☰ Contents · History of Uzbekistan

The political situation in the 17th and first half of the 18th century

Lessons 23 · 1 lessons · U. Jo‘rayev, Q. Usmonov, G. Jo‘rayeva, N. Norqulov. O‘zbekiston tarixi (History of Uzbekistan, 16th to mid-19th century), Grade 8. O‘qituvchi, Tashkent, 2019 (revised and expanded 4th edition)
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The political situation in the 17th and first half of the 18th century

Textbook: pp. 82–85
GoalExplain political fragmentation in the Khiva Khanate from the 17th to the first half of the 18th century, Abulghazi’s reforms and outside pressure.
New words
inaq (senior tribal noble) · inoqAbulghazi Bahadur Khan · Abulg‘oziy Bahodirxonthe “game of khans” · xonlar o‘yinifragmentation · parokandalik
Explanation

From the 17th century khans could not settle important matters without tribal leaders, and fragmentation peaked under Arab Muhammad Khan (1602–1623); because the course of the Amu Darya changed the capital was moved from Urgench to Khiva, and from then on the state was called the Khiva Khanate. In 1621 the khan’s sons Habash and Ilbars rose against their father, while his other sons Asfandiyar and Abulghazi sided with him; in 1623 Asfandiyar took the throne with the Iranian shah’s help (1623–1643). Abulghazi Bahadur Khan (1644–1663) escaped long captivity in Iran and took the throne and made reforms: he divided the population into four groups, gave them land, appointed men from among them to key posts, and introduced an advisory group and the post of inaq; this temporarily strengthened centralisation and sped up the settling of nomads. In the 18th century Shahniyaz in 1700 asked Peter I for protection; Peter’s expedition under Bekovich-Cherkassky (1717) ended in disaster. As the tribes could not agree, Chingizid sultans from the Kazakh Khanate were placed on the throne (from 1728 Ilbars Khan), in 1740 Nadir Shah seized Khiva; the “game of khans” went on, and in the 1760s the Yomut Turkmens briefly seized power.

Worked examples
Dates: 1602–1623 Arab Muhammad; 1623–1643 Asfandiyar; 1644–1663 Abulghazi; 1728 Ilbars; 1740 Nadir Shah.
The “game of khans”: inaqs held real power while khans were frequently replaced Chingizid sultans.
Class activity

“Throne chain”: draw the chain Arab Muhammad → Asfandiyar → Abulghazi → Anusha and write each one’s years and deeds.

Practice
1
Why was Khiva’s capital moved from Urgench to Khiva?
2
What was the essence of Abulghazi Bahadur Khan’s reforms?
3
How many years passed from Asfandiyar’s accession in 1623 to the end of Abulghazi’s reign in 1663?
4
Why was the “game of khans” harmful for the state?