Khwarezmid Empire: Map & History
The Khwarazmian Empire, or simply Khwarazm, was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim empire of Turkic mamluk origin, ruled by the Anushtegin dynasty.
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The Khwarazmian Empire, or simply Khwarazm, was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim empire of Turkic mamluk origin, ruled by the Anushtegin dynasty. The Khwarazmian Empire ruled large parts of present-day Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran from 1077 to 1231; first as vassals of the Seljuk Empire and the Qara Khitai, and from circa 1190 as independent rulers up until the Mongol invasion in 1219–1221.
Modern Countries Once Part of Khwarezmid Empire
At its mapped extent, Khwarezmid Empire covered territory in 8 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
- Iran1202–1235 CE · nearly all
- Afghanistan1202–1226 CE · nearly all
- Uzbekistan1202–1226 CE · nearly all
- Tajikistan1216–1219 CE · most
- Turkmenistan1202–1226 CE · most
- Kyrgyzstan1216–1219 CE · a large part
- Pakistan1216–1226 CE · a large part
- Kazakhstan1210–1219 CE · a small part
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Khwarezmid Empire's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Khwarezmid Empire in Depth
History
The title of 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 Ghaznavid sultan Mahmud of Ghazni. 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.
In 1077, control of the region, which had previously belonged to the Seljuqs from 1042 to 1043, passed into the hands of Anushtegin Gharchai, a Turkic mamluk commander of the Seljuqs.
Military
It is estimated that the Khwarazmian army, prior to the Mongol invasion, consisted of about 40,000 cavalry, mostly of 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.
After the Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire, many Khwarazmians survived by employing themselves as mercenaries in northern Iraq.
Culture
Although the Khwarazmshahs had a Turkic origin, just as their Seljuq predecessors, they adopted Persian culture, adhered to the 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 culture.
During the Khwarazmshah era, Central Asian 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 Turkic and Oghuz, the latter being the legacy of the previous masters of the area, Seljuq Turkomans.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Khwarazmian Empire (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Khwarezmid Empire: Key Facts
| Official language | Persian |
|---|---|
| Form of government | absolutism, oligarchy |
| Founded | 1077 |
| Dissolved | 1231 |
Facts from Wikidata Q63134381 (CC0).
Khwarezmid Empire Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 4,017,837 km² in 1218 CE.
Khwarezmid Empire: Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Khwarezmid Empire exist?
The Khwarezmid Empire is dated to 1202 CE – 1235 CE, in the High & Late Middle Ages era.
What was the capital of the Khwarezmid Empire?
The capital of the Khwarezmid Empire was ubli.
How large was the Khwarezmid Empire at its peak?
At its peak in 1218 AD the Khwarezmid Empire covered about 4,017,837 km².
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