Khiva

Khiva is a district-level city of approximately 93,000 people in Khorazm Region, Uzbekistan. According to archaeological data it was established around 2,500 years ago, and in 1997 it celebrated its 2,500th anniversary. It is the former capital of Khwarezmia, the Khanate of Khiva and the Khorezm People's Soviet Republic. Itchan Kala in Khiva was the first site in Uzbekistan, and in Central Asia, to be inscribed on the World Heritage List, in 1991.

The origin of the name is unknown and many contradictory stories explain it. A traditional story attributes it to Shem, a son of Noah, who after the flood dreamt of 300 burning torches, founded a ship-shaped city placed according to them, and dug the Kheyvak well, which can still be seen in Itchan Kala. Another proposal is that the name comes from Khwarezm, altered in Turkic to Khivarezem and then shortened. The astronomer, historian and polymath Al-Biruni (973-1048 CE) was born in either Khiva or the nearby city of Kath.

Early on the Eastern Iranian language Khwarezmian was spoken, and Turkic peoples replaced the Iranian ruling class in the 10th century AD. The earliest records of the city appear in Muslim travel accounts from the 10th century, though archaeology indicates habitation in the 6th century, and by the early 17th century Khiva was capital of the Khanate of Khiva, ruled by the Uzbek Kongirad dynasty.

From the 17th century Khiva developed as a slave market, and with Bukhara it was called one of the "slave capitals of the world". During the first half of the 19th century around 30,000 Persians and an unknown number of Russians were enslaved there, and many worked on buildings in the walled Itchan Kala. Russian General Konstantin von Kaufman attacked in 1873 and the city fell on 28 May 1873, though Khiva stayed a nominally quasi-independent protectorate. The last khan was liquidated in 1919, and in 1924 the city became part of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic.

The city has two parts: the outer town, Dichan Kala, formerly protected by a wall with 11 gates, and the inner town, Itchan Kala, encircled by brick walls whose foundations are believed to have been laid in the 10th century. The present crenellated walls date to the late 17th century and reach a height of 10 meters. The old town retains more than 50 historic monuments and 250 old houses, mostly from the 18th or 19th centuries. The Djuma Mosque, established in the 10th century and rebuilt in 1788-89, still has 112 columns taken from ancient structures, and the large blue tower Kalta Minor, begun in 1851, was never completed.

The origin of the name Khiva is unknown, but many contradictory stories have been told to explain it.

A traditional story attributes the name to one of the sons of the prophet Noah: "It is said that Shem, after the flood, he found himself wandering in the desert alone. Having fallen asleep, he dreamt of 300 burning torches. On waking up, he was pleased with this omen, he founded the city with outlines in the form of a ship mapped out according to the placement of the torches, about which he had dreamt. Then Shem dug the Kheyvak well, the water from which had a surprising taste. It is possible to see this well in Ichan-Kala (an internal town of Khiva City) even today."

Another proposal is that the name comes from the Persian word Khwarezm, altered by borrowing into Turkic as Khivarezem, then shortened to Khiva.

The town is also known as Persian: خیوه, Xīveh; alternative and historical names include Orgunje, Kheeva, Khorasam, Khoresm, Khwarezm, Khwarizm, Khwarazm, Chorezm, Persian: خوارزم.