INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
ISSN: 2692-5206, Impact Factor: 12,23
American Academic publishers, volume 05, issue 03,2025
Journal:
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page 1396
THE ROLE OF MEDIEVAL CITIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF STATEHOOD
(BASED ON THE KHOREZM OASIS)
Ruslanova Shahzodakhan
a 2nd-year student of the history department at Mamun University
Annotation:
In this article, the history of medieval cities, their unique structure, architectural
solution and their place in the history of our statehood is revealed on the basis of written sources
and material sources found in archaeological monuments.
Keywords:
Middle Ages, Khorezm, statehood, urban culture, Ardakhushmitan, Khiva, Sadvar
and Jigarband, Tuprokkalya, S.P. Tolstov, A.M. Belenitsky, O.G. Bolshakov, I.B. Bentovich.
The Khorezm oasis, one of the first ancient settlements of mankind, has its own unique
history and rich culture. The available written sources about the economic history of Khorezm,
the history of the emergence of the first cities and trading centers allow us to draw accurate
conclusions only when confirmed by material monuments and samples of spiritual culture found
as a result of archaeological research. In particular, archaeological research conducted in the
Khorezm oasis and its surrounding areas clearly shows that these lands were economically
highly developed in the past, with numerous cities, fortresses and palaces, agricultural and
irrigation facilities. The works of the famous archaeologist and ethnographer S.P. Tolstov
created a solid concept of the development of ancient and medieval cities of Khorezm, in which
they raised wide-ranging and problematic issues that encompassed all important aspects of
development
. In these works, the cities of Khorezm were considered as a feature typical of the
origin and development of all Central Asian cities. However, the large amount of material
collected as a result of archaeological research conducted at the end of the 20th century made it
possible to study them more deeply, taking a new approach to this problem. As a result of
excavations at ancient sites such as Ardakhushmitan, Khiva, Sadvar and Jigarband, and
Tuprokkal, a number of generalizing works about the trade centers of Khorezm were published
(works by A.M. Belenitsky, O.G. Bolshakov, I.B. Bentovich, and others).
monographs devoted
to the history of and some ancient cities (works by GA Pugachenkova and others))
was written.
The problem of studying the history of Khorezm cities directly requires the generalization of
topographical data related to the emergence of trade centers, their communication routes, and
1
Толстов С.П. Қадимги Хоразм маданиятини излаб. — Т., 1964, 102-103; 128-131; 166-172; 253-255; 300-
301-бетлар; Древний Хорезм. — М., 1948, с. 270-275; 283.
2
Беленицкий А.М., Бентович И.Б., Большаков О.Г. Средневековый город Средней Азии. — Л., 1973.;
Большаков О.Г. Некоторые вопросы изучения среднеазиатского города VIII-XII вв. в свете общей
проблематики истории городов Востока // КСИА, 1970, вып. 122.
3
Пугаченкова Г.А., Ремпель Л.И. Выдающиеся памятники архитектуры Узбекистана. — Т., 1958;
Пугаченкова Г.А. Пути развития архитектуры Южного Туркменистана поры рабовладения и феодализма. —
М., 1952; Мухаммеджанов А.Р., Адылов Ш.Т., Мирзаахмедов Д.К., Семенов Г.Л. Городище Пайкенд (к
проблеме изучения средневекового города Средней Азии). — Т., 1988.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
ISSN: 2692-5206, Impact Factor: 12,23
American Academic publishers, volume 05, issue 03,2025
Journal:
https://www.academicpublishers.org/journals/index.php/ijai
page 1397
typological structure. In this case, due to the lack of complete information in written sources and
the large open areas of monuments, it is necessary to take into account the approximate nature of
conclusions about the socio-economic content of urban processes. As is known, even the
typological classification of archaeological monuments, with the help of which one or another
monument can be compared to a city-mound, is carried out conditionally.
According to the results of archaeological research and information from written sources,
there are 64 monuments in the territory of Khorezm that are considered cities and date back to
the 4th - 14th centuries BC. Although incomplete information is available about only 32 of them,
Only 20 have been subjected to stationary archaeological research, especially. Most of the more
thoroughly studied monuments are located in the areas around the oases. The remains of
important cities and caravanserais on the central Amu Darya have been less studied, and many of
them are still hidden under centuries-old layers of soil and sand. Of the 24 cities listed by
medieval geographers, only 20 are known from the brief information they left behind.
Most of the cities of Khorezm were located on the major caravan routes from Khorasan to
Gurganj and from Mavarounnahr through the central regions on the right and left banks of the
Amu Darya to Ustyurt and Russia. Some of the cities arose on the outskirts of the country, in
areas where there were established contacts with the agricultural population of the region and
steppe nomads. Analyzing historical data, it can be seen that there were 3 areas of urbanization
in Khorezm:
1. The Central Amu Darya River region. Archaeological research conducted to study the
remains of cities in these areas confirms that the population has been living in one place for
centuries;
2. The lower reaches of the Amu Darya. Urban-type settlements appeared in these areas
relatively later, after the 7th-9th centuries, and flourished at the turn of the 12th-13th centuries;
3. Northwestern and western edges of the oasis. The cities that existed in the lands between
the Northern Davdon and Daryalik were built at different times, and their heyday coincided with
the period of the rule of the Joji ulus in Khorezm, that is, the end of the 13th - 14th centuries.
During the reign of the Mongol-Tatar rulers, especially Kutlugh Timur, new urban-type trade
and craft settlements appeared in northern Khorezm, and existing ones were further expanded
The lower reaches of the Amu Darya and the western side of the Khorezm oasis were
inhabited by an ethnically diverse population, among whom there was a high degree of
admixture of farmers and herders. At the same time, the population related to the peoples living
along the Syrdarya played a major role in the emergence of cities around the Khorezm oasis and
the Amu Darya delta. This situation is visible in the culture of the population living between the
North Davdon and Daryoliq tributaries. In particular, the population of the Oghuz-Kipchak tribes,
who moved to this area from the banks of the Syrdarya River, made up the majority
. Thus, as a
result of the tireless research of historians and archaeologists, the assumptions that the cities of
4
Неразик Е.Е. К проблеме развития городов Хорезма // В кн.: Культура и исскуство древнего Хорезма. — М.:
«Наука», 1981, с. 220.
5
Неразик Е.Е. Сельское жилище в Хорезме (I—XIV вв.). Из истории жилища и семьи. Археолого-
этнографические очерки //ТХАЭЭ, т. 9. - М.: «Наука», 1976, с. 202-203.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
ISSN: 2692-5206, Impact Factor: 12,23
American Academic publishers, volume 05, issue 03,2025
Journal:
https://www.academicpublishers.org/journals/index.php/ijai
page 1398
Khorezm played a significant role in the development of trade relations in Central Asia have
once again been confirmed by material evidence.
REFERENCES USED:
1. Беленицкий А.М., Бентович И.Б., Большаков О.Г. Средневековый город Средней Азии.
— Л., 1973.
2. Большаков О.Г. Некоторые вопросы изучения среднеазиатского города VIII-XII вв. в
свете общей проблематики истории городов Востока // КСИА, 1970, вып. 122.
3. Мухаммеджанов А.Р., Адылов Ш.Т., Мирзаахмедов Д.К., Семенов Г.Л. Городище
Пайкенд (к проблеме изучения средневекового города Средней Азии). — Т., 1988.
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древнего Хорезма. — М.: «Наука», 1981.
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Археолого-этнографические очерки //ТХАЭЭ, т. 9. - М.: «Наука», 1976.
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