Afrighids shah
Sawashfan (ruled in the 8th-century) Most of Afrighid history was recorded by the Khwarazmian scholar
al-Biruni (died 1050), whose reliability has been questioned. According to the latter, the Afrighids were founded by
Afrig in 305, succeeding the semi-legendary line of the Siyavushids, founded by the Iranian king
Kay Khosrow. However, extensive
Soviet archeological findings demonstrate that al-Biruni was in reality not well-acquainted with pre-Islamic Khwarazmian history. Coin findings show that before the advent of the Afrighids, Khwarazm was part of the
Parthian Empire. The start of the
Khwarazmian era seemingly took place in the early 1st-century, after they had freed themselves of Parthian rule, and established their own local dynasty of shahs. The dynastic name of "Afrighid" (
Khwarazmian:
ʾfryḡ) is not attested anywhere besides al-Biruni, which has led scholars to suggest that the name never existed. Likewise, many of the Khwarazmshahs recorded by al-Biruni are not supported by archeological evidence; however, this may be due to scribal errors. The Afrighids and the local population were most likely adherents of
Zoroastrianism. The first Khwarazmshah to convert to
Islam was
Azkajwar-Abdallah, who ruled in the early 9th-century, perhaps coinciding with the reign of the
Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun (). Regardless, the Islamization of the local population was much slower. In the early 10th-century, the Khwarazmshahs were made vassals of the
Samanid dynasty, a
Persian family which ruled mainly in
Transoxania and
Khurasan. Although the Khwarazmshahs sometimes granted sanctuary to Samanid rebels, they generally ruled a peaceful domain. During the end of the Samanids, the Khwarazmshahs extended their rule as far as the northern edges of Khurasan, ruling frontier posts such as Farawa and
Nasa. An uncertain part of Khwarazmian history is the rise of
Ma'munid family, who came to rule their hometown of
Gurganj, one of the three main cities of the country. The city had risen to rival the Afrighid capital of
Kath, most likely due to its commercial success as a trading post between the
steppe and the
Kievan Rus'. The Ma'munids and Afrighids eventually became rivals, with conflict soon ensuing. The Ma'munid
Ma'mun I deposed and killed the Afrighid shah
Abu 'Abdallah Muhammad (), thus marking the end of the first Khwarazmshah line of the Afrighids, and the inauguration of the second Khwarazmshah line of the Ma'munids.
Ma'munids and
Transoxiana in the early Islamic period Under the Ma'munids, their capital of Gurganj became a centre of learning, attracting many prominent figures, such as the philosophers
Avicenna and
Abu Sahl al-Masihi, the mathematician
Abu Nasr Mansur, the physician
Ibn al-Khammar, and the
philologist al-Tha'alibi. The Ma'munids also embellished their capital with buildings such as a
minaret which still survives till this day, and has an inscription crediting
Ma'mun II () its founder. However, the Ma'munids soon fell into conflict with the
Ghaznavid Sultan Mahmud (), who sought to pressurize his
Qarakhanid enemies by extending his rule into Khwarazm. In 1014, Mahmud demanded that Ma'mun II should add his name in the
khutba (Friday sermon) in Khwarazm, thus acknowledging his suzerainty. Unable to gain military assistance or appease Mahmud through other means, Ma'mun II was forced to accept his demands, much to the dislike of the Khwarazmian nobles and military officers. This eventually resulted in a patriotic revolt, led by the commander-in-chief Alptigin, which led to the murder of Ma'mun II and accession of his nephew
Abu'l-Harith Muhammad in March 1017. Ma'mun II was the brother-in-law of Mahmud, which afforded the latter a pretext to invade Khwarazm. The Ghaznavid army defeated the local Khwarazmian forces at
Hazarasp, brutalized the population of Gurganj, and captured many Khwarazmians, who were taken to the capital of
Ghazni as slaves. Abu'l-Harith Muhammad was deposed and imprisoned, while Khwarazm was incorporated into the Ghaznavid realm, thus marking the end of the Ma'munid dynasty, the last ethnically Iranian line of Khwarazmshahs.
The line of Altuntash Due to the difficulty to control a distant area such as Khwarazm, Mahmud installed his
Turkic slave commander ()
Altuntash as the governor of the region, with the traditional title of Khwarazmshah, thus marking the start of the third line of Khwarazmshahs. A loyal servant of the Ghaznavids, Altuntash protected the borders of Khwarazm by enlisting additional soldiers from the Turkic groups of
Qipchaq, Kujet and Chaghrat. He died of wounds in the aftermath of the
Battle of Dabusiyya against the Qarakhanid ruler
Ali-Tigin () in 1032. Although Sultan
Mas'ud I () appointed his own son Sa'id as the new Khwarazmshah, the
de facto ruler of Khwarazm was Altuntash's son
Harun, who was the
khalifat al-dar (lieutenant) of Sa'id. In 1034, in an alliance with the
Seljuk Turks, Harun rebelled against Mas'ud, but was the following year assassinated at the instigation of the latter. Harun was succeeded by his brother
Ismail Khandan, who was able to rule as an independent monarch as Mas'ud I was occupied with the Seljuk invasions. In 1038, Mas'ud gave the governorship of Khwarazm to his ally,
Shah Malik, the
Oghuz Yabghu of
Jand. In 1041, Ismail was expelled from Khwarazm by the latter, who declared himself ruler at Gurganj, thus marking the end of the Altuntash line. During this period, however, Mas'ud had already died and Ghaznavid rule in the west had crumbled.
Anushtegin dynasty at its zenith in the late 12th-century A year after Shah Malik's conquest of Khwarazm, he was expelled by the Seljuk leaders
Tughril and
Chaghri Beg. From henceforth Khwarazm was a Seljuk province, although the title of Khwarazmshah was unused until , when the Turkic
Anushtegin Gharchai was made its governor by Sultan
Malik-Shah I (). He was succeeded by fellow Turkic
Ekinchi as Khwarazmshah in 1097, but the latter died in the same year. Sultan
Berkyaruq () then made Anushtegin's son Qutb al-Din Muhammad (who became known as
Muhammad I) the new Khwarazmshah, thus marking the start of the
fourth and final Khwarazmshah line of the
Anushteginids. Muhammad I was loyal to the Seljuks, attending the Seljuk court with diligence. It was his son and successor
Atsiz () who established the Khwarazmshahs' grandeur, being determined in his pursuit of autonomy and expansion of his realm, conquering the
Turkmens of the eastern
Caspian shores and the
Manghislak peninsula. Regardless, he nominally acknowledged the suzerainty of Sultan
Ahmad Sanjar () till the end of his reign. Atsiz's son and successor
Il-Arslan was able to gain greater autonomy after the death of Sanjar and disintegration of Seljuk authority in the east. As long as he paid tribute to the
Qara Khitai, they had little interest in meddling in his affairs, and thus he was free to focus on expanding his rule into the Qarakhanid domains. The power of the Khwarazmshahs even further increased under Il-Arslan's son and successor
Ala al-Din Tekish () was able to slow down the
Ghurid expansion into Khurasan and destroy the Seljuk Empire. Furthermore, he also declared independence against his Qara Khitai suzerains, whose attacks he repelled. At the time of his death, his realm stretched as far as
Persian Iraq to the west. His son and successor
Muhammad II () was occupied with his rivals in the east (Ghurids, Qara Khitai, the Qipchaq of the northern steppes, and the Qarakhanids) for much of his reign. He initially maintained cordial relations with the Qara Khitai, who helped him fend off the 1204 invasion of Khurasan by the Ghurid ruler
Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad Ghuri (), who later died in 1206. His death led to the disintegration of his empire, and Khwarazmian conquest over much of it. He could now distance himself from the Qara Khitai, and while the latter were preoccupied by the revolt of the Mongol leader
Kuchlug in
Semirechye, Muhammad II capitalized on this by defeating and killing the Qarakhanid leader Uthman Khan, thus putting an end to Qarakhanid rule in Transoxiana. Muhammad II was now a towering figure in the eastern Islamic world, but like his father, was content with the limited titles of Khwarazmshah and Sultan. He now sought to the deal with the Abbasid Caliphate, who had in the past supported the Ghurids against him; he marched towards
Baghdad, but the extreme weather conditions during the winter and unrest amongst the Qipchaq forced him to return to Khwarazm. His son and successor
Jalal al-Din Mangburni () was unable to contain the
Mongol invasions, which led to the collapse of the Khwarazmian Empire.
Aftermath and Final Usage The title of Khwarazmshah was seemingly unused by the Mongol governors of Khwarazm and the later
Sufi dynasty. It was revived under the
Timurid Empire, after which it was infrequently used, such as under Shah Malik, the governor of Khwarazm under
Shah Rukh () and Shah Malik's son, Nasir al-Din Sultan Ibrahim. The title was informally used by the
Uzbek Arabshahid and later dynasties of
Khiva in various literary works but never officially adopted. The final official use of the title was under
Eltuzar-Inak – the founder of the
Qungrat line (1804-1920) of the
Khans of Khiva – who titled himself
Wāriṯẖ-i Kẖwārazm-Sẖāhān ("Heir of the Khwarazmshahs") on his coins, however he died in 1806 before they could ever be issued. == References ==