Far East Kingdoms

Khorasan / Khwarazm (Transoxiana / Sogdia / Sogdiana)

An ancient region, this was the home to one of the oldest series of states in Central Asia and was situated in and around the river basin of the lower Amu Darya where it empties into the Aral Sea, and north-eastern Persia. Its territory varied greatly depending who was ruling it, but at its height it stretched into most of Afghanistan, eastern Persia, central Turkmenistan and southern Kyrgyzstan, plus central and southern Uzbekistan and all of Tajikistan (which together made up ancient Transoxiana). The name now belongs to a province in modern Iran and a region in north-western Uzbekistan.

Transoxiana, the crossroads between Central Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East, was located around the southern coast of the Aral Sea, and in the cities of Bukhara and Samarkand. The earliest known rulers in the region, when it was known as Sogdia or Sogdiana, to differentiate it from bordering Bactria, are placed in the 600s BC, shortly before the warlike tribe of the Massagetae were recorded as bordering the area to the north in 530 BC. Then it was conquered by the Persians, and for the most part remained governed from there until the tenth century AD.

7th cent BC

Sijavus / Siyavash

Son of Kai Kavoos of Persia, and son-in-law of Afrasiab.

Sijavus is a legendary Persian prince and the son-in-law of the mythical Afrasiab, the hero and king of Turan. Turan is the ancient Iranian name for Central Asia, 'land of the Tur', which is inhabited by Iranian peoples. Due to the treachery of his stepmother, Sudabeh, Sijavus exiles himself to Turan. There, he marries Farangis, the daughter of Afrasiab, but the king later orders Sijavus to be killed. His death is avenged by his son, who inherits the early Persian throne.

c.550 - 330 BC

The heartland of the region (known as Sogdia) is drawn into Cyrus the Great's Persian empire. It is also named Huvarazmish in Persian inscriptions. In 330 BC it becomes part of the Greek empire.

323 - 321? BC

Philip / Philippus

Greek satrap of Khorasan / Bactria & Sogdiana.

321 - 312 BC

Stasanor the Solian

Greek satrap of Indo-Greek territory & Khorasan (316 BC).

316 - 312 BC

Sogdiana is governed by the Argead satrap, Stasanor the Solian, for the Greek empire.

312 - c.140 BC

During the break-up of the empire, it appears that parts of the area become independent, but much of it falls to the kings of Bactria.

140 BC

After Bactria's destruction, the region is later inhabited by Zoroastrian Indians who use Aramaic script. Sogdiana is for the most part independent.

AD 552

The Western Kaghans expand their dominion towards Sogdiana and right up to the borders of the Islamic Emirate of Khorasan.

651 - 821

The region is absorbed into the Islamic empire as it takes Persia. Governors, or emirs, are appointed to control Islamic Emirate of Khorasan in the name of the caliph.

821 - 873

The Tahrid emirs are established in Khorasan, which includes northern and western Afghanistan up to the borders of the kingdom of Zabulistan, when the region is granted to them by the Abbasid caliph, al-Mamun.

873 - 900

The Tahrids are ousted as emirs of Khorasan by the Saffarids, but in 900 they are defeated by the Transoxianan Samanids and reduced in territory to Seistan in Persia, where they remain Samanid vassals. The Samanids install their own governors in Khorasan.

994

The Samanid ruler faces internal uprisings, and the Ghaznavid ruler goes to his assistance. The rebels are defeated at Balkh and then Nishapur, and Sebuktigin of Ghazni is granted the title 'Nasir ud-Din' ('Hero of the Faith'), while his son, Mahmud, is made governor of Khorasan.

994 - 998

Yamin-ud-Dawlah Mahmud

Governor. Son of Sebuktigin of Ghazni. King of Ghazni (998-1030).

995

The previous ruling Banu Iraq dynasty is overthrown in a coup. Areas of Khorasan are united under the emirs of North Khwarazm, who gain a level of autonomy from the weak Persian Buwayids.

997

Mahmud campaigns against the Qara-Khitai in Central Asia, but is ultimately defeated. The following year he lays successful claim to the Ghaznavid throne itself.

Emirs of North Khwarazm / Khorezm / Khorasan
AD 995 - 1390s?

Always under the influence of Persia, if not its direct control, Khwarazm was initially centred on ancient Samarkand and Bukhara. At its height, it extended to encompass almost all of modern Iran (except the western border area), eastern Azerbaijan, western Afghanistan, all of Turkmenistan, most of Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, and the southern areas of Kazakhstan.

The emirs (and later, shahs) had their capital at Urgench (pronounced oorgyench), now Kunya-Urgench, the capital of Uzbekistan. The city became a major seat of Arabic learning and a centre of agriculture and trade, but it was destroyed by the Mongols in the early thirteenth century, partially rebuilt, and then abandoned in the sixteenth century, following the Uzbek conquest of the region.

1017 - 1040

Khwarazm is conquered by the Ghaznavids after the emir is killed in a rebellion, but it is unclear if the entire emirate is subjugated. In 1040 the Ghaznavids are defeated by Seljuq Turks at Dandanqan, and lose their western territories, including Khwarazm.

1098 - 1128

Qutb al-Din Muhammed

1128 - 1156

Ala al-Din Aziz / Shah Atsyz

Rebelled against the Seljuqs. Defeated & returned to vassal status.

1156 - 1172

Taj al-Dunya Arslan

1172 - 1193

Jalal al-Dunya Sultanshah

1193 - 1200

Ala al-Din Tekish / Tukush / Tekesh

Former Seljuq slave appointed governor of Khwarazm.

1194

The emirate gains independence from the Persian Seljuq Turks by overthrowing them and occupying much of the rest of Khorasan.

1200 - 1220

Ala ad Deen Muhammed (ibn Tekesh)

Son. Died a fugitive.

1205 - 1212

Khwarazm rapidly expands its rule. In 1210 it takes Samarkand from the Qara-Khitai and this becomes the capital. By 1212 it rules from the Caspian Sea to Bukhara and Samarkand, eliminating the Qara Khitai and controlling all of modern Iran and, by 1213, Ghurid Afghanistan too.

1220 - 1221

After the shah decapitates the Mongol ambassador from Chingiz Khan, the emirate is attacked twice by Chingiz Khan and the Golden Horde, along with Ghurid Afghanistan, and is reduced to its western section covering northern Mesopotamia and western Persia. However, it survives, and even profits from the Mongol control of the caravan trade.

1220 - 1231

Jalal al-Din Mingburnu

Son.

1231

The reduced shahdom has been flourishing for a decade since losing its eastern territory, and has even conquered Georgia and Azerbaijan, but now it is completely overrun by a renewed Mongol invasion. Control of the shahdom is inherited by the Il-Khans in Persia. Elements of forces from Khwarazm migrate to Syria where they engage in the battles against the Crusaders in Jerusalem, but also in politics against the Ayyubids In Damascus and Egypt.

1244 - 1245

The forces of Khwarazm sack Christian Jerusalem, and later in the same year Sultan as Salih II Ayyub of Egypt allies himself with the former emirate against Ismail of Damascus. At the Battle of La Forbie, they defeat Ismail and Ayyub is able to reclaim the sultanate for himself. The following year, Ayyub defeats Khwarazm itself for failing to recognise him as its overlord.

1363 - 1370

Khorasan and large areas of Transoxiana are conquered by degrees from 1363 by Timur, who creates his own Timurid dynasty in Persia and Transoxiana, and removes the Chaghatayid khans of Mughulistan from any effective control.

Timurid Transoxiana (in Samarkand)
AD 1369 - 1500

From 1363, Timur began to conquer large areas of Transoxiana and Khorasan, supposedly in the name of the Chaghatayid khans of Mughulistan. Samarkand fell in 1366, and Herat (in the west of modern Afghanistan) by 1381. Timur was recognised as the region's ruler in 1370. In 1405, the Timurid empire split in two, with the western, Persian, portion being ruled from Herat in southern Khorasan while the eastern portion was governed from Samarkand (technically also in what was known as Greater Khorasan, but the regional name of Transoxiana is usually used to distinguish the two Timurid divisions).

1390s

Khwarazm and its vast irrigation system is destroyed by Timur.

1405

After Timur's death, none of the Timurid royalty accepts his successor. Timur's viceroy in Farghana asserts his own independence and rules from Samarkand as if he is the new ruler of the empire.

1405 - 1409

Khalil Sultan

In Transoxiana. Former viceroy of Farghana. Died 1411.

1409

Unpopular with the people and only supported by his father and brother in Azerbaijan, Khalil Sultan's reign ends when Shah Rukh enters the city on 13 May. Shah Rukh gives Transoxiana and Khorasan to his son as viceroy while he rules the reunited Timurid empire from Herat. Khalil Sultan is given governorship of Ray, where he dies in 1411.

1409 - 1449

Ulugh Beg

Son of Shah Rukh. Viceroy, and Timurid ruler (1447-1449).

1449

Ulugh Beg's death at the hands of his son, Abd al Latîf, leaves a power vacuum which is filled in central Persia by Sultan Muhammad, while Abd al Latîf rules in Samarkand, now one of three Timurid claimants to overall control (the third being in Herat in southern Khorasan).

1449 - 1450

Abd al Latîf

Son. In Transoxiana.

1450 - 1451

Abdallah / Abdullah

Son of Ibrahim of southern Khorasan. In Transoxiana. Executed.

1450 - 1451

Abu Sa'id, nephew of Ulugh Beg, is one of the claimants for the Timurid crown, along with Abdallah, who seizes Samarkand in 1450. After failures in Samarkand and Bukhara, Abu Sa'id conquers much of Shaibanid Turkestan in 1450, and in June 1451 takes Samarkand with the aid of the Shaibanid Uzbeks.

1451 - 1469

Sultan Abu Sa'id Gurgan

In Transoxiana & Khorasan (and later in Persia too). Executed.

1454

Babur Ibn-Baysunkur invades Transoxiana from Khorasan in retaliation for Abu Sa'id's seizure of Balkh (now in northern Afghanistan). The two Timurid rulers agree a border on the River Oxus, which remains in force for the remainder of Babur's lifetime.

1457

Abu Sa'id has Queen Goharshad, the power behind the Timurid throne, executed on 19 July.

1457 - 1459

While southern Khorasan is locked in a power struggle, Abu Sa'id invades. Balkh is occupied but he is unable to take Herat until a Black Sheep invasion defeats the ruler, Ibrahim and then withdraws. Khorasan is taken by Abu Sa'ad, reuniting the remaining Timurid provinces. An attempt by Ibrahim to unite with another Timurid prince, Sultan Sanjar is defeated at the Battle of Sarakhs in March 1459. Sanjar is executed. Ibrahim dies in 1460, and 'Ala' al-Daula dies in 1461, ending all opposition to a sole Timurid ruler in Transoxiana.

1461

Abu Sa'id completes his conquest of much of Khorasan and eastern Iran, agreeing with the Black Sheep emir, Jahan Shah, to divide Iran between the two of them.

1467 - 1469

Following the death of the Black Sheep emir at the hands of the White Sheep emir, his son is supported by Abu Sa'id. However, in 1468, the Black Sheep emirate is conquered, and the following year Abu Sa'id is captured in the Azerbaijan mountains on campaign against the White Sheep emirate, and is subsequently executed. The Timurid rule of Transoxiana and Khorasan again fractures. A weakened Transoxiana is now watched over with interest by the growing power of the Shaibanid Uzbeks to the north, especially as it is now sub-divided into Samarkand, Badakshan, and Farghana by Abu Sa'id's sons.

1469 - 1494

Sultan Ahmad

In Transoxiana.

1494 - 1495

Sultan Mahmud

Brother. In Transoxiana.

1495 - 1500

Sultan Baysonqur / Baysunqr

In Transoxiana.

1495 - 1500

Masud

In Transoxiana.

1495 - 1500

Sultan Ali Murza / Mirza

In Farghana.

1494

Far to the east of Khorasan, the Bengal sultan, Shamsuddin Muzaffar Shah, is assassinated by his wazzir, Alauddin Husain Shah, the son of the Afghan Sharif of Makka in Khorasan. Husain is subsequently elected shah by the leading nobles.

1495 - 1504

Babur

Son. In Farghana (Uzbekistan). Expelled by Shaibanid conquest.

1500 - 1507

The Timurids are overthrown by the Shaibanids, who conquer Transoxiana and now threaten Khorasan. The remnants of Khwarazm become an independent Muslim Uzbek state, known as the khanate of Khiva. The Timurid prince, Babur of Farghana makes many attempts to recapture Samarkand from Khorasan, without success.

1511

Following the death of the Shaibanid ruler, Babur is able to recapture Samarkand with Safavid Persian help from his base in Kabul, but is unable to retain it. The Shaibanids re-conquer the city just eight months later.

Khanate of Khiva
c.AD 1511 - 1924

An independent Uzbek state, the capital was at Khiva. Originally an evolution of Khwarazm, by the mid-sixteenth century it was entirely Muslim Uzbek. It flourished in the early nineteenth century until Russian ambitions ended its independence.

1598

From this point, Khiva gradually takes over the former Özbeg empire in Samarkand.

1750

Southern Khorasan is officially renamed Afghanistan by the Durrani dynasty.

1865

Russia takes Bukhara, Tashkent, and Samarkand (all of which go into forming Uzbekistan in 1924).

1873 - 1878

Khiva is conquered by Russia. The khans continue to rule under Russian 'protection'.

1878

Russia annexes the khanate.

1920 - 1924

Under the imposition of communism in Russia, the territory now comprises the Kwarazem / Khorezm Soviet People's Republic.

1924

Khiva is divided between the Uzbek SSR and Turkmen SSR.

Modern Turkmenistan
AD 1924 - Present Day

Modern Turkmenistan is made up mainly of desert, and has the smallest population of the five Central Asian ex-Soviet republics. Its western border lies on the Caspian Sea. To the north it almost reaches the Aral Sea and is mainly bordered by Uzbekistan, while Iran and Afghanistan fill its southern and south-eastern borders.

The Black Desert region, or Karakum, was home for a while to Indo-European tribes from further north in Central Asia in the third millennium BC. Living here in vast mud-brick fortress citadels, herding cattle, and worshiping fire in rituals controlled by an early form of Brahmin, they also domesticated and worshipped the horse. They were forced southwards by climate change between about 2000-1500 BC, and re-emerged in India as the Aryans who created the first documented states there.

Eastern Turkmenistan once formed part of the Persian satrapy of Bactria, which was invaded by Alexander the Great's Greek empire, and which became independent in 256 BC. Following that the region was occupied by Indo-Scythians and Tocharians, and was controlled by the Kushans and then the Persian Sassanids. From the end of the tenth century AD it was part of the emirate of North Khwarazm, Timurid Transoxiana, and then part of the region of Turkestan which was ruled by the Shaibanid empire in the sixteenth century.

1924

The Soviet-controlled Turkmen SSR is formed by dividing the former khanate of Khiva.

1991

Turkmen SSR achieves independence as the Soviet empire collapses.

Modern Uzbekistan
AD 1924 - Present Day

Positioned on the ancient Silk Road between Europe and Asia, majestic cities such as Bukhara and Samarkand, famed for their architectural opulence, once flourished here as trade and cultural centres. With its capital at Kunya-Urgench, modern Uzbekistan is the most populous Central Asian state with the largest armed forces. Kazakhstan lies to the north, Turkmenistan is to the south, and Tajikistan and Afghanistan lie to the east and south-east.

Southern Uzbekistan once formed part of the Persian satrapy of Bactria, which was invaded by Alexander the Great's Greek empire, and which became independent in 256 BC. Following that the region was occupied by Indo-Scythians and Tocharians, and was controlled by the Kushans and then the Persian Sassanids. From the end of the tenth century AD it was part of the emirate of North Khwarazm, Timurid Transoxiana, and then part of the region of Turkestan which was ruled by the Shaibanid empire in the sixteenth century.

1924

The Soviet-controlled Uzbek SSR is formed by dividing the former khanate of Khiva and incorporating the emirate of Bukhara.

1991

Uzbek SSR achieves independence as the Soviet empire collapses.