Chorzmias in antiquity
Khorezmia was an ancient kingdom in western Central Asia whose beginnings lie in the dark. Its heartland formed the oasis of Khorezm on the Amu Darya , bordered by extensive deserts , on the territory of the present-day states of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan .
General
The oases and the Amadurja valley are extremely fertile. A basis for the wealth of the area was the highly developed irrigation agriculture . In addition to cotton and rice, fruit and wine, grain was grown. In the Bronze Age, the so-called oasis culture existed a little further south , but it disappeared around 1700. The Suyargan (around 1900 BC), Tazabag'yab (1500–1000 BC), and Amirabad cultures (approx. 1000–800 BC) are known from the following period.
The ancient Choresmia has so far been little researched. There have been excavations in some places that give a relatively good picture of the material culture, but written sources are not very numerous and choresmia is also rarely mentioned by ancient authors. There are some Islamic sources from later times, but it is very difficult to reconcile the rulers and events named there with contemporary sources.
Beginnings
The first news comes from the 6th century BC. Chr. Choresmia was an early center of the Zoroastrian religion . Zoroaster proselytized in 588 BC Chr. Vischtaspa , the unknown from other sources king of Khorezm. In the Avesta , the holy book of Zoroastrianism , Khorezmia is mentioned. There are no other sources for the following years, but the country was at times a province of the Achaemenid Empire . It was conquered by Cyrus II with other Central Asian areas. In an inscription made under Darius I on the building of the palace of Susa , Khorezmia is also listed as a province. A soldier from Khoresmia appears in a document that was found on Elephantine on the southern border of Egypt, at the other end of the Persian Empire. About 400 settlements are known from this time.
The city of Kyuzeli-gyr has been partially excavated. It was about 25 hectares and had its own palace. The place experienced a blooming phase in the 6th and early 5th centuries. In Kalaly-gyr , a palace from around 400 BC could be found. BC, which was probably intended for a satrap . The building was never completed, which could mean that Khorezmia was lost to the Persian Empire before it was completed .
From Alexander the Great to approx. 250 AD
In the year 329/328 BC The Choresmian king Pharasmanes appeared at Alexander the great and offered him an alliance. The country was not conquered by Alexander the great and remained independent. A large complex at Koj-Krylgan-Kala dates from this time and was possibly used as a mausoleum for the Choresm rulers. From the 2nd century BC A separate written language can be documented in BC , whereby chorus was written with a modification of the Aramaic alphabet . Various horizons of destruction in Khorezmian settlements date from this time . From other sources it is known that eastern Iran, northern India and Bactria were overrun by nomadic peoples of the Yuezhi and Saks . There are no written sources for choresmies, but the horizons of destruction seem to clearly prove the arrival of the nomads here too.
At the turn of the century or a little earlier, the chorzmic coinage began, which was initially strongly based on Bactrian models and also showed corrupt Greek legends . A little later, however, coin inscriptions appear in chorus , from which the names of numerous rulers are known. At that time, the coins were based on Parthian models, but also show their own stylistic features. Shortly before the turn of the ages, the beginning of a separate choretic calendar also seems to lie. The highest known date of this calendar so far is 753. Since it can now be assumed that the Islamic calendar was introduced with the Arab conquest around 712, the choresmic calendar must have started about 750 years before this date.
In the 2nd century the empire seems to have been conquered by the Kushan , although this is controversial and cannot be proven. After all, many Kushan coins were found in Khorezmia, but this could also point to intensive trade relations, which are generally well documented; so there were many imported goods from the Mediterranean area .
The Afrighiden dynasty
In the middle of the 3rd century , a separate coinage in silver and copper began again. The style of these coins does not follow those of Kuschan, but their own minting around the birth of Christ. The coin legends are now choruses. The headgear of the kings changes from ruler to ruler, which could indicate Sassanid influence. It is believed that King Vazamar , who was arguably the most important Khorezmian ruler, liberated the empire from Cushan rule.
Vazamar's residence may have been in Toprak-kala , where sculptures whose headdresses are identical to those on his coins were found. This place makes a very well organized impression and suggests a possible Greek-Bactrian influence in town planning. The interiors, especially the facilities known as the palace, are often richly furnished, with wall paintings next to clay reliefs and clay sculptures being documented. These works are difficult to classify in terms of style and clearly show their own Central Asian style. Sculptures often appear very naturalistic. The faces have the character of portraits. This may be due to Bactrian-Greek influence, with the hairstyle, long beards and the more Iranian style of clothing with long trousers giving these works a non-Greek look. In addition, there is a certain tendency towards frontality in sculpture, as is known from Parthian and Oriental art. In painting and in relief, however, the figures are mostly shown in profile, with no hints of spatiality.
According to the Muslim historian Abu Rayhan Biruni , the Afrighid dynasty came to power in 305, but modern research has great difficulty reconciling its information with those of the ancient sources. Abu Rayhan Biruni handed down the names of numerous rulers, but hardly any of them can be identified with the names that appear on contemporary monuments and especially coins.
In the fourth and fifth centuries the empire had to struggle with invading nomads and was probably part of the late ancient Sassanid empire at times . It could not recover until the sixth century. Some important palace complexes that have been excavated date from this time. They were strongly fortified and in some cases richly furnished. The center of the systems was usually a residential tower. During this time a remarkable production of silver bowls began. Many of these were not found in Khorezmia itself, but in the Ural region .
At the beginning of the eighth century ( 712 ) Khorezmia was conquered by the Muslims, but there was no permanent occupation; the country remained independent for some time. A delegation of the Afrighid Shavush fern (also known from coins) to the imperial court of the Tang dynasty is attested for the year 751 , which asked for help against the Arabs. It was not until the third quarter of the ninth century that the rulers of Khorezmia converted to Islam. The end of the dynasty came in 995 when the Afrighids were attacked and destroyed by a rival family.
See also
literature
- Boris J. Stawiskij: The peoples of Central Asia in the light of their art monuments . Bonn 1982, ISBN 3921591236 .
Web links
- CHORASMIA i. Archeology and pre-Islamic history , in: Encyclopædia Iranica
- ĀL-E AFRĪḠ (Afrighid dynasty) , in: Encyclopædia Iranica