Khiva

Khiva (alternative names include Khorasam, Khoresm, Khwarezm, Khwarizm, Khwarazm, Chiwa and Chorezm) is the former capital of Khwarezmia, which lies in the present-day Khorezm Province of Uzbekistan. Itchan Kala in Khiva was the first site in Uzbekistan to be inscribed in the World Heritage List (1991).

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The district of Khwarazm, centred on the formerly rich and fertile delta of the Oxus or Amu-Darya, was an ancient centre of Iranic culture and Iranian architecture. In the very early part of its history, the inhabitants of the area were from Iranian stock, belonging to the Khwarazmian branch. They spoke an eastern Iranian language called Khwarezmian. As a consequence of the constant Turkic attack and migration, the Khiva area now has a mixed population of Karakalpaks, Uzbeks and Kazakhs, and has lost its Iranian language.

Khwarezmia: Khwarezmia (also with various alternate spellings, including Chorasmia and Khorezm) was a state located on what was then the coast of the Aral Sea, including modern Karakalpakstan across the Ust-Urt plateau and perhaps extending to as far west as the eastern shores of the North Caspian Sea. To the s...

Khorezm Province: REDIRECT Xorazm Province...

Uzbekistan: The Republic of Uzbekistan is adoubly landlocked country in Central Asia. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....