The Sufid dynasty was a Turkic

Turkic peoples

The 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...

 dynasty that ruled in Khwarezm

Khwarezm

Khwarezm, 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...

, in the Amu Darya

Amu Darya

The Amu Darya , also called Oxus and Amu River, is a major river in Central Asia. It is formed by the junction of the Vakhsh and Panj rivers...

 river delta. Although the dynasty's independence was short-lived (c. 1361 – 1379), its later members continued to rule Khwarezm intermittently as governors of the Timurid Empire until the takeover of Khwarezm by the Shaybanid Uzbeks

Uzbeks

The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...

 in 1505. Unlike earlier dynasties that ruled from Khwarezm, the Sufids never used the title of Khwarezmshah.

Husain Sufi

After the annexation of Khwarezm into the Mongol Empire

Mongol Empire

The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...

 in the early 13th century, it had become divided into two parts. The northern half went to the khans of the White Horde, while the southern half fell into the hands of the ulus of Chagatai

Chagatai Khanate

The Chagatai Khanate was a Turko-Mongol khanate that comprised the lands ruled by Chagatai Khan , second son of the Great Khan Genghis Khan, and his descendents and successors...

. This division remained in place until the 1350s, when the Sufid dynasty took power in Khwarezm.

The first Sufid ruler, Husain Sufi, was a member of the Onggirat

Onggirat

The Hongirat , also known as Qongirat is a Central Asian tribe, one of the major divisions of the Mongols. Variations on the name include Onggirat, Wangjila , Yongjilie , and Guangjila in Chinese sources and Ongrat or Kungrat in Turkish.The original pastures of the Hongirats were in eastern...

, a constituent tribe of the White Horde. Husain Sufi took control of Urgench

Kunya Urgench

Konye-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...

  and the rest of the northern part of Khwarezm; coins in the province were minted for him beginning in 1364. He also took advantage of the troubles plaguing Transoxiana

Transoxiana

Transoxiana is the ancient name used for the portion of Central Asia corresponding approximately with modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, southern Kyrgystan and southwest Kazakhstan. Geographically, it is the region between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers...

 at the time by seizing Kath and Khiva

Khiva

Khiva is a city of approximately 50,000 people located in Xorazm Province, Uzbekistan. It is the former capital of Khwarezmia and the Khanate of Khiva...

, which were allocated to the Chagatai khans.

This encroachment on what was considered to be Chagatai territory ultimately led to conflict with the amir Timur

Timur

Timur , historically known as Tamerlane in English , was a 14th-century conqueror of West, South and Central Asia, and the founder of the Timurid dynasty in Central Asia, and great-great-grandfather of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Dynasty, which survived as the Mughal Empire in India until...

. At the time of the seizure of Kath and Khiva Transoxiana had lacked a ruler who could respond, but by 1369 Timur had unified the region under his rule. Timur, who maintained a puppet Chagatai khan, felt strong enough to demand the return of Kath and Khiva from Husain Sufi in the early 1370s.

Husain Sufi's refusal to return southern Khwarezm caused Timur to go to war against him in 1372. Kath was quickly overrun; Husain Sufi decided to fortify Urgench and remain there. Urgench was surrounded by Timur's army and Husain Sufi died during the siege.

Yusuf Sufi

Husain Sufi was succeeded by his brother, Yusuf Sufi, who concluded a peace with Timur in which Timur received Kath and Khiva. Timur's army left northern Khwarezm; in the following year, however, Yusuf Sufi provoked Timur by invading his territories and trying to retake Kath and Khiva. This led Timur to undertake a second campaign against him in 1373, but Yusuf Sufi quickly sent his apologies and gave his daughter Khanzade in marriage to Timur's son Jahangir in exchange for peace.

Yusuf Sufi's continuing incursions into Timur's territory prompted another invasion in 1379. This time Urgench was besieged; Yusuf Sufi died in the middle of the siege and Timur demanded the city's surrender. They city refused; as a result when Timur's army finally did capture it by force, a general massacre followed and the city was burned.

Suleiman Sufi

The Sufids' defeat at the hands of Timur did not shake their desire to retain their hold on Khwarezm. Suleiman Sufi allied with the khan of the Golden Horde

Golden Horde

The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...

, Tokhtamysh

Tokhtamysh

Tokhtamysh was the prominent khan of the White Horde, who briefly unified the White Horde and Blue Horde subdivisions of the Golden Horde into a single state. He was a descendant of Genghis Khan's eldest grandson, Orda Khan or his brother Tuqa-Timur...

, and in 1387 revolted in concert with the khan's invasion of Transoxiana

Transoxiana

Transoxiana is the ancient name used for the portion of Central Asia corresponding approximately with modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, southern Kyrgystan and southwest Kazakhstan. Geographically, it is the region between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers...

. Timur immediately took action against Suleiman Shah, overrunning Khwarezm and crushing the rebellion.

Later Sufids

Despite their loss of independence, the Sufids continued to play an influential role in the Timurid Empire. In the late 14th century one Yayïq Sufi is mentioned; a probable member of the Sufid line, Yayïq Sufi obtained a high position in Timur's army. He rebelled in 1393/4, but was defeated and imprisoned.

In the 15th century Khwarezm was usually controlled by the Timurids, although it on occasion fell into the hands of the khans of the Golden Horde

Golden Horde

The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...

 as well as the Uzbeks

Uzbeks

The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...

. The Sufids retained some power in the province, with individual members acting as governors for the powers of the region. In 1464 an 'Uthman b. Muhammad Sufi is mentioned. In 1505, a Chin Sufi was in charge of the province, but in that year the Uzbek Muhammad Shaybani

Muhammad Shaybani

Abu 'I-Fath Muhammad , known in later centuries as Shaybani Khan , was a khan of the Uzbeks who continued consolidating various Uzbek tribes and laid foundations for their ascendance in Transoxiana. of Genghis Khan through his grandson Shayban and considered the Timurids as usurpers of the...

invaded Khwarezm and annexed the province.

Rulers

• Aq Sufii (1359–1361)
• Husain (1361–1372)
• Yusuf (1372–1380)
• Balankhi (1380)
• Maing (1380)
• Sulayman (1380–1388)