Khiva (Uzbek:Xiva,Хива,خیوه;other names) is a district-level city of approximately 93,000 people inKhorazm Region,Uzbekistan.[2] According to archaeological data, the city was established around 2,500 years ago.
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 prophetNoah: "It is said thatShem, 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."[6]
Another proposal is that the name comes from the wordKhwarezm, altered by borrowing into Turkic as Khivarezem, then shortened to Khiva.
The town is also known asPersian:خیوه,Xīveh; alternative or historical names includeOrgunje,Kheeva,Khorasam,Khoresm,Khwarezm,Khwarizm,Khwarazm,Chorezm,Arabic:خوارزم andPersian:خوارزم.
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 the Uzbek “Kongirad” dynasty.
2014 Image of Palvan Gate Of Khiva, built in the early 19th century and known to have hosted a largeslave market and a center of punishments and executions
In the 17th century, Khiva began to develop as aslave market. For several centuries, the cities of Bukhara and Khiva were known as major centers of the slave trade, and theBukhara slave trade, alongside the neighboringslave trade in Khiva, has been referred to as the "slave capitals of the world".[8] During the first half of the 19th century, around 30,000Persians and an unknown number ofRussians, were enslaved there before being sold. A large part of them were involved in the construction of buildings in the walledItchan Kala.[7]
Russia annexed some parts of theKhanate of Khiva in the 19th century, vassalising it into the Russian protectorate. The last khan from the ruling dynasty was liquidated a century later, in 1919. Thus Khiva became the capital city of the newKhorezm People's Soviet Republic. The Khorezm oasis was converted into a part of modern Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in 1924.[9]
Khiva is split into two parts. The outer town, called Dichan Kala, was formerly protected by a wall with 11 gates. The inner town, orItchan 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 byMohammed 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 19th centuries. Djuma Mosque, for instance, was established in the 10th century and rebuilt in 1788–89, although its celebratedhypostyle hall still retains 112 columns taken from ancient structures.[10]
Khiva was home to a number ofmadrassahs (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, which is the center of present-day Khiva. Among the renowned students of the madrassah were theUzbek poet Raunaq, theQaraqalpaq poet Kasybayuly, theTurkmen poet andsufiMagtymguly.[11]
In the town, activities such as the "KhivaCarpet" joint-stock company, cotton cleaning, ginning factories, carpet weaving, the "Khiva Gilami" joint-stock company, and other carpet weaving enterprises, as well as a bread factory, a farmer's market, cultural, trade, and service establishments are operational. There are branches ofUrgench University specializing in agro-management, theUzbek Academy of SciencesKhorezm Mamun Academy, the Qoraqum Scientific Research Station, pedagogical, medical, and tourism colleges, vocational lyceums, a gymnasium, 15 general education schools, a house of culture, 2 special boarding schools, a regional puppet theater, an art school, 2 libraries and their branches, and cultural and recreational gardens.[12][13]
The town publishes the "Khiva-Sharq Gavhari" magazine (since 2001) and the "Khiva Tongi" district newspaper. The town is a prominent center for global tourism, attracting over 200,000 tourists every year, including nearly 7,000 international visitors. "O'zbekTurizm" national company operates in the town, and several private guesthouses are in operation.
The unique values of world significance include architectural monuments of Khiva, which has rightfully earned thetitle of "museum city".
The image of modern Khiva is mainly formed by thearchitecture of the period ofKhiva Khanate of the late XVIII - early XX centuries.
Butarchaeological excavations underway here show that at the base of a number of relatively "young" remains ofbuildings are ancient layers dating back to the III and even earlier centuries BC.
Most of Khiva's architecturalmasterpieces are concentrated in itsurban core –Itchan Kala. It is a "city within a city" surrounded by powerfulfortress walls with four gates on each side of the world.
One of the mainhighways runs from the westerngate to the eastern gate, along which the main monumentalbuildings are concentrated.
From theobservation tower of Ak-Sheikh-boboItchan-Kala can be seen like in the palm of your hand. The unusual silhouette of the Kalta Minorminaret attracts attention, as if cut down to the middle.
Its massive trunk, exquisitely decorated with wide and narrow belts of glazedbrick, indicates that it was conceived as a grandiose, majesticstructure, the main vertical of the city.
But after the death of thekhan, under whom the minaret was built, it remained unfinished, receiving the name of Kalta (short).
Very close to the Kalta Minar is the Muhammad AminxonMadrasah, the largest of the preserved buildings of higher theologicaleducational institutions.
The peculiarity of its architecture is the twin hudjras -cells for living ofstudents. Belts of colored brick sets andmajolica facings decorate the building wonderfully.
The walls of thehall are decorated with ganch carving with coloring. The neighboring two-storied building is aharem. There are many rich chambers, living rooms.
TheJuma Mosque (X century, 1788) is amazing in its beauty. On the entrance doors the date of construction - 1778-1782 years is preserved.
But 210columns of themosque, supporting theroof, are much older - from XII to XV centuries. The columns are remarkable for their amazing slenderness, rich ornamental carving.
They were brought here from other ancient buildings, so many columns are unique and do not resemble each other.
At the gates of Polvon darvoza there is a whole ensemble of buildings. The main palace ofKhiva khans Toshhovli occupies a special place here.
Thepalace of Kurnysh-khan was intended for lavish receptions. Once there was a woodenthrone in thethrone room decorated withsilverchasing on a red background.
The building has a beautifuliwan with columns. The palace is also remarkable for its rich majolica wall lining with intricateornaments.
The Pahlavon Mahmud Memorial Complex was built in memory of the revered Khivapoet, who after his death was canonized as thepatron saint of the city.
Nearby is the 45-meter high Islomxo‘ja minaret topped with a through lantern with adome on top. In the outer part of the city - Dishan qalʼa - there are also many ancient architectural monuments.
^Nashriyoti, Davr (2012).Khiva: The City and the Legends. Tashkent, Uzbekistan: Davr Nashriyoti LLC. p. 2.ISBN9789943339262.
^ab"Khiva". Encyclopædia Britannica. May 16, 2018.Archived from the original on August 2, 2020. RetrievedJune 20, 2020.
^Mayers, K. (2016). The First English Explorer: The Life of Anthony Jenkinson (1529-1611) and His Adventures on the Route to the Orient. Storbritannien: Matador. p. 121
^"khiva".Archived from the original on 2021-05-09. Retrieved2021-03-09.
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