Social and economic life in the Khiva Khanate; city life

In the Khiva Khanate too all land counted as state property: lands of the khan and his relatives were tax-free, high officials received tarkhan land for service, which could not be inherited; there were also mulk (private) and waqf lands, with waqf amounting to nearly 40 percent of irrigated and settled land. A form special to the khanate was otliq: 30–50 tanabs of land granted for each Turkmen horseman, whose holder sent one armed cavalryman at the khan’s call. Peasants’ tax depended on holding size; according to the textbook it was 1 tilla for up to 5 tanabs, 2 tilla for 5–10 tanabs and 3 tilla for over 10 tanabs; the main land tax was salghut, and zakat was 2.5 percent of property value. The population was officially called out for 12 days a year of begar — digging canals and building roads and buildings. Old Urgench (Gurganj), Vazir, New Urgench and Khiva each served as capital; New Urgench was built in 1646 by Abulghazi, while Khiva was capital from the 17th century to 1920 and was divided into Ichan-Qala (inner) and Dishan-Qala (outer). Khiva exported cotton, wool and silk to Russia; according to the textbook exports to Russia grew from 137,000 roubles in 1844 to 1.5 million in 1867.