Khorezm is the oasis of the lower Amu Darya, south of the Aral Sea. It is Sogdiana’s neighbour to the north-west. Qutayba ibn Muslim conquered Khorezm together with Sogdiana between 705 and 715. He had its clergy put to death.[1] In the eighth century, Khorezmian and Sogdian merchants dominated the road to the Volga.[2]
Between the first third and the end of the ninth century, the Khorezmians replaced the Sogdians on the north-western route. In the tenth century they are the only merchants named on it.[3] According to Ibn Hawqal, the Khorezmians owed their fortune to trade with the Turks and to stock-raising. Slaves came to them from the lands of the Slavs, the Khazars and the Turks, together with furs of sable, fox and other animals. Their merchants went into the lands of Gog and Magog for beaver.[3] Al-Muqaddasi found their language incomprehensible.[4]
References
Literature
- Étienne de la Vaissière, Sogdian Traders: A History (2005)
What links here2
- Persons
- Qutayba ibn Muslim
- Battles & Events
- Fall of the Khazar Khaganate (about 965–969)
Cite this article
Yavuz, Emre-E. “Khorezm.” Turkic Atlas, revised 7 November 2026. https://turkicatlas.org/places/khorezm/
Last revised: 7 November 2026
