The
Khwarazmian dynasty or
Khwarezmian dynasty, also known as
Khwarezmids, dynasty of
Khwarazm Shahs or
Khwarezm-Shah dynasty (and spelling variants, from
PersianPersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, "Kings of Khwarezmia") was a Persianate Sunni
MuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
dynasty of
TurkicThe Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
mamlukA Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
origin.
They ruled
Greater IranGreater Iran refers to the regions that have significant Iranian cultural influence. It roughly corresponds to the territory on the Iranian plateau and its bordering plains, stretching from Iraq, the Caucasus, and Turkey in the west to the Indus River in the east...
in the
High Middle AgesThe High Middle Ages was the period of European history around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....
, in the period of about 1077 to 1231, first as vassals of the Seljuqs, Kara-Khitan, and later as independent rulers, up until the Mongol invasions of the 13th century.
The dynasty was founded by
Anush Tigin GharchaiAnūš Tigin Ghrachaī was a Turkic slave commander of the Seljuqs and the governor of Khwārezm from around 1077 until his death...
, a former Turkish slave of the Seljuq sultans, who was appointed the governor of
KhwarezmKhwarezm, or Chorasmia, is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, which borders to the north the Aral Sea, to the east the Kyzylkum desert, to the south the Karakum desert and to the west the Ustyurt Plateau...
. His son,
Qutb ad-Din Muhammad IQutb al-Din Muhammad was Khwarazm Shah from 1097 until his death. He was the son of Anush Tigin.In around 1097 Qutb al-Din Muhammad was appointed governor of Khwarazm by the Seljuk sultan Barkiyaruq's military commander, Habashi ibn Altun-Taq...
, became the first hereditary
ShahShāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...
of
KhwarezmKhwarezm, or Chorasmia, is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, which borders to the north the Aral Sea, to the east the Kyzylkum desert, to the south the Karakum desert and to the west the Ustyurt Plateau...
.
History
The date of the founding of the empire is uncertain.
KhwarezmKhwarezm, or Chorasmia, is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, which borders to the north the Aral Sea, to the east the Kyzylkum desert, to the south the Karakum desert and to the west the Ustyurt Plateau...
was a province of the
Ghaznavid EmpireThe Ghaznavids were a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic slave origin which existed from 975 to 1187 and ruled much of Persia, Transoxania, and the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent. The Ghaznavid state was centered in Ghazni, a city in modern-day Afghanistan...
from 1017 to 1034. In 1077 the governorship of the province, which since 1042/43 belonged to the Seljuqs, fell into the hands of
Anush Tigin GharchaiAnūš Tigin Ghrachaī was a Turkic slave commander of the Seljuqs and the governor of Khwārezm from around 1077 until his death...
, a former
TurkicThe Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
slave of the Seljuq sultan. In 1141, the Seljuq Sultan
Ahmed SanjarAhmad Sanjar Ahmad Sanjar Ahmad Sanjar (Mu'iz ud-Dīn Ahmad-e Sanjar; was the sultan of the Great Seljuq Empire from 1118 to 1153. He was initially the sultan of Khorasan until he gained the rest of the territory upon the death of Muhammad I....
was defeated by the Kara Khitay at the
battle of QatwanThe Battle of Qatwan was fought in September 1141 between the Kara-Khitan Khanate and the Seljuq Empire and its vassal-state the Kara-Khanids. Following the Kara-Khanid defeat at Khujand, Mahmud summoned his overlord Ahmed Sanjar to protect Western Kara-Khanid from invasion.-Battle:On the Qatwan...
and Anush Tigin's grandson
Ala ad-Din AtsizAtsïz was Khwarazm Shah from 1127 until his death. He was the son of Qutb ad-Din Muhammad.Atsïz gained his position following his father'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 Seljuk...
became a vassal to
Yelü DashiYelü Dashi , or Yeh-Lü Ta-Shih was the founder of the Western Liao dynasty, or the Kara-Khitan Khanate....
of the Kara Khitan.
Sultan Ahmed Sanjar died in 1156. As the Seljuk state fell into chaos, the Khwarezm-Shahs expanded their territories southward. In 1194, the last Sultan of the Great Seljuq Empire, Toghril III, was defeated and killed by the Khwarezm ruler Ala ad-Din Tekish, who conquered parts of
KhorasanGreater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
and western Iran. In 1200, Tekish died and was succeeded by his son,
Ala ad-Din MuhammadAla ad-Din Muhammad II was the ruler of the Khwarezmid Empire from 1200 to 1220. His ancestor was a Turkic slave who eventually became a viceroy of a small province named Khwarizm. After his father died, Muhammad inherited his father's lands, and it was from there he began expanding outwards...
, who initiated a conflict with the Ghurids and was defeated by them at Amu Darya(1204). Following the sack of Khwarizm, Muhammad appealed for aid from his suzerain, the Kara Khitai who sent him an army. With this reinforcement, Muhammad won a victory over the Ghorids at Hezarasp(1204) and forced them out of Khwarizm. Muhammad's gratitude towards his suzerain was short-lived. He again initiated a conflict, this time with the aid of the Kara-Khanids, and defeated a Kara-Khitai army at
TalasThe Talas River rises in the Talas Province of Kyrgyzstan and flows west into Kazakhstan. It is formed from the confluence of the Karakol and Uch-Koshoy...
(1210), but allowed
SamarkandAlthough a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
(1210) to be occupied by the Kara-Khitai. He overthrew the Karakhanids (1212) and
GhuridsThe Ghurids or Ghorids were a medieval Muslim dynasty of Iranian origin that ruled during the 12th and 13th centuries in Khorasan. At its zenith, their empire, centred at Ghōr , stretched over an area that included the whole of modern Afghanistan, the eastern parts of Iran and the northern section...
(1215). Thus Muhammad II incorporated nearly the whole of Transoxania and what is now Afghanistan into his empire, which after further conquests in western Persia (by 1217) stretched from the
Syr DaryaThe Syr Darya , also transliterated Syrdarya or Sirdaryo, is a river in Central Asia, sometimes known as the Jaxartes or Yaxartes from its Ancient Greek name . The Greek name is derived from Old Persian, Yakhsha Arta , a reference to the color of the river's water...
to the
Zagros MountainsThe Zagros Mountains are the largest mountain range in Iran and Iraq. With a total length of 1,500 km , from northwestern Iran, and roughly correlating with Iran's western border, the Zagros range spans the whole length of the western and southwestern Iranian plateau and ends at the Strait of...
, and from the Indus Valley to the
Caspian SeaThe Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
.
War and collapse
In 1218,
Genghis KhanGenghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
sent a trade mission to the state, but at the town of
OtrarOtrar or Utrar is a Central Asian ghost town that was a city located along the Silk Road near the current town of Karatau in Kazakhstan. Otrar was an important town in the history of Central Asia, situated on the borders of settled and agricultural civilizations...
the governor, suspecting the Khan's ambassadors to be spies, confiscated their goods and executed them. Genghis Khan demanded reparations, which the Shah refused to pay. Genghis retaliated with a force of 200,000 men, launching a multi-pronged invasion. In February 1220 the Mongolian army crossed the
Syr DaryaThe Syr Darya , also transliterated Syrdarya or Sirdaryo, is a river in Central Asia, sometimes known as the Jaxartes or Yaxartes from its Ancient Greek name . The Greek name is derived from Old Persian, Yakhsha Arta , a reference to the color of the river's water...
, beginning the
Mongol invasion of Central AsiaThe Mongol invasion of Central Asia occurred after the unification of the Mongol and Turkic tribes on Mongolian plateau in 1206. It finally completed when Genghis Khan conquered the Khwarizmian Empire in 1221....
. The Mongols stormed
BukharaBukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
,
SamarkandAlthough a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
, and the Khwarezmid capital
GurganjKonye-Urgench also known as Konya-Urgench, Old Urgench or Urganj, is a municipality of about 30,000 inhabitants in north-eastern Turkmenistan, just south from its border with Uzbekistan. It is the site of the ancient town of Ürgenç , which contains the unexcavated ruins of the 12th-century capital...
. The Shah fled and died some weeks later on an island in the Caspian Sea.
In
Great Captains Unveiled of 1927, B.H. Liddell Hart gave details of the Mongol campaign against Khwarezm, underscoring his own philosophy of "the indirect approach," and highlighting many of the tactics used by Genghis which were to be subsequently included in the German
BlitzkriegFor other uses of the word, see: Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg is an anglicized word describing all-motorised force concentration of tanks, infantry, artillery, combat engineers and air power, concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines, and, once the lines are broken,...
tactics, inspired in part by Liddell Hart's writings.
The son of Ala ad-Din Muhammad,
Jalal ad-Din MingburnuJalal ad-Din Mingburnu, also known as Mengübirti or Manguberdi or Minkburny in the east was the last ruler of the Khwarezmid Empire...
became the new Sultan (he rejected the title Shah). He attempted to flee to
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, but the
MongolsMongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
caught up with him before he got there, and he was defeated at the
Battle of IndusThe Battle of Indus was fought at the river Indus in today's Pakistan in the year 1221 between Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu, the sultan of the Khwarezmid Empire and his only remaining forces of five thousand, and the Mongolian horde of Genghis Khan....
. He escaped and sought asylum in the Sultanate of Delhi. Iltumish however denied this to him in deference to the relationship with the 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
MongolsMongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
, the Seljuks of Rum, and pretenders to his own throne. He lost his power over Persia in a battle against the
MongolsMongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
in the
AlborzAlborz , also written as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran stretching from the borders of Azerbaijan and Armenia in the northwest to the southern end of the Caspian Sea, and ending in the east at the borders of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan...
Mountains. Escaping to the
CaucasusThe Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
, he captured
AzerbaijanAzerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
in 1225, setting up his capital at
TabrizTabriz is the fourth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former...
. In 1226 he attacked
GeorgiaGeorgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
and sacked
TbilisiTbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
. Following on through the
ArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n highlands he clashed with the Ayyubids, capturing the town
AhlatAhlat is a historic town and a district in Turkey's Bitlis Province in Eastern Anatolia Region. The center town of Ahlat is situated on the northwestern coast of the Lake Van. She was the district in Van Province between 1929-1936...
along the western shores of the
Lake VanLake Van is the largest lake in Turkey, located in the far east of the country in Van district. It is a saline and soda lake, receiving water from numerous small streams that descend from the surrounding mountains. Lake Van is one of the world's largest endorheic lakes . The original outlet from...
, who sought the aid of the Seljuk
Sultanate of RûmThe Sultanate of Rum , also known as the Anatolian Seljuk State , was a Turkic state centered in in Anatolia, with capitals first at İznik and then at Konya. Since the court of the sultanate was highly mobile, cities like Kayseri and Sivas also functioned at times as capitals...
. Sultan Kayqubad I defeated him at
Arzinjan-Trivia:Erzincan has the largest man made of Portrait of Atatürk, located north of the city, 176m×43m. It covers 7,500 square meter. Turkish Army made it 1982, in 29 days by 3,000 soldier, 100 tons of black and white paint was used...
on the Upper
EuphratesThe Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
at the
Battle of YassıçemenBattle of Yassi Chemen was a battle fought in Erzincan Province, Turkey in 1230.- Background :Jalal ad-Din was the last ruler of the Khwarezm Shahs. Actually the territory of the sultanate had been annexed by Mongol Empire during the reign of Jalal ad-Din’s father. But Jalal ad-Din continued to...
in 1230. He escaped to
DiyarbakirDiyarbakır is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey...
, while the Mongols conquered Azerbaijan in the ensuing confusion. He was murdered in 1231 by
KurdishThe Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
highwaymen.
Mercenaries
Though the Mongols had destroyed the Khwarezmian Empire in 1220, many Khwarezmians survived by working as mercenaries in northern Iraq. Their wages were particularly low, so they attempted to create work unions. Historians disagree on whether the work unions were successful. Sultan Jalal ad-Din's followers remained loyal to him even after his death in 1231, and raided the Seljuk lands of Jazira and
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
for the next several years, calling themselves the
Khwarezmiyya. Ayyubid Sultan Salih Ayyub, in Egypt, later hired their services against his uncle Salih Ismail. The
Khwarezmiyya, heading south from Iraq towards Egypt, invaded Christian-held
Jerusalem along the way, on July 11, 1244. The city's citadel, the
Tower of DavidThe Tower of David is an ancient citadel located near the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem.Built to strengthen a strategically weak point in the Old City's defenses, the citadel that stands today was constructed during the 2nd century BC and subsequently destroyed and rebuilt by,...
, surrendered on August 23, the Christian population of the city was decimated and the Jews expelled. This triggered a call from Europe for the
Seventh CrusadeThe Seventh Crusade was a crusade led by Louis IX of France from 1248 to 1254. Approximately 800,000 bezants were paid in ransom for King Louis who, along with thousands of his troops, was captured and defeated by the Egyptian army led by the Ayyubid Sultan Turanshah supported by the Bahariyya...
, but the Crusaders would never again be successful in retaking Jerusalem. After being conquered by the Khwarezmian forces, the city stayed under Muslim control until 1917, when it was taken from the
OttomansThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
by the British.
After taking Jerusalem, the Khwarezmian forces continued south, and on October 17 fought on the side of the Ayyubids at the
Battle of HarbiyahThe Battle of La Forbie, also known as the Battle of Harbiyah, was fought October 17, 1244 – October 18, 1244 between the allied armies and the Egyptian army of the Ayyubid Sultan as-Salih Ayyub, reinforced with Khwarezmian mercenaries.-Prelude:The capture of...
, northeast of
GazaGaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
, killing the remains of the Christian army there, some 1,200 knights. It was the largest battle involving the crusaders since the
Battle of the Horns of HattinThe Battle of Hattin took place on Saturday, July 4, 1187, between the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and the forces of the Ayyubid dynasty....
in 1187.
The remains of the Muslim Khwarezmians served in Egypt as
MamlukA Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
mercenaries until they were finally beaten by Mansur Ibrahim some years later.
Khwarizmi war captives assimilated into the Mongols, forming modern
MongolianMongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
clan
SartuulSartuul is one of the Mongol clans. Today, they primarily live in the Zavkhan Province of Mongolia.The origin of the Sartuul people is Turkic merchants and artisans from Khwarizm. According to Pelliot, Sartuul means merchant in plural. Mongols called Muslim merchant a Sart or the place he came...
.
Mamunids
- Abu Ali Mamun (I) ibn Muhammad
Ma'mun I Abu 'Ali was Khwarazm-Shah from 995 until his death. He was the founder of the Ma'munid dynasty, which lasted from 995 until 1017....
(995–997 under Samanid suzerainty)
- Abu ʼl-Hasan Ali ibn Mamun
Abu al-Hasan 'Ali was Khwarazm-Shah from 997 until his death. The second member of the Ma'munid dynasty, he was the son of Mamun I....
(997–1008/9, first under Samanid suzerainty, later virtually independent)
- Abu ʼl-Abbas Mamun (II) ibn Mamun
Abu'l-Abbas Ma'mun was Khwarazm-Shah from 1008 or 1009 until his death, having succeeded his brother Abu al-Hasan Ali in that post. He was the son of Mamun I....
(1008/9–1017)
- Abu ʼl-Harith Muhammad ibn Ali
Abu'l Harith Muhammad was Khwarazm Shah for a period in 1017. The son of Abu al-Hasan Ali, he was the last member of the Iranian Ma'munid dynasty to rule Khwarazm.In 1017 a young Muhammad was declared shah by the murderers of his uncle Abu'l Abbas Mamun...
(1017)
Altuntashids
- Abu Said Altun-Tash
Altun Tash was Khwarazm-Shah from 1017 until his death.Altun Tash was originally a slave commander serving the Ghaznavid Sebük Tigin. In 1008 he played a leading role in a battle against the Karakhanids at Sharkhiyan near Balkh, in which the Ghaznavids were victorious...
(1017–1032, virtually independent governor of the Ghaznavids)
- Harun ibn Altun-Tash
Harun was the de facto ruler of Khwarazm from 1032 to 1035. He was the son of Altun Tash.Following his father's death in 1032, Harun was effectively made governor of Khwarazm by the Ghaznavid sultan Mas'ud...
(1032–1034, first lieutenant of the nominal Ghaznawid Khwarazm-Shah, Said ibn MasudMas'ud I seized the throne of the Ghaznavid Empire upon the death of his father Mahmud from his younger twin Mohammad who had been nominated as the heir upon the death of their father Mahmud of Ghazni. His twin was blinded and imprisoned...
, later independent)
- Ismail Khandan ibn Altun-Tash
Isma'il Khandan was the ruler of Khwarazm, an ancient state along the previous Aral Sea, from 1035 to 1041 AD. He was the son of Altun Tash.In 1035 Isma'il's brother Harun was assassinated by his guards at the instigation of the Ghaznavid sultan Mas'ud I of Ghazni...
(1034–1041)
Anushtiginids
- Anush-Tigin Gharchai
Anūš Tigin Ghrachaī was a Turkic slave commander of the Seljuqs and the governor of Khwārezm from around 1077 until his death...
(1077–?, nominal governor (shihnaShihna was a medieval Islamic term meaning, roughly, "military administrator." The term was used particularly for the Seljuk Turks' representative in Iraq, who exerted the Seljuks' power over the Abbasid caliph. The Seljuks themselves ruled their empire, which included most of southwest Asia in...
) of the Seljuqs)
Non-dynastic
- Ekinchi ibn Qochqar (1097, governor of the Seljuqs)
Anushtiginids
- Qutb ad-Din Abu ʼl-Fath Arslan-Tigin Muhammad (I) ibn Anush-Tigin
Qutb al-Din Muhammad was Khwarazm Shah from 1097 until his death. He was the son of Anush Tigin.In around 1097 Qutb al-Din Muhammad was appointed governor of Khwarazm by the Seljuk sultan Barkiyaruq's military commander, Habashi ibn Altun-Taq...
(1097–1127/28 under Seljuq suzerainty)
- Ala ad-Dunya wa-ʼd-Din Abu ʼl-Muzaffar Qizil-Arslan Atsiz ibn Muhammad
Atsïz was Khwarazm Shah from 1127 until his death. He was the son of Qutb ad-Din Muhammad.Atsïz gained his position following his father'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 Seljuk...
(reg. 1127/28–1156 under Seljuq and (from 1141 on) Qara-Khitay suzerainty)
- Taj ad-Dunya wa-ʼd-Din Abu ʼl-Fath Il-Arslan
Il-Arslan was Khwarazm Shah from 1156 until his death. He was the son of Atsïz.In 1152 Il-Arslan was made governor of Jand, an outpost on the Syr Darya which had recently been reconquered, by his father. In 1156 Atsïz died and Il-Arslan succeeded him as Khwarazm-Shah...
(1156–1172 under Qara-Khitay suzerainty)
- Ala ad-Dunya wa-ʼd-Din Abu ʼl-Muzaffar Tekish ibn Il-Arslan (1172–1200 under Qara-Khitay suzerainty)
- Jalal ad-Dunya wa-ʼd-Din Abu ʼl-Qasim Mahmud Sultan-Shah ibn Il-Arslan
Sultan Shah was a claimant to the title of Khwarazm Shah from 1172 until his death. He was the son of Il-Arslan.In 1172 Il-Arslan died and his sons began fighting over who would succeed him. Sultan Shah was the younger son, but he was considered the formal heir and his mother, Terken Khatun,...
(1172–1193, rival ruler in northern Khurasan)
- Ala ad-Dunya wa-ʼd-Din Abu ʼl-Fath Muhammad (II) ibn Tekish
Ala ad-Din Muhammad II was the ruler of the Khwarezmid Empire from 1200 to 1220. His ancestor was a Turkic slave who eventually became a viceroy of a small province named Khwarizm. After his father died, Muhammad inherited his father's lands, and it was from there he began expanding outwards...
(1200–1220)
- Jalal ad-Dunya wa-ʼd-Din Abu ʼl-Muzaffar Mengübirti ibn Muhammad
Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu, also known as Mengübirti or Manguberdi or Minkburny in the east was the last ruler of the Khwarezmid Empire...
(1220–1231)
See also
Literature
- M. Ismail Marcinkowski, Persian Historiography and Geography: Bertold Spuler on Major Works Produced in Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, the CaucasusThe Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
, Central AsiaCentral Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
, IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Early Ottoman Turkey, with a foreword by Professor Clifford Edmund Bosworth, member of the British AcademyThe British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
, Singapore: Pustaka Nasional, 2003, ISBN 9971-77-488-7.