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Walls of Itchan Kala.

Khiva (Uzbek: Xiva, Хива; Russian: Хива; Persian: خیوه 'Khiveh'; Alternative or historical names include Khorasam, Khoresm, Khwarezm, Khwarizm, Khwarazm, Chiwa, and Chorezm) is the former capital of Khwarezmia and the Khanate of Khiva and lies in the present-day Khorezm Province of Uzbekistan. Itchan Kala in Khiva was the first site in Uzbekistan to be inscribed in the World Heritage List (1991).

The painter Vasily Vereshchagin was present at the taking of Khiva by Russian forces.

For further history of Khiva and the Khanate of Khiva, see: Khwarezmia

In the early part of its history, the inhabitants of the area were from Iranian stock and spoke an Eastern Iranian language called Khwarezmian.

The city of Khiva was first recorded by Muslim travellers in the 10th century, although archaeologists assert that the city has existed since the 6th century. By the early 17th century, Khiva had become the capital of the Khanate of Khiva, ruled over by a branch of the Astrakhans, a Genghisid dynasty.

In 1873, Russian General Von Kaufman launched an attack on the city, which fell on 28 May 1873. Although the Russian Empire now controlled the Khanate, it nominally allowed Khiva to remain as a quasi-independent protectorate.

Following the Bolshevik seizure of power after the October Revolution, a short lived Khorezm People's Soviet Republic was created out of the territory of the old Khanate of Khiva, before its incorporation into the USSR in 1924, with the city of Khiva becoming part of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic.

Old Entrance into Kukhana Ark, as photographed ca. 1912.

Khiva is split into two parts. The outer town, called Dichan Kala, was formerly protected by a wall with 11 gates. The inner town, or Itchan Kala, is encircled by brick walls, whose foundations are believed to have been laid in the 10th century. Present-day crenellated walls date back to the late 17th century and attain the height of 10 meters.

The old town retains more than 50 historic monuments and 250 old houses, mostly dating from the 18th or the 19th centuries. Djuma Mosque, for instance, was established in the 10th century and rebuilt in 1788-89, although its celebrated hypostyle hall still retains 112 columns taken from ancient structures.

• Campaigning on the Oxus, and the Fall of Khiva, MacGahan, (London, 1874).
• A Ride to Khiva, Frederick Burnaby, (OUP, 1997. First published 1876).
• Russian Central Asia, Lansdell, (London, 1885).
• A travers l'Asie Centrale, Moser, (Paris, 1886).
• Russia against India, Colquhoun, (New York, 1900).
• Khiva, in Russian, S. Goulichambaroff, (Askhabad, 1913).

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Khiva

• Khwarezmia

Coordinates: 41°23′N, 60°22′E