View source for Khwarazmian Empire

{{Short description|Medieval Muslim empire (c. 1077–1231)}}
{{Other uses|Khwarazmian (disambiguation)}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox former country
| native_name            = {{lang|fa|خوارزمشاهیان}}<br />''{{lang|fa-Latn|Khwārazmshāhiyān}}''
| conventional_long_name = Khwarazmian Empire
| common_name            = Khwarazmshahs
| status                 = [[Empire]]
| era                    = [[Medieval]]
| event1                 = [[Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire]]
| date_event1            = 1219–1221
| event2                 = [[Battle of Yassıçemen]]
| date_event2            = 1230
| government_type        = [[Absolute monarchy]]
| year_start             = {{circa|1077}}
| year_end               = 1231
| p1                     = Seljuk Empire
| p2                     = Ghurid dynasty
| p3                     = Qara Khitai
| p4                     = Kara-Khanid Khanate
| p5                     = Eldiguzids
| p6                     = Ahmadilis
| p7                     = Bavand dynasty
| p8                     = Ghaznavids
| s1                     = Mongol Empire
| image_map              = {{Location map+
| Khwarazmian Empire
| width=300  <!--  DO NOT CHANGE MAP SIZE (300) AS THIS WILL DISPLACE THE LABELS  -->
| float = center
| border =none
| nodiv= 1 | mini= 1 | relief= yes
| places  =
{{Annotation|200|120|[[Ghurid Empire|<span style="color:#4F311CFF">GHURID EMPIRE</span>]]|text-align=center|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6.5|color=#000000}}
{{Annotation|30|20|[[Cumans|<span style="color:#4F311CFF">CUMANS</span>]]|text-align=center|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6.5|color=#000000}}
{{Annotation|120|20|[[Kimek–Kipchak confederation|<span style="color:#4F311CFF">KIPCHAKS</span>]]|text-align=center|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6.5|color=#000000}}
{{Annotation|5|120|[[Ayyubid dynasty|<span style="color:#4F311CFF">AYYUBID<br>SULTANATE</span>]]|text-align=center|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6.5|color=#000000}}
{{Annotation|60|110|[[Abbasid Caliphate|<span style="color:#4F311CFF">ABBASID<br>CALIPHATE</span>]]|text-align=center|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6.5|color=#000000}}
{{Annotation|50|90|[[Zengids|<span style="color:#4F311CFF">ZENGIDS</span>]]|text-align=center|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6.5|color=#000000}}
{{Annotation|65|55|[[Kingdom of Georgia|<span style="color:#4F311CFF">GEORGIA</span>]]|text-align=center|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6.5|color=#000000}}
{{Annotation|5|70|[[Sultanate of Rum|<span style="color:#4F311CFF">RUM SELJUKS</span>]]|text-align=center|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6.5|color=#000000}}
{{Annotation|240|170|[[Seuna (Yadava) dynasty|<span style="color:#4F311CFF">YADAVAS</span>]]|text-align=center|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6.5|color=#000000}}
{{Annotation|235|40|[[Qara Khitai|<span style="color:#4F311CFF">QARA KHITAI</span>]]|text-align=center|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6.5|color=#000000}}
{{Annotation|250|67|[[Kara-Khanid Khanate|<span style="color:#4F311CFF">KARA-<br>KHANIDS</span>]]|text-align=center|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6.5|color=#000000}}
{{Annotation|278|180|[[Template:Continental Asia in 1100 CE|<span style="color:#4F311CFF"> ◁ </span>]][[Template:Continental Asia in 1300 CE|<span style="color:#4F311CFF">  ▷ </span>]]|text-align=center|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=9|color=#000000}}
}}
| image_map_caption      = Territory of the Khwarazmian Empire on the eve of the [[Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire|Mongol conquests]], {{circa|1215}}
| capital                = {{ubli
 | [[Konye-Urgench|Gurganj]] {{nwr|(1077–1212)}}
 | [[Samarkand]] {{nwr|(1212–1220)}}
 | [[Ghazna]] {{nwr|(1220–1221)}}
 | [[Tabriz]] {{nwr|(1225–1231)}}
}}
| largest_city           = [[Shahr-e Ray]]
| common_languages       = {{ubl
 | [[Persian language|Persian]] (official){{sfn|Babayan|2003|p=14}}{{sfn|Katouzian|2007|p=128}}
 | [[Arabic]]{{sfn|Kuznetsov|Fedorov|2013|p=145}}
 | [[Cuman language|Cuman]]<ref>Gafurov, B. G. ''Central Asia:Pre-Historic to Pre-Modern Times'', Vol.&nbsp;2, (Shipra Publications, 1989), p.&nbsp;359.</ref>
 | [[Oghuz languages|Oghuz]]<ref>Vasilyeva, G. P. "Ethnic processes in origins of Turkmen people." Soviet Ethnography. Publishing house: Nauka, 1969. pp.&nbsp;81–98.</ref>
}}
| religion               = [[Sunni Islam]]
| currency               = [[Dirham]]
| stat_year5             = 1220
| stat_pop5              = 5,000,000
| ref_pop5               = <ref name="John Man 2007. Page 180" />{{NoteTag|name=pop}}
| leader1                = [[Anushtegin Gharchai]]
| leader2                = [[Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu]]
| year_leader1           = 1077–1096/7
| year_leader2           = 1220–1231
| title_leader           = [[Khwarazmshah]]
| stat_area1             = 2300000
| stat_year1             = 1210 est.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Turchin |first=Peter |last2=Adams |first2=Jonathan M. |last3=Hall |first3=Thomas D. |title=East-West Orientation of Historical Empires |journal=Journal of World-Systems Research |date=December 2006 |volume=12 |issue=2 |page=222 |url=http://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/jwsr/article/view/369/381 |access-date=12 September 2016 |issn=1076-156X}}</ref>
or
| stat_area2             = 3600000
| stat_year2             = 1218 est.<ref>{{cite journal |date=September 1997 |title=Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia |journal=[[International Studies Quarterly]]|volume=41|issue=3 |page=497 |doi=10.1111/0020-8833.00053 |first=Rein |last=Taagepera |author-link=Rein Taagepera |jstor=2600793 |url=http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/3cn68807}}</ref>
}}

The '''Khwarazmian Empire'''{{NoteTag|Also spelt ''Khwarezmian'', ''Khorezmian'' or ''Chorasmian Empire''<ref>{{Iranica|herat-iii|Herat iii. History, Medieval Period}}</ref> in English.}} ({{IPAc-en|lang|k|w|ə|ˈ|r|æ|z|m|i|ən}}),<ref>{{cite dictionary |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/khwarazmian|dictionary=[[Merriam Webster]] |year=n.d.|access-date=21 October 2010 |title=Khwarazmian}}</ref> or simply '''Khwarazm'''{{NoteTag|{{langx|fa|خوارزم|Khwārazm}}.}}, was a culturally [[Persianate society|Persianate]], [[Sunni Muslim]] empire of [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] ''[[mamluk]]'' origin.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bosworth |first=C. E. |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia |year=1998 |publisher=UNESCO |isbn=978-92-3-103467-1 |page=164 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=18eABeokpjEC&pg=PA164 |quote="Mahm ̄ud and Masc ̄ud I of Ghazna had appointed Turkish slave commanders from their own army, Altuntash and his sons, as governors there with the ancient title of Khwarazm Shah." (...) "In order to secure these important regions, Malik Sh ̄ah had appointed the keeper of the royal washing bowls (tast-d ̄ar), his slave commander An ̄ush-tegin Gharcha’ ̄ı, as titular governor at least in Khwarazm. During Berkyaruk’s reign, the sultan appointed in 1097 another Turkishghul ̄am, Ekinchi b. Kochkar, with the historic title of KhwarazmShah. When, in that same year, Ekinchi was killed, Berkyaruk nominated in his stead An ̄ushtegin’s son Qutb al-D ̄ın Muhammad as governor, and Muhammad’s tenure of power there (1097–1127) inaugurates the fourth and most brilliant line of hereditary KhwarazmShahs"}}</ref><ref>[[Clifford Edmund Bosworth|C. E. Bosworth]] : Khwarazmshahs i. Descendants of the line of Anuštigin. In [[Encyclopaedia Iranica]], online ed., 2009: ''"Little specific is known about the internal functioning of the Khwarazmian state, but its bureaucracy, directed as it was by Persian officials, must have followed the Saljuq model."'' Norman M. Naimark, Genocide: A World History ([[Oxford University Press]], 2017), 20 ''"The Persian-speaking and Islamic Khwarezmian empire, which was founded in Central Asia south of the Aral Sea around its capital of Samarkand, and included such remarkable centers of trade and civilizations as Bukhara and Urgench, ..."''</ref> Khwarazmians ruled large parts of present-day [[Central Asia]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[Iran]] from 1077 to 1231; first as vassals of the [[Seljuk Empire]]<ref>Rene Grousset, ''The Empire of the Steppes:A History of Central Asia'', Transl. Naomi Walford, Rutgers University Press, 1991, p. 159.</ref> and the [[Qara Khitai]] (Western Liao dynasty),<ref>Biran, Michel, ''The Empire of the Qara Khitai in Eurasian history'', ([[Cambridge University Press]], 2005), 44.</ref> and from circa 1190 as independent rulers up until the [[Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire|Mongol conquest]] in 1219–1221.

The date of the founding of the state remains debatable. The dynasty that ruled the empire was founded by [[Anushtegin Gharchai|Anush Tigin]] (also known as Gharachai), initially a Turkic slave of the rulers of [[Gharchistan]], later a Mamluk in the service of the Seljuks. However, it was [[Atsiz|Ala ad-Din Atsiz]] (r. 1127–1156), descendant of Anush Tigin, who achieved Khwarazm's independence from its neighbors.

The Khwarazmian Empire eventually became the most powerful state in the lands around Persia, defeating the Seljuk Empire and the [[Ghurid Empire]], and even threatening the [[Abbasid Caliphate]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Bosworth |first=C. E. |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia |year=1998 |publisher=UNESCO |isbn=978-92-3-103467-1 |page=164 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=18eABeokpjEC&pg=PA164 |quote=This dynasty eventually built up, as the Seljuq empire in the east tottered to its close, the most powerful and aggressively expansionist empire in the Persian lands, in the end defeating their rivals for control of Khurasan, the Ghurids of Afghanistan, threatening western Persia and Iraq and the Abbasid caliphate itself, and only disintegrating under the overwhelming military might of the Mongol invaders in the opening decades of the thirteenth century.}}</ref> It is estimated that the empire spanned an area of 2.3 to 3.6 million square kilometres.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Turchin |first=Peter |last2=Adams |first2=Jonathan M. |last3=Hall |first3=Thomas D. |date=December 2006 |title=East-West Orientation of Historical Empires |url=http://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/jwsr/article/view/369/381 |journal=Journal of World-Systems Research |volume=12 |issue=2 |page=222 |issn=1076-156X |access-date=12 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |date=September 1997|title=Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia |journal=[[International Studies Quarterly]] |volume=41 |issue=3 |page=497 |doi=10.1111/0020-8833.00053 |first=Rein |last=Taagepera |author-link=Rein Taagepera |jstor=2600793 |url=http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/3cn68807}}</ref> The empire, which was modelled on the preceding Seljuk Empire, was defended by a huge cavalry army composed largely of [[Kipchak Turks]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume 5, c. 1198–c. 1300 |first=David |last=Abulafia |year=2015 |page=610}}</ref>

The Khwarezmian Empire was the last Turco-Persian Empire before the [[Mongol invasion of Central Asia]]. In 1219, the [[Mongol Empire|Mongols]] under their ruler [[Genghis Khan]] invaded the Khwarazmian Empire, [[Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire|successfully conquering the whole of it in just two years]]. The Mongols exploited existing weaknesses and conflicts in the empire, besieging and plundering the richest cities, while putting its citizens to the sword in one of the bloodiest wars in human history.

== History ==
=== Early history ===
The title [[Khwarazmshah]] was introduced in 305 by the founder of the [[Afrighids]] and existed until 995. After a short interval, the title was reinstated. During the uprising in [[Khwarazm]] in 1017, rebels killed Khwarazmshah [[Ma'mun II]] and his wife Khurra-ji, the sister of [[Ghaznavids|Ghaznavid sultan]] [[Mahmud of Ghazni]].<ref>C.E. Bosworth, ''The Ghaznavids: 994-1040'', Edinburgh University Press, 1963, page 237</ref> In response, Mahmud invaded the region to quell the rebellion. He later installed a new ruler and annexed Khwarazm. As a result, it became a province of the Ghaznavid empire and remained so until 1035.{{sfn|Bosworth|1978}}{{sfn|Bosworth|1984|pp=762–764}}

In 1077, the control of the region, which previously belonged to the [[Seljuqs]] from 1042 to 1043, passed into the hands of [[Anushtegin Gharchai]], a [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] [[mamluk]] commander of the Seljuqs.<ref>Biran, Michel, ''The Empire of the Qara Khitai in Eurasian History'', Cambridge University Press, 2005, 44.</ref> In 1097, the Khwarazm governor of Turkic origin [[Ekinchi (Khwarazm Shah)|Ekinchi ibn Qochqar]] declared independence from the Seljuqs and proclaimed himself the shah of Khwarazm. After a short time, however, he was killed by several Seljuq amirs who had risen in revolt. He was replaced with Anush Tigin Gharachai's son, [[Muhammad I of Khwarazm|Qutb al-Din Muhammad]], by the Seljuqs, who had reconquered the region. Qutb al-Din became the first hereditary Khwarazmshah.<ref name="Britannica">[[Encyclopædia Britannica]], "Khwarezm-Shah-Dynasty", ([https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9045365/Khwarezm-Shah-Dynasty#87942.hook LINK])</ref>

=== Rise ===
==== Anushtegin Gharachai ====
{{Main|Anushtegin Gharchai}}
Anushtegin Gharachai was a [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]]{{NoteTag|Medieval historians such as [[Hafiz-i Abru]] and [[Rashid al-Din Hamadani|Rashid al-Din]] believed that Anushtegin was of [[Begdili]] tribe of [[Oghuz Turks]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fadlullah |first1=Rashid al-Din |title=Oghuznameh |date=1987 |location=Baku |publisher=Elm |quote=Similarly, the most distant ancestor of Sultan [[Muhammad, Khwarezm-Shah|Muhammad Khwarazmshah]] was [[Anushtegin Gharchai|Nushtekin Gharcha]], who was a descendant of the Begdili tribe of the Oghuz family.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Buniyatov |first1=Z.M |title=The State of Khwarazmshah-Anushteginids (1097-1231) |page=80 |date=1986 |publisher=Nauka}}</ref> while Turkish historian Kafesoğlu states that Anushtegin was either of [[Khalaj people|Khalaj]] or [[Chigils|Chigil]] origin and the [[Bashkirs|Bashkir]] historian 
[[Zeki Velidi Togan]] believes he was of [[Kipchaks|Qipchaq]], [[Kankalis|Qanghli]] or [[Uyghurs|Uyghur]] descent.{{sfn|Bosworth|1968}}}} [[mamluk]] commander of the Seljuqs{{sfn|Bosworth|1968}} and the governor of [[Khwarazm]] from approximately 1077 until 1097. He was the first member of his family to rule Khwarazm and the [[Khwarazmian dynasty|namesake for the dynasty]] that would rule the province in the 12th and early 13th centuries.

Anushtegin was put in command together with his master [[Al-Taj Gümüshtegin]] in 1073 by the Seljuq sultan [[Malik-Shah I]] to retake territory in northern [[Greater Khorasan]] that the [[Ghaznavids]] had seized.{{sfn|Bosworth|1968|p=93}} He was subsequently made the sultan's ''tasht-dar'' ([[Persian language|Persian]]: "keeper of the royal vessels"), and, as the revenues from Khwarazm were used to pay for the expenses incurred by this position, he was made governor of the province. The details of his tenure as governor are unclear. He died by 1097 and the post was briefly given to [[Ekinchi (Khwarazm Shah)|Ekinchi bin Qochqar]] before being transferred to his son, [[Muhammad I of Khwarazm|Qutb al-Din Muhammad]].

==== Ala ad-Din Atsiz ====
{{Main|Atsiz}}
[[Image:Coin of the Khwarazmshah Atsiz, citing his suzerain Ahmad Sanjar.jpg|thumb|Coin minted under [[Atsiz]], citing his [[Seljuk Empire|Seljuk]] suzerain [[Ahmad Sanjar]]]]
Atsiz gained his position following his father Qutb al-Din's death in 1127. During the early part of his reign, he focused on securing Khwarazm against nomad attacks. In 1138, he rebelled against his suzerain, the Seljuq sultan [[Ahmad Sanjar]], but was defeated in [[Hazarasp]] and forced to flee. Sanjar installed his nephew Suleiman Shah as ruler of Khwarazm and returned to [[Marv, Turkmenistan|Merv]]. Atsiz returned, however, and Suleiman Shah was unable to hold on to the province. Atsiz then attacked Bukhara, but by 1141 he again submitted to Sanjar, who pardoned him and formally returned control of Khwarazm over to him. The same year that Sanjar pardoned Atsiz, the [[Kara Khitai]] under [[Yelü Dashi]] defeated the Seljuqs in the [[Battle of Qatwan|Battle of Qatwan (1141)]], near [[Samarqand]]. Atsiz took advantage of the defeat to invade [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]], occupying Merv and [[Nishapur]]. Yelü Dashi, however, sent a force to plunder Khwarazm, forcing Atsiz to pay an annual tribute.<ref>Biran, 44.</ref> In 1142, Atsiz was expelled from Khorasan by Sanjar, who invaded Khwarazm in the following year and forced Atsiz back into vassalage, although he continued to pay tribute to the Kara Khitai until his death. Sanjar undertook another expedition against Atsïz in 1147 when the latter became rebellious again.<ref>Grousset, Rene, ''The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia'', (Rutgers University Press, 2002), 160.</ref>

Atsiz was a flexible politician and ruler, and was able to maneuver between the powerful Seljuk Sultan Sanjar and the equally powerful Kara Khitai ruler Yelü Dashi. He continued the land-gathering policy initiated by his predecessors, annexing Jand and [[Mangyshlak]] to Khwarazm. Many nomadic tribes were dependent on the Khwarazmshah. Towards the end of his life, Atsiz subordinated the entire northwestern part of Central Asia, and in fact, achieved its independence from its neighbors.<ref>''Historical and Cultural Heritage of Turkmenistan: Encyclopedic Dictionary''. ed. by: Gundogdyeva, O. A.; Muradova R. G. Istanbul: UNDP, 2000. pp 1-381. {{ISBN| 975-97256-0-6}}</ref>

=== Territorial expansion ===
==== Il-Arslan and Tekish ====
{{Main|Il-Arslan|Ala al-Din Tekish}}
[[File:Il-Arslan.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Khwarazmshah [[Il-Arslan]] at his coronation, painting from the book ''[[Jami' al-Tawarikh]]'' ({{circa|1306–1314}})]]
Il-Arslan was the Shah of Khwarazm from 1156 until 1172. He was the son of [[Atsiz|Atsïz]]. Initially, Il-Arslan was made governor of [[Jand (Transoxania)|Jand]], an outpost on the [[Syr Darya]] which had recently been reconquered, by his father. In 1156, Atsiz died and Il-Arslan succeeded him as Khwarazmshah. Like his father, he decided to pay tribute to both the [[Seljuks|Seljuk]] sultan [[Sanjar]] and the [[Qara Khitai]] gurkhan.

Sanjar died only a few months after Il-Arslan's ascension, causing Seljuq Khurasan to descend into chaos. This allowed Il-Arslan to effectively break off Seljuk suzerainty, although he remained on friendly terms with Sanjar's successor, Mas'ud. Like his father, Il-Arslan sought to expand his influence in Khurasan.

In 1158, Il-Arslan became involved in the affairs of another Qara Khitai vassal state, the [[Karakhanids]] of [[Samarqand]]. The Karakhanid Chaghri Khan had been persecuting the [[Qarluks]] in his realm, and several Qarluk leaders fled to Khwarazm and sought Il-Arslan's help. He responded by invading the Karakhanid dominions, taking [[Bukhara]] and besieging Samarqand, where Chaghri Khan had taken refuge. The latter appealed to both the Turks of the [[Syr Darya]] and the Qara Khitai, and the gurkhan sent an army, but its commander hesitated to enter into conflict with the Khwarazmians.
[[File:KonyeUrgenchMausoleum.jpg|thumb|left|Mausoleum of Ala al-Din Tekish in [[Konye-Urgench]] (former Gurganj) in present-day Turkmenistan]]
In 1172, the Qara Khitai launched a [[punitive expedition]] against Il-Arslan, who had not paid the required annual tribute. The Khwarazmian army was defeated, and Il-Arslan died shortly after. Following his death the state briefly became embroiled in turmoil, as the succession was disputed between his sons [[Ala al-Din Tekish|Tekish]] and [[Sultan Shah of Khwarezm|Sultan Shah]]. Tekish emerged victorious and subsequently ruled the empire from 1172 to 1200.

Tekish stayed with the [[Expansionism|expansionist]] policies of his father Il-Arslan. Despite gaining his throne with the help of the Qara Khitai, he later shook off their suzerainty and repulsed the subsequent Qara Khitai invasion of Khwarazm. Tekish maintained close relations with the [[Oghuz Turks|Oghuz Turkmens]] and Turkic [[Kipchaks|Qipchak tribes]] from the vicinity of the [[Aral Sea]], and recruited them at times for his conquest of [[Iran]]. A great number of these [[Turkmen people|Turkmens]] were still [[pagan]], and they were known in Iran for their barbarism and intense ferocity.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bosworth|first=C.E|title=The Political and Dynastic History of the Iranian World (A.D. 1000-1217)|year=1968|publisher=Cambridge|volume=V|pages=181–197}}</ref>

In 1194, Tekish defeated the Seljuq sultan of [[Hamadan]], [[Toghrul III]], in an alliance with Caliph [[Al-Nasir]], and conquered his territories. After the war, he broke with the Caliphate and was on the brink of a war with it until the Caliph accepted him as the sultan of Iran, Khorasan, and Turkestan in 1198. Tekish died of a [[peritonsillar abscess]] in 1200.<ref>Juvaini, Ala-ad-Din Ata-Malik, ''History of the World Conqueror'', Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1997. p. 314.</ref> and was succeeded by his son, [[Muhammad II of Khwarezm|Ala ad-Din Muhammad]]. His death triggered spontaneous revolts and widespread massacre of the hated Khwarazmian Turkic soldiers stationed in Iran.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kafesoglu|first=Ibrahim|title=The History of the State of Khwarazmshah (485-617/1092-1229)|language=Turkish|year=1956|location=Ankara|publisher=Turk Tarih Kurumu|pages=83–146}}</ref>

=== Maximum expansion and decline ===
==== Ala al-Din Muhammad ====
{{Main|Muhammad II of Khwarazm}}
{{See also|Battle of Andkhud}}
[[File:Mort de Muhammad Hwârazmshâh.jpeg|thumb|Muhammad II's death, depicted in a 1430 manuscript of the ''[[Jami' al-tawarikh]]'' by [[Rashid-al-Din Hamadani]]]]
After his father [[Ala ad-Din Tekish|Tekish]] died, Muhammad succeeded him. Muhammad led the maximum expansion of the Khwarazmian Empire, extinguishing the [[Kara-Khanid Khanate|Western Kara-Khanid Khanate]] in 1213, and sweeping aside the [[Ghurid]]s in 1215 whom they vassalized after the assassination of [[Muhammad Ghuri]]. The coins of Muhammad were minted in the Kara-Khanid capitals of [[Uzgen]] and [[Samarkand]] from 1213.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gafurov |first1=Bobodzhan Gafurovich |title=Central Asia: Pre-historic to Pre-modern Times |date=2005 |publisher=Shipra Publications |isbn=978-81-7541-245-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mQ5pAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA165 |language=en|quote="In Uzgend , the capital of the largest principality of the Karakhanids and in Samarkand , the capital of the Karakhanid state were minted coins in 1213 with the name of Mohammad, Khwarezm Shah . This confirmed the complete annihilation of the dynasty of the Kharakanids"}}</ref>

In 1218, a small contingent of Mongols crossed borders in pursuit of an [[Kuchlug|escaped enemy general]]. Upon successfully retrieving him, [[Genghis Khan]] made contact with the Shah. Genghis was looking to open trade relations, but having heard exaggerated reports of the Mongols, the Shah believed this gesture was only a ploy to invade Khwarazm.

Genghis sent emissaries to Khwarazm to emphasize his hope for a trade road. Muhammad II, in turn, had one of his governors ([[Inalchuq]], his uncle) openly accuse the party of spying, seizing their rich goods and arresting the party.<ref>{{cite book | author = Svat Soucek | author-link = Svat Soucek | title = A History of Inner Asia | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 2002 | isbn = 0-521-65704-0 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/historyofinneras00souc/page/106 106] | url = https://archive.org/details/historyofinneras00souc/page/106 }}</ref>

Trying to maintain diplomacy, Genghis sent an envoy of three men to the shah, to give him a chance to disclaim all knowledge of the governor's actions and hand him over to the Mongols for punishment. The shah executed the envoy (again, some sources claim one man was executed, some claim all three were), and then immediately had the Mongol merchant party (Muslim and Mongol alike) put to death and their goods seized.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Man |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=reak1EUA57sC |title=Genghis Khan: Life, Death and Resurrection |publisher=Bantam |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-553-81498-9 |pages=176 |language=en}}</ref> These events led Genghis to [[Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire|retaliate with a force of 100,000 to 150,000 men]] that crossed the [[Jaxartes]] in 1219 and sacked the cities of [[Samarqand]], [[Bukhara]], [[Otrar]], and others. Muhammad's capital city, [[Kunya Urgench|Gurganj]], followed soon after. The Shah [[Muhammad II of Khwarazm]] fled and died some weeks later on an island in the [[Caspian Sea]].

==== Turkan Khatun ====
{{Main|Terken Khatun (wife of Ala ad-Din Tekish)}}
On the eve of the Mongol invasion, a [[diarchy]] developed in the Khwarazmian Empire. Khwarazmshah Muhammad II was considered the [[absolute ruler]], but the influence of his mother [[Terken Khatun (wife of Ala ad-Din Tekish)|Turkan Khatun]] (Terken Khatun) was also great. Turkan Khatun even had the [[laqab]]: "the Ruler of the World" (Khudavand-e Jahaan), and another one for her decrees: "Protector of peace and faith, Turkan the Great, the ruler of women of both worlds." Turkan Khatun had a separate [[Diwan (government)|Diwan]], separate palace and the orders of the Sultan were not considered to be effective without her signature. This fact, coupled with her conflicts with Muhammad II might have contributed to the impotence of the Khwarazmian Empire in the face of the [[Mongol invasion of Central Asia|Mongol onslaught]].

In 1221, she was captured by the troops of [[Genghis Khan]] and died in poverty in [[Mongolia]].

==== Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu ====
{{Main|Jalal al-Din Mangburni}}
[[File:Alal al-Din Khwarazm-Shah crossing the rapid Indus river, escaping Chinggis Khan and his army.jpg|thumb|The [[Battle of the Indus]], depicting the Khwarazm Jalal al-Din crossing the rapid [[Indus River]] on horseback, escaping [[Genghis Khan]] and the Mongol army]]
Jalal al-Din was the last of Khwarazmshahs, who ruled the remnants of the Khwarazmian Empire and northwestern [[India]] from 1220 to 1231. He was reportedly the eldest son of Ala ad-Din Muhammad II, while his mother was a [[Turkmens|Turkmen]] concubine named Ay Chichek.<ref>Gundogdiyev, O. ''Historical and Cultural Heritage of Turkmenistan: Encyclopedic Dictionary''. Istanbul. 2000. page 381. {{ISBN|9789759725600}}</ref> Due to the low status of Jalal al-Din's mother, his powerful grandmother and [[Kipchaks|Qipchaq]] princess [[Terken Khatun (wife of Ala ad-Din Tekish)|Terken Khatun]] refused to support him as heir to the throne, and instead favored his half-brother Uzlagh-Shah, whose mother was also a Qipchaq. Jalal al-Din first appears in historical records in 1215, when Muhammad II divided his empire amongst his sons, giving the southwestern part (part of the former [[Ghurid Empire]]) to Jalal al-Din.<ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Islam - 3 |last=Paul |first=Jürgen |year=2018 |chapter=Jalāl al-Dīn Mangburnī|page=142|url=https://www.academia.edu/35031762}}</ref>

He attempted to flee to [[India]], but the Mongols caught up with him before he got there, and he was defeated at the [[Battle of Indus]]. He escaped and sought asylum in the [[Sultanate of Delhi]]. [[Iltumish]] however denied this to him in deference to the relationship with the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid caliphs]]. Returning to [[Persia]], he gathered an army and re-established a kingdom. He never consolidated his power, however, spending the rest of his days struggling against the Mongols, the [[Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm|Seljuks of Rum]], and pretenders to his own throne. He lost his power over Persia in a battle against the Mongols in the [[Alborz]] Mountains. Escaping to the [[Caucasus]], he captured [[Azerbaijan (Iran)|Azerbaijan]] in 1225, setting up his capital at [[Tabriz]]. In 1226 he attacked [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] and sacked [[Tbilisi]]. Following on through the [[Armenia]]n highlands he clashed with the [[Ayyubids]], capturing the town [[Ahlat]] along the western shores of [[Lake Van]], which sought the aid of the Seljuq [[Sultanate of Rûm]]. Sultan [[Kayqubad I]] defeated him at [[Erzincan|Arzinjan]] on the Upper [[Euphrates]] at the [[Battle of Yassıçemen]] in 1230. He escaped to [[Diyarbakir]], while the Mongols conquered Azerbaijan in the ensuing confusion. He was murdered in 1231 by [[Kurds|Kurdish]] highwaymen.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=90001012&ct=107&rqs=68&rqs=491&rqs=893 |title=Archived copy |access-date=1 March 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006044631/http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=90001012&ct=107&rqs=68&rqs=491&rqs=893 |archive-date=6 October 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== State apparatus ==
The head of the central state apparatus (al-Majlis al-Ali al-Fahri at-Taji) of Kharazmshahs was a [[vizier]], the first adviser to the head of state. He was the head of the [[Divan|diwan]] officials (askhab ad-dawawin), who appointed them and established salaries, pensions (arzak), controlling tax administration and the treasury.<ref>{{cite book |last=Buniyatov |first=Z.M. |title=Selected works in three volumes |volume=3 |location=Baku |date=1999 |page=60}}</ref> The most prominent vizier of the Khwarazmian Empire was Al-Harawi, who built a mosque for the [[Shafiʽi school|Shafi'is]] in [[Marv, Turkmenistan|Merv]], a huge madrassah, a mosque and a repository of manuscripts in Gurganj. He died at the hands of the [[Shia Ismaili]]s.{{sfn|Buniyatov|1999|page=61}}

An important position in the state apparatus of the Khwarazmshahs was also held by the senior or great ''hajib'', who most of the time, was a representative of the Turkic nobility. The hajib reported to the Khwarazmshah on issues related to the shah and his family. The Khwarazmshah could have several hajibs, who carried out the "personal" instructions of the sultan.{{sfn|Buniyatov|1999|page=62}}

== Capital cities ==
[[File:Urgench.jpg|thumb|right|Gurganj (present-day [[Koneurgench]]) was the first and most important capital of the Khwarazmian empire.]]
Initially, the main city of the Khwarazmian Empire was [[Konye-Urgench|Urganch]] or Gurganj. A prominent [[Middle East]]ern biographer and geographer, [[Yaqut al-Hamawi]], who visited Gurganj in 1219, wrote, "I have not seen a city greater, richer and more beautiful than Gurganj." [[Al-Qazvini]], a Persian physician, astronomer, geographer and writer of Arab ancestry, states: 
<blockquote>Gurganj is a very beautiful city, surrounded by the attention of angels who represent the city in paradise just like a bride in a groom's house. The inhabitants of the capital were skillful artisans, especially the blacksmiths, carpenters and others. Carvers were famous for their products made of ivory and ebony. Workshops for the production of natural silk operated in the city.{{sfn|Buniyatov|1999|page=65}}</blockquote>

The cities of [[Samarqand]], [[Ghazna]] and [[Tabriz]] also served as the capital of the later Khwarazmian Empire.

== Population ==
The population of the Kwarazmian Empire consisted mainly of sedentary [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] and half-nomadic [[Turkic peoples]].<ref>Gafurov, B.G. ''Central Asia: Pre-Historic to Pre-Modern Times''. vol. 2. Shipra Publications, 1989. p. 359.</ref> The urban population of the empire was concentrated in a relatively small number of (by medieval standards) very large cities as opposed to a huge number of smaller towns. The population of the empire is estimated at 5&nbsp;million people on the eve of the Mongol invasion in 1220, making it sparse for the large area it covered.<ref name="John Man 2007. Page 180">John Man, "Genghis Khan: Life, Death, and Resurrection", February 6, 2007. p. 180.</ref>{{NoteTag|name=pop|Additionally, the population of roughly the same area (Persia and Central Asia) plus some others (Caucasia and northeast Anatolia) is estimated at 5–6 million nearly 400 hundreds later, under the rule of the [[Safavid dynasty]].<ref>{{cite book |title = Indian Merchants and Eurasian Trade, 1600–1750 |isbn = 978-0521525978 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GqEWw_54uVUC&q=population+of+persia+1600&pg=PA18 |access-date = 15 April 2016 |last = Dale |first = Stephen Frederic |date =  2002 |page = 19 |publisher = Cambridge University Press }}</ref>}} Historical demographers [[Tertius Chandler]] and Gerald Fox give the following estimations for the populations of the empire's major cities at the beginning of the 13th century, which adds up to at least 520,000 and at most 850,000 people.<ref>Tertius Chandler & Gerald Fox, "3000 Years of Urban Growth", pp.&nbsp;232–236.</ref><ref>Chandler & Fox, p.&nbsp;232: Merv, Samarkand, and Nipashur are referred to as "vying for the [title of] largest" among the "Cities of Persia and Turkestan in 1200", implying populations of less than 70,000 for the other cities (Otrar and others do not have precise estimates given). "Turkestan" seems to refer to Central Asian Turkic countries in general in this passage, as Samarkand, Merv, and Nishapur are located in modern Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and northeastern Iran respectively.</ref>

== Culture ==
[[File:Plate by Shamsuddin al-Hasani Abu Zayd, Iran, December 1210 AD (dated AH Jumada II 607), composite body painted over glaze with luster - Freer Gallery of Art - DSC04647.jpg|thumb|[[Lustreware]] plate painted by [[Abu Zayd al-Kashani]] in December 1210 (dated AH Jumada II 607), at the time of the Khwarazmian Empire. Iran, [[Freer Gallery of Art]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Blair |first1=Sheila S. |title=Muqarnas, Volume 25 |chapter=A Brief Biography Of Abu Zayd |year=2008 |page=158 |doi=10.1163/ej.9789004173279.i-396.37 |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004173279.i-396.37 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-9004173279 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hillenbrand |first1=Robert |title=Islamic art and architecture |date=1999 |publisher=London : Thames and Hudson |isbn=978-0-500-20305-7 |page=97, Fig. 70 |url=https://archive.org/details/islamicartarchit0000hill/page/96/mode/2up}}</ref> Also [[:File:Lusterware bowl with Dragons, Iran dated 1210 CE.jpg|another example from 1210 CE]] ]]
Although the Khwarazmshahs had a Turkic origin, just as their [[Seljuq dynasty|Seljuq]] predecessors, they adopted [[Persian culture]], adhered to the [[Sunni Islam|Sunni branch]] of [[Islam]] and had their richest and most populous cities in Khorasan. Thus, the Khwarazmshah era had a dual character, reflecting both its Turkic origin and Persian high culture.

=== Language ===
[[File:Kunya-Urgench-130377.jpg|thumb|left|The Mausoleum of a [[Sufism|Sufi]] of Khwarazm, [[Najm-ad-Din al-Kubra]], in old Gurganj (present-day [[Kunya-Urgench]], [[Turkmenistan]])]]
During the Khwarazmshah era, [[Central Asia]]n society was fragmented, unified under one banner only recently. The Khwarazmian military mostly consisted of Turks, while the civilian and administrative element was almost exclusively Persian. The spoken language of the Turkic population of Khwarazm was [[Kipchak language|Kipchak Turkic]] and [[Oghuz Turkic|Oghuz]], the latter being the legacy of the previous masters of the area, [[Seljuqs|Seljuq Turkomans]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Vasilyeva|first=G.P|title=Ethnic processes in origins of Turkmen people; Soviet Ethnography|publisher=Nauka (Science)|language=Russian|year=1969|pages=81–98}}</ref>

However, the dominant language of the era and the one spoken by the majority in the important Khwarazmian cities was [[Persian language|Persian]]. The language of the sedentary [[Diwan (government)|diwan]] was also Persian, and its members had to be well versed in Persian culture, regardless of their ethnic origin. Persian became the official state language of the Khwarazmshahs and served as the language of administration, history, fiction and poetry. The Turkic language was the mother tongue and "home language" of the Anushteginid family, while Arabic served primarily as the language of science, philosophy, and theology.

===Ceramics in the Khwarazmian period===
{{main|Mina'i ware|Lusterware}}
The finely decorated [[Mina'i ware|Mina'i ceramics]] were mainly produced in [[Kashan]], in the decades leading up to the [[Mongol invasion of Persia]] in 1219, at a time when the Khwarazmian Empire ruled the area, initially under the suzerainty of the [[Seljuk Empire]], and independently from 1190.<ref>Komaroff, 4; Michelsen and Olafsdotter, 76;  [https://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/collections/islamicart/77591 Fitzwilliam Museum: "Mina’i, meaning ‘enamelled’ ware, is one of the glories of Islamic ceramics, and was a speciality of the renowned ceramics centre of Kashan in Iran during the decades of the late 12th and early 13th centuries preceding the Mongol invasions"].</ref> Some of the "most iconic" productions of stonepaste vessels can be attributed to the Khwarazmian rulers, after the end of Seljuk domination (the Seljuk Empire itself ended in 1194).<ref>"While stonepaste vessels are often attributed to the Seljuq period, some of the most iconic productions in the medium took place after this dynasty lost control over its eastern territories to other Central Asian Turkic groups, such as the Khwarezm-Shahis" in {{cite web |last1=Rugiadi |first1=Martina |title=Ceramic Technology in the Seljuq Period: Stonepaste in Syria and Iran in the Twelfth and Early Thirteenth Centuries |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/sljt/hd_sljt.htm |website=www.metmuseum.org |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art (2021) |access-date=1 February 2023}}</ref> In general, it is considered that Mina'i ware was manufactured from the late 12th century and the early 13th century, and dated Mina’i wares range from 1186 to 1224.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts: Mina'i ware |date=2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0195189483 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100159261;jsessionid=21645A75EF89457977CFC748CC18DE27 |language=en}}</ref> Extensive [[lusterware]] also belongs to this period.

<gallery widths="200" heights="200" perrow="4">
File:Mina'i ware, early 13th century, Iran.jpg|alt=Horsemen, Mina'i ware, early 13th century, Iran.|Horsemen, [[Mina'i ware]], early 13th century, Iran<ref>{{cite web |title=Metropolitan Museum of Art |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/460719 |website=www.metmuseum.org}}</ref>
File:Mina'i Bowl with horserider, early 13th century, Iran.jpg|alt=Mina'i Bowl with horserider, early 13th century, Iran.|[[Mina'i Bowl]] with horserider, early 13th century, Iran<ref>{{cite web |title=Metropolitan Museum of Art |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/461340 |website=www.metmuseum.org}}</ref>
File:Mina'i Lobed bowl, early 13th century, Iran.jpg|alt=Mina'i Lobed bowl, early 13th century, Iran.|Mina'i Lobed bowl, early 13th century, Iran<ref>{{cite web |title=Metropolitan Museum of Art |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/460910 |website=www.metmuseum.org}}</ref>
File:Lusterware bowl with leopard, early 13th century, Kashan, Iran.jpg|alt=Lusterware bowl with leopard, early 13th century, Kashan, Iran.|[[Lusterware]] bowl with leopard, early 13th century, Kashan, Iran<ref>{{cite web |title=Metropolitan Museum of Art |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/452003 |website=www.metmuseum.org}}</ref> [[:File:Seljuk Islamic Art (28624723921).jpg|Dated examples]] are also known.
</gallery>

== Military ==
[[File:Kyzyl-Kala_under_restoration_(cropped).jpg|thumb|The [[Khorezm fortresses|Khwarazmian fortress]] of [[Kyzyl-Kala]], under restoration]]
{{Continental Asia in 1210 CE|right|The Khwarazmian Empire and the Mongol Confederation c. 1215, on the eve of the [[Mongol conquest of the Qara Khitai]] (1218) and the [[Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire]] (1219–1222)||Map of the Khwarazmian Empire and the Mongol Federation circa 1200 CE.png}}

It is estimated that the Khwarazmian army, prior to the Mongol invasion, consisted of about 40,000 cavalry, mostly of [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] origin. Militias existed in Khwarazm's major cities but were of poor quality. With collective populations of around 700,000, the major cities probably had 105,000 to 140,000 healthy males of fighting age in total (15–20% of the population), but only a fraction of these would be part of a formal militia with any notable measure of training and equipment.<ref>Sverdrup, Carl. The Mongol Conquests: The Military Operations of Genghis Khan and Sube'etei. Helion and Company, 2017. pp. 148–150</ref>

=== Mercenaries ===
{{main|Khwarazmian army between 1231 and 1246}}
[[File:Mina'i bow battle scene, circa 1200 CE, Iran.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mina'i ware|Mina'i bowl]] depicting battle scene in [[Khalkhal, Iran]], early 13th century. [[Kashan]], [[Iran]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Holod |first1=Renata |title=The Freer Gallery's Siege Scene Plate |journal=Ars Orientalis |date=1 January 2012 |url=https://www.academia.edu/2097203}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bowl |url=https://asia.si.edu/object/F1943.3/ |website=Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Nicolle |first1=David |title=Men-at-arms series 171 - Saladin and the saracens |date=1997 |publisher=Osprey publishing |url=https://www.ghazali.org/saladin/maas-171.pdf |page=36}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Eastmond |first1=Antony |title=Tamta's World |date=20 April 2017 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-16756-8 |page=335 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ANAoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA335 |language=en |quote=It has recently been proposed that the dish represents an attack on an Assassin stronghold in eastern Azerbaijan by Jalal al-Din Khwarazmshah in about 1225.}}</ref>]]
After the Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire, many Khwarazmians survived by employing themselves as mercenaries in northern [[Iraq]]. Sultan Jalal ad-Din's followers remained loyal to him even after his death in 1231, and raided the Seljuq lands of [[Al Jazira, Mesopotamia|Jazira]] and [[Syria]] for the next several years, calling themselves the ''Khwarazmiyya''. [[Ayyubid]] Sultan [[as-Salih Ayyub]], in Egypt, later hired them against his uncle [[As-Salih Ismail, Emir of Damascus|as-Salih Ismail]]. The ''Khwarazmiyya'', heading south from Iraq towards Egypt, invaded [[Crusades|Crusader]]-held [[Jerusalem]] along the way, on 11 July 1244 ([[Siege of Jerusalem (1244)]]). The city's citadel, the [[Tower of David]], surrendered on 23 August, and the Christian population of the city was expelled. This triggered a call from Europe for the [[Seventh Crusade]], but the Crusaders would never again be successful in retaking Jerusalem. After being conquered by the Khwarazmian forces, the city stayed under Muslim control until 1917, [[Battle of Jerusalem|when it was taken]] from the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] by the [[British Empire|British]].

After taking Jerusalem, the Khwarazmian forces continued south, and on 17 October 1244 fought on the side of the Ayyubids at the [[Battle of La Forbie]], as the Crusaders used to call [[Hiribya|Harbiyah]], a village northeast of [[Gaza City|Gaza]], destroying the remains of the Crusader army there, with some 1,200 knights killed. It was the largest battle involving the Crusaders since the [[Battle of Hattin|Battle of the Horns of Hattin]] in 1187.<ref>Riley-Smith ''The Crusades'', p. 191</ref>

==See also==
{{History of the Turks pre-14th century}}
*[[List of Sunni Muslim dynasties]]

== Notes ==
{{NoteFoot}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book |last = Babayan |first = K. |title = Mystics, monarchs, and messiahs: cultural landscapes of early modern Iran |publisher = Harvard Center for Middle Eastern Studies |year=2003 }}
* {{EI2|last=Bosworth|first=Clifford Edmund|authorlink=Clifford Edmund Bosworth|volume=4|title=K̲h̲wārazm-S̲h̲āhs|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/khwarazm-shahs-SIM_4206}}
* {{cite encyclopedia | title = Āl-e Maʾmūn | last = Bosworth | first = Clifford Edmund | url = https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/al-e-mamun | encyclopedia  = Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, Fasc. 7 | pages = 762–764 | year = 1984}}
* {{cite book |last=Katouzian|first=Homa|authorlink=Homa Katouzian|title=Iranian History and Politics: The Dialectic of State and Society |publisher=Routledge|year=2007 |isbn=978-0415297547}}
*{{cite journal |journal=Iran: Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies |volume=51 |year=2013 |title=Late Drachms of the Khwārazmshāh Azkājvār and Imitations of such Drachms |first1=Andrew |last1=Kuznetsov |first2=Michael |last2=Fedorov |issue=1 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |pages=145–149 }}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline|Khwarazmian Empire}}

{{Central Asian history}}
{{Empires}}

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[[Category:Khwarazmian Empire]]
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