Land, taxes, crafts and trade

In the 19th century the khanates were agrarian states, meaning that farming was the base of the economy. There were three kinds of landholding: state land (amlok), private land (mulk) and vaqf land belonging to mosques and madrasas. Much of the arable land was held by the ruler, his relatives and large landowners; most peasants rented land and paid part of the harvest (often one fifth or one third), and in Khiva those who paid half the crop were called yarimchi. Taxes were paid in money or goods (kharaj, zakat, water, mill and salt taxes and others), and people also did unpaid duties (begar) such as digging canals and building roads and bridges. Mirobs managed irrigation, and work was often done by communal hashar. Crafts were specialised by town (atlas silk in Margilan, pottery in Rishton, knives in Shahrikhan), and goods were traded with Iran, China, India, Afghanistan, Russia and the Kazakh zhuzes. Conflicts among the states harmed both internal and foreign trade.