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REFLECTION OF THE HISTORY OF KHOREZM IN THE EARLY
MIDDLE AGES IN WRITTEN SOURCES
Rustam A.Nematov
Lecturer department of history Gulistan State University, Uzbekistan
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14556952
Annotation
: This article analyzes written and archaeological sources on
the history of the Khorezm oasis during the early Middle Ages, specifically from
the 5th to 8th centuries AD. It draws on sources in Greek, Chinese, Arabic,
Persian, and ancient Khorezmian languages to explore the socio-political and
ethno-cultural life of Khorezm. Archaeological findings, linguistic materials, and
numismatic evidence are used to illuminate the cultural and administrative
structures of the region. The strategic importance of Khorezm as part of the
Turkic Khaganate and its role in international trade routes are also emphasized,
highlighting its unique position in Central Asian history.
Keywords
: Khorezm history, early Middle Ages, written sources,
archaeological findings, ethno-cultural life, Turkic Khaganate, linguistics,
numismatics.
In order to shed light on the history of the Khorezm oasis in the early
Middle Ages, more precisely, in the V-VIII centuries AD, there are enough written
sources and archaeological finds related to this period, with some exceptions. is
available. Written sources are mainly in Greek, Chinese, Arabic and Persian
languages, and partly belong to the ancient Khorezmian and Sugdian languages,
some of them belong to the early Middle Ages, and some to the developed
Middle Ages IX-XII belongs to centuries. Archeological sources include urban
remains, ceramic and metal objects, numismatic materials, etc., belonging to
those times.
The sources in Greek were written in the environment of the Byzantine
Empire, and the works of authors such as Theophylact Simocatta and Menander
contain brief information on the history of Khorezm. In the Byzantine sources, it
is mentioned that the ambassadors of the Turkish khanate who went to
Byzantium in 568 said that the Hephthalites were completely crushed and the
territories under his control were taken over by them. is obtained[1]. The
important thing is that in Greek sources, Byzantine ambassadors visited the
Turkish khanate during the late 560s and 570s and returned. It is stated that he
turned to the Turkish Khan for permission to send, and it is emphasized that the
Turkish Khan gave permission to send an ambassador only to the people of
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Khvalis (Khorazm) from among the vassals under his control [2]. This shows
that Khorezm was much freer in his internal management in those times.
In addition, a name similar to Turkasabos, one of the pre-Islamic Khorezm
rulers quoted by Abu Rayhan Beruni, appears in Greek sources as Turksanf, one
of the princes of the Turkic Khanate. O.I.Smirnova, who researched these data,
suggested that the dictionary meaning of the name Turkasabos is "the owner of
the Turkish army" and believes that the occurrence of such a name is related to
the political influence of the Turks in Khorezm. Contrary to this researcher,
some researchers believe that the original name of Turksanf, who is mentioned
in Greek sources as the son of Istami Yabgu, is the ancient Turkish "Turk shad"
(Turkish prince), and he is the son of Istami Khagan. [3].
In early medieval Chinese chronicles such as Bei-shu (History of the
Northern Dynasty), Sui-shu (History of the Sui Dynasty) and Tan-shu (History of
the Tang Dynasty) almost all oases of Central Asia information about Khorezm
rulership, such as their dominions and properties [4]. It is understood that this
area mentioned in these chronicles as Kholisimi (Khorazm) and Hosyun was the
most remote area of the region.
For example, in the "Tan-shu" chronicle, about
the settled rulers in Central Asia, "An (Bukhara), Sao (Kabudon), Shi (Choch), Mi
(Maymurg), He (Kushonia / Kattakurgan) , Hosyun (Khorazm, Maodi (Bitik),
Shishi (Kesh). The rulers [of these principalities] are called "nine houses / clans"
from generation to generation, and all [principalities] belong to the surname
(house name) of Zhaowu have"[5], and from these lines it is clear that the
representatives of the ruling dynasty in Khorezm were related to a number of
dynasties of the region and had a common ethnic origin.
Based on this information, O.I.Smirnova found that the rulers of
Samarkand, Kesh, Bukhara, Choch, Ustrushona are mentioned in the Chinese
chronicles under the term "Zhaovu", its local form is "Jamuk" or "Chamuk", and
it is ethnically related to the Turks. focuses on. Emphasizing that the Khorezm
rulers recorded in the Chinese annals as "Hosyun" were also related to the
Zhaowu dynasty, this researcher writes that the representatives of this dynasty
were strongly Iranianized later [6].
As will be discussed in more detail in the next section of our study, the
history of Khorezm in the early Middle Ages, especially on the eve of Islam, is
mainly written in Arabic sources - Abu Ja'far at-Tabari. "Tarikh Arrusul
Walmuluk" ("History of Prophets and Rulers", 9th century), "Kitab akhbar-at-
tivol" (Book of Long Stories, 9th century) by Abu Hanifa al-Dinovari, "Futuh" by
Ahmad al-Balozuri al-buldan" ("The conquest of countries", IX century), "Ahsan
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al-taqasim fi marifat al-aqalim" ("A good guide for the study of climates", X
century) by the geographer Abu Abdullah al-Muqaddasi and other were included
in historical works [7], and they were analyzed in a large article by Turkish A. N.
Qurat entitled "Qutayba ibn Muslim's conquest of Movarounnahr and Khorezm"
[8].
Among them, the following information given by al-Muqaddasi is one of
the important evidences related to the ancient Turks in Khorezm oasis: "The
ruler of the East was angry with 400 people in his country and killed them.
ordered to be exiled to a place 100 farsakhs away from inhabited lands. Then
they brought them to Khwarezm. Then the king ordered them to marry 400
Turkish girls. That is why Khorazm people still have similarities with Turks.
They lived in grasslands and were engaged in fishing. Later, the city of Kot, the
capital of Khwarezm, was born in the place where they lived" [9]. On the one
hand, this information reflects the realities of a much older period, and on the
other hand, it also indicates the realities of the VII-VIII centuries, when the Arabs
came to the region. That is, on the eve of Islam, the mutual ethno-cultural
influence between the ancient Khorezm people and Turks in the oasis increased,
and of course the administration of the Turkish khanate played a special role in
this.
Among the historical works written in Arabic, the work called "Osor ul-
Baqiyya" (Memorials left by forty nations) written by Abu Rayhan Beruni (973-
1048) has a special place. holds It is possible to get primary information about
the pre-Islamic history of Khorezm through this work, which talks about 22
Khorezm Shahs belonging to the African dynasty that ruled in the early Middle
Ages.
The work mentions the names of the rulers of Ancient Asia, Greece and
Iran, as well as the representatives of the pre-Islamic ruling dynasties in Central
Asia and the titles used by them as follows. quoted: "At the time when the
Prophet, peace be upon him, came, Arsamuh ibn Buzgor ibn Khomgari ibn
Shawush Sihr ibn Azkajvor ibn Askajmuk ibn Sakhasak ibn Baghra ibn Afrig was
the king of the kings of Khorezm... Qutayba After ibn Muslim conquered
Khorezm for the second time, he made Askajmuk ibn Azkajvor ibn Sabri Sihr ibn
Arsamukh the king of the Khorezm people and raised him to the kingship. The
province was lost from the hands of the Khysravs, and only the name of the
kingdom remained, because the kingdom was like an inheritance for them" [10]
the abstract aspects of the history of the oasis can be clarified based on the
following information.
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If the beginning of this information comes from sentences such as "when
the Prophet came" and "after Qutayba ibn Muslim conquered Khorezm for the
second time", then who exactly was the oasis in the 6th-8th centuries of Beruni
it can be determined that he was well aware of what he managed. It is known
that in these centuries, Central Asia and its neighboring regions were under the
control of the Turkish khanate. Therefore, these lines mentioned by Beruni
should be considered as primary information in the explanation of the political
relations between the Khaganate and Khorezm. As will be discussed in the next
sections of our research, the Turkic quality of some of the Khorezmshahs
mentioned by Beruni is also important in illuminating this issue.
Linguistic, toponymic, and epigraphical materials serve as written sources
for the history of the Khorezm oasis in the early Middle Ages. Old Khorezmian
words mentioned in Arabic and Persian writings belonging to the developed
Middle Ages are related to Iranian languages both in appearance and meaning.
shows. In several dozen ceramic inscriptions with the ancient Khorezm script
based on the Aramaic alphabet found in the remains of the ancient pre-Islamic
city in the Khorezm oasis and nearby areas [11], as well as various words and
phrases, names and titles on copper and silver coins belonging to dozens of
African dynasties, on the one hand, typical of Eastern Iranian languages, and on
the other hand, unique linguistics of Khorezm reflects aspects [12].
Allama of Khorezm Abul Qasim Mahmud ibn Umar ibn Muhammad ibn
Umar al-Khorazmi az-Zamakhshari (1075-1144) "Muqaddimatul-adab" contains
hundreds of ancient Khorezmian words. based on this, we can witness that in
the pre-Islamic period, the majority of Khorezm people spoke one of the
branches of Iranian languages[13]. The Arab traveler Ahmad ibn Fadlan (10th
century) traveled through Khorezm to the peoples of the north, especially
among different Turkic peoples, and wrote that the language of the Khorezm
people was very different at that time. emphasizes that the language of the
people of the Kerdar region, neighboring to the Khorezm people from the north,
is different from their language [14]. Based on some similarities in the names of
days, months, and years in the ancient Khorezm and Sugdian calendars cited by
Beruni, there are similarities and at the same time certain differences between
the two languages. understood[15].
Based on toponyms, there is evidence that the inhabitants of the Khorezm
oasis had their own language and dialect in the early Middle Ages. it is possible
to have certain ideas about the processes[16]. Hundreds of ancient Khorezmian
place names both in the written sources of the Middle Ages and in the names of
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today's settlements are a clear proof of this. The main name of the Khorezm
oasis is Gurganch (Urganch), Khivaq (Khiva), Khazorasp, Pitnak, Kat (Kot),
Kardaronhos, Gandimakon, Angarik, Bezganik, Knik, Pishkanik, Rafanik. It is
worth noting that the words etc. meet as old toponyms of the oasis both in the
Middle Ages and today[17] and are included in the list of words specific to the
Ancient Khorezm language.
So, through such linguistic sources, in the early Middle Ages, the ethno-
culture of the Khorezm oasis residents was dominated by features characteristic
of the eastern Iranian peoples. In addition, Turkic peoples also live in the oasis,
and they are referred to by ethnic terms such as Oguz and Kojat.
Coins minted by the Khorezmshah-Africans in the early Middle Ages serve
as a special source in the study of the socio-political and ethnocultural life of the
Khorezm oasis of this period. does. More detailed information about this can be
found through the Russian language monograph of numismatist B.I. Weinberg
entitled "Coins of Ancient Khorezm". In this study, the most ancient coins related
to the history of Ancient Khorezm were analyzed, and they were divided into
groups A, B, V, G. The topic of this study is the coins belonging to group G, which
were minted mainly during the African period, in the VIII century. Also, the pre-
Islamic Khorezm coins were somewhat touched upon in the research of S.P.
Tolstov [18].
In addition, Khorezm coins of this period were included in the
researches of E.V. Rtveladze, Ye.V. Zeymal, D.V. Biryukov to one degree or
another. As an example of the role of coins as a source, coins were minted during
the reigns of Azkajuvar-Chagon, Shavat, Savshafan, Azkajuvar-Abdullah, who
ruled after 712. coins were analyzed in the work of B.I. Weinberg, and the
inscriptions, titles, images, stamps and other symbolic symbols on the coins
were the socio-political elements of the time and is closely related to ethno-
cultural status [19].
As a source for socio-economic and ethno-cultural life of Khorezm oasis of
the early Middle Ages, ceramics have a special place among archaeological
materials. Archaeological materials found in the Khorezm oasis can be divided
into two groups: 1) finds directly related to the Khaganate; 2) finds related to
the Khagan period. Unlike the regions of Tashkent, Fergana and Samarkand, the
researchers found coins and ancient Turkish writings among the finds
characteristic of the material culture of the Turkic khanate in the Khorezm oasis.
although they emphasize that they did not meet, there were close cultural
contacts at that time, as evidenced by the master of Tok-kala and other finds.
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A group of people scratched their faces with knives, bleeding them, pulling
out their hair and mourning around the deceased who was lying on his back in
the Tok-Qala find, which is made of ceramics and shows the mourning
ceremony. and a similar scene can be found in a number of archeological
findings. For example, in the wall paintings of the Panjikent palace painted in the
7th-8th centuries, there are images of the deceased lying on his back and people
around him scratching with knives, pulling out their hair, and mourning. a
number of researchers equate these images with the mourning ceremony
characteristic of the ancient Turks[20].
So, getting acquainted with the sources related to Khorezm in the early Middle
Ages, including the period of the Western Turkic Khanate, shows that in those
times it was one of the oasis kingdoms in Central Asia. Khorezm occupied a
special place in the socio-political and ethno-cultural life of the region. According
to its natural and geographical location, Khorezm is located in an important
strategic area, on the one hand, it borders Sasanian Iran from the southwest, and
on the other hand, the Turkic Khanate from the north and northeast. It is
adjacent to the territories under its control, and its political and economic life is
closely connected with other oases of the region. Through these contacts, the
people of Khorezm enriched their culture and played an important role in
international trade routes. Therefore, Khorezm retained its importance as an
integral part of the history of Central Asia at that time.
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