Khanate of Khiva

The Khanate of Khiva () () was a state in Central Asia. It lasted from 1511 until 1920. The capital was Khiva. The khanate included lands that are today part of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan.

The Khanate of Khiva was founded by Ilbars I in 1511. It was ruled by the Shibanid dynasty, who were descendants of Genghis Khan. Later, the Qungrat dynasty took power in the 18th century. The khanate often fought with the Khanate of Bukhara and the Kokand Khanate.Edward Allworth, The Modern Uzbeks: From the Fourteenth Century to the Present, Hoover Institution Press, 1990, pp. 61–65.

Khiva was an important center of trade on the Silk Road. Merchants came from Persia, Russia, and India. The khans built mosques, madrasas, and palaces. The old city of Khiva, called Itchan Kala, is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.UNESCO World Heritage Centre, “Itchan Kala,” 1990.

The khanate was also known for slavery. Many Persians, Russians, and Kazakhs were captured and sold in Khiva’s slave markets.Peter Golden, Central Asia in World History, Oxford University Press, 2011, pp. 115–118. This caused wars with Russia in the 18th and 19th centuries. Russian armies invaded several times, and in 1873 Khiva became a protectorate of the Russian Empire.Alexander Morrison, Russian Rule in Samarkand, 1868–1910, Oxford University Press, 2008, pp. 45–47.

In 1920, the last khan was removed by the Red Army. The khanate was replaced by the Khorezm People’s Soviet Republic, which later became part of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic.Adeeb Khalid, Central Asia: A New History from the Imperial Conquests to the Present, Princeton University Press, 2021, pp. 122–125.

 References 

 Other websites 
 Itchan Kala – UNESCO World Heritage Site
 Khanate of Khiva history resources at Internet Archive

Category:Former countries in Central Asia
Category:History of Uzbekistan
Category:Turkmenistan history
Category:16th-century establishments in Asia
Category:1510s establishments
Category:1920s disestablishments in Asia