Khwarazm or Chorasmia is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the east by the Kyzylkum Desert, on the south by the Karakum Desert, and on the west by the Ustyurt Plateau. It was the center of the Iranian Khwarezmian civilization, and a series of kingdoms such as the Afrighid dynasty and the Anushtegin dynasty, whose capitals were Kath, Gurganj and – from the 16th century on – Khiva. Today Khwarazm belongs partly to Uzbekistan and partly to Turkmenistan.
The Samanid Empire also known as the Samanian Empire, Samanid dynasty, Samanid amirate, or simply as the Samanids) was a Persianate Sunni Muslim empire, of Iranian dehqan origin. The empire was centred in Khorasan and Transoxiana; at its greatest extent encompassing Persia and Central Asia, from 819 to 999.
Khwarazmshah was an ancient title used regularly by the rulers of the Central Asian region of Khwarazm starting from the Late Antiquity until the advent of the Mongols in the early 13th-century, after which it was used infrequently. There were a total of four families who ruled as Khwarazmshahs—the Afrighids (305–995), Ma'munids (995–1017), the line of Altuntash (1017–1041), and the most prominent ones, the Anushteginids (1097–1231). Like other contemporary Central Asian titles, such as Afshin and Ikhshid, the title of Khwarazmshah is of Iranian origin.
Chaghaniyan, known as al-Saghaniyan in Arabic sources, was a medieval region and principality located on the right bank of the Oxus River, to the south of Samarkand.
The Farighunids were an Iranian dynasty that ruled Guzgan in the late 9th, 10th and early 11th centuries. They were ultimately deposed by the ruler of the Ghaznavid Empire, Sultan Mahmud.
The Afrighids were a native Khwarezmian Iranian dynasty who ruled over the ancient kingdom of Khwarezm. Over time, they were under the suzerainty of the Sasanian Empire, the Hephthalite Empire, the Göktürk Khaganate, the Umayyad Caliphate, Abbasid Caliphate and the Samanid Empire.
The Maʾmunids were an independent dynasty of Iranian rulers in Khwarazm. Their reign was short-lived (995–1017), and they were in turn replaced by the expansionist Ghaznavids.
Abu 'Abdallah Muhammad was the last ruler of the Afrighid dynasty of Khwarezm from 967 to 995. He was the son and successor of Abu Sa'id Ahmad.
Muhammad ibn Eraq was ruler of the Afrighid dynasty of Khwarazm. He was the son and successor of Eraq ibn Mansur.
Afrig was the Iranian founder of the Afrighid dynasty of Khwarazm. He is said to have built a fortress known as Fil or Fir near his capital in Kath. Not much more is known about him; he was later succeeded by his son Baghra.
Sawashfan was the ruler of the Afrighid dynasty of Khwarezm during the 8th century. He was the son and successor of Askajamuk II.
Askajamuk II was the ruler of the Afrighid dynasty of Khwarezm from 712 to an unknown date. He was the relative and successor of Khusrau.
Khusrau was the ruler of the Afrighid dynasty of Khwarezm briefly in 712. He was the relative and successor of Azkajwar II.
Azkajwar II was the ruler of the Afrighid dynasty of Khwarezm from an unknown date to 712. He was the son and successor of Sabri. Azkajwar II is agreed by most scholars to be the same person as king Jigan or Chigan. In most medieval sources, he is simply called Khwarazmshah.
Arsamuh was the ruler of the Afrighid dynasty of Khwarezm, ruling during the time of the prophet Muhammad. Arsamuh was the successor of Buzgar, and was later succeeded by Sahr II.
Artav was a Khwarazmian king who ruled the Khwarazm region of Central Asia in the second half of the 2nd-century. He was the second king of an unnamed kingdom in Khwarazm, founded by his predecessor, whose name is unknown. Artav, during his reign, started the construction of the city of Toprak-Kala, which became his capital.
Wazamar was the ruler of the Khwarazm region of Central Asia in the late 3rd-century. He was succeeded by Afrig in c. 305, who founded the Afrighid dynasty.
Biwarsar I was the Afrighid ruler of Khwarazm in the third quarter of the 4th century. He was the predecessor of Baghra, and was succeeded by Kawi.
Shaʿyā ibn Farīghūn was a Muslim writer active in the Emirate of Čaghāniyān in the 10th century. He wrote a short but comprehensive encyclopaedia in Arabic entitled Jawāmiʿ al-ʿulūm, which he dedicated to the Muḥtājid emir Abū ʿAlī Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Muẓaffar, who died in 955. He may also have written the Ḥodud al-ʿālam, a geographical text in Persian.
Tūrgār, also Thurgar was a medieval Sogdian ruler in Transoxiana and successor to his father Ghurak during the period of the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana. He was the last ruler of Samarkand and its surroundings from ca. 738 until no later than 755/57, until the Arabs took full control of the region. He was an Ikhshid, a princely title of the Iranian rulers of Soghdia and the Ferghana Valley in Transoxiana during the pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods.
