khwarezmia, the Khanate of Khiva, and the Khorezm People's Soviet Republic. Itchan Kala in Khiva was the first site in Uzbekistan to be inscribed on the World Heritage List (1991). The astronomer, historian and polymath, Al-Biruni[4] (973–1048 CE) was born in either Khiva or the nearby city of Kath.

"Xiva" redirects here. For the Spanish town, see Chiva, Valencia. For other uses, see Khiva (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with KHive.
Khiva
Xiva / Хива
Clockwise from top:
Itchan Kala, Alla Kouli Khan Madrasa, Pakhlavan Makhmoud Mausoleum, Islam Hoja Minaret, Muhammad Amin Khan Madrasa and Kalta Minor
Khiva is located in West and Central Asia
Khiva
Khiva
Location in Uzbekistan
Khiva is located in Uzbekistan
Khiva
Khiva
Khiva (Uzbekistan)
Coordinates: 41°23′N 60°22′E
Country Uzbekistan
RegionKhorazm Region
Population
 (2021)[1]
 • Total93,400

Etymology

The origin of the name Khiva is unknown, but many contradictory stories have been told to explain it.

A traditional story attributes the name to one of the sons of the prophet Noah: "It is said that Shem, after the flood, he found himself wandering in the desert alone. Having fallen asleep, he dreamt of 300 burning torches. On waking up, he was pleased with this omen, he founded the city with outlines in the form of a ship mapped out according to the placement of the torches, about which he had dreamt. Then Shem dug the Kheyvak well, the water from which had a surprising taste. It is possible to see this well in Ichan-Kala (an internal town of Khiva City) even today."[5]

Another proposal is that the name comes from the word Khwarezm, altered by borrowing into Turkic as Khivarezem, then shortened to Khiva.

History
Further information: Khanate of Khiva and Khwarezm

In the early part of its history, the Aryan inhabitants spoke an Eastern Iranian language called Khwarezmian. Turks replaced the Iranian ruling-class in the 10th century AD, and the region gradually turned into an area with a majority of Turkic speakers.

Russia annexed the Khanate of Khiva in the 19th century. The last khan from the ruling dynasty was liquidated a century later, in 1919. Thus Khiva became the capital city of the new Khorezm People's Soviet Republic. The Khorezm oasis was converted into a part of modern Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in 1924.[6]

The earliest records of the city of Khiva appear in Muslim travel accounts from the 10th century although archaeological evidence indicates habitation in the 6th century; by the early 17th century, Khiva had become the capital of the Khanate of Khiva.[7] The khanate was ruled by a branch of the Astrakhans, a Genghisid dynasty.

2014 Image of Palvan Gate Of Khiva, built in the early 19th century and known to have hosted large slave market and a center of punishments and executions

In the 17th century Khiva began to develop as a slave market. During the first half of the 19th century, around 30,000 Persians and an unknown number of Russians, were enslaved there before being sold. A large part of them were involved in the construction of buildings in the walled Itchan Kala.[7]

Campaigns
Main articles: Khivan campaign of 1839 and Khivan campaign of 1873

In the course of the Russian conquest of Central Asia, in 1873 the Russian General Konstantin von Kaufman launched an attack on the city of Khiva, which fell on 28 May 1873. Although the Russian Empire now controlled the Khanate, it allowed Khiva to remain as a nominally quasi-independent protectorate.

Following the Bolshevik seizure of power in Russia after the October Revolution of 1917, a short-lived (1920-1925) Khorezm People's Soviet Republic formed out of the territory of the old Khanate of Khiva before its incorporation into the USSR in 1925. The city of Khiva became part of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic.

Sights
Panorama of Khiva (Uzbekistan)
Panoramic view of Khiva (Uzbekistan)
City wall

Khiva is split into two parts. The outer town, called Dichan Kala, was formerly protected by a wall with 11 gates. The inner town, or Itchan Kala, is encircled by brick walls, whose foundations are believed to have been laid in the 10th century. Present-day crenellated walls date back to the late 17th century and attain the height of 10 meters.

Kalta Minor, the large blue tower in the central city square, was supposed to be a minaret. It was built in 1851 by Mohammed Amin Khan, but the Khan died and the succeeding Khan did not complete it.

The old town retains more than 50 historic monuments and 250 old houses, mostly dating from the 18th or the 19th centuries. Djuma Mosque, for instance, was established in the 10th century and rebuilt in 1788–89, although its celebrated hypostyle hall still retains 112 columns taken from ancient structures.[8]

Khiva was a home to a number of madrassahs (educational establishments), one of which, Sherghazi Khan madrassah, still stands today. It was built in the 18th century by slaves and is one of the oldest buildings in Ichan-Kala, that is the center of present-day Khiva. Among the renowned students of the madrassah were the Uzbek poet Raunaq, the Qaraqalpaq poet Kasybayuly, the Turkmen poet and sufi Magtymguly.[9]

Notable people from Khiva

The following people were born in the city.

Sister cities

The following is a list of Khiva's sister and twinned cities:

See also

References
  1. "Viloyat bo'yicha shahar va qishloq aholisi soni" [Urban and rural population in the region] (PDF) (in Uzbek). Xorazm regional department of statistics.
  2. "Classification system of territorial units of the Republic of Uzbekistan" (in Uzbek and Russian). The State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on statistics. July 2020.
  3. В. А. Булатова, И. И. Ноткин, Архитектурные памятники Хивы. (Путеводитель), Ташкент, 1972; Хива. (Архитектура. Фотоальбом), Л., 1973; Г. Пугаченкова, Термез, Шахрисябз, Хива, (М„ 1976).
  4. Patrologia Orientalis Tom. Decimus, p.291 https://archive.org/details/patrologiaorient10pariuoft
  5. Nashriyoti, Davr (2012). Khiva: The City and the Legends. Tashkent, Uzbekistan: Davr Nashriyoti LLC. p. 2. ISBN 9789943339262.
  6. "khiva".
  7. "Khiva". Encyclopædia Britannica. May 16, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  8. "Khiva Travel Guide". Caravanistan. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
  9. "Shergazi-Khan Madrasah, Khiva". Advantour.
  10. "Khiva and San Lorenzo del Escorial have become sister cities".

Publications
  • Campaigning on the Oxus, and the Fall of Khiva, MacGahan, (London, 1874).
  • A Ride to Khiva: Travels and Adventures in Central Asia, Frederick Burnaby, (OUP, 1997; first published 1876).
  • Russian Central Asia, Lansdell, (London, 1885).
  • A travers l'Asie Centrale, Moser, (Paris, 1886).
  • Russia against India, Colquhoun, (New York, 1900).
  • Khiva, in Russian, S. Goulichambaroff, (Askhabad, 1913).
  • A Carpet Ride to Khiva, C. A. Alexander, (London, 2010).
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Khiva.
  • Khiva travel guide from Wikivoyage

41°23′N 60°22′E

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