Khwarazm

The article discusses the Qonggirad migration to the Jochid ulus in the aftermath of the Mongol conquests as well as the roles the Qonggirad elite played in the Jochid and Khwārazmian political history in the late 13th – early 15th centuries. Based on genealogical and numismatic analyses, this paper, on the one hand, provides insights into the formation and developments of the autonomous Qonggirad power in Khwārazm in the second half of the 14th century and, on the other hand, stresses the importance of the Islamisation for the Mongol tribal elite’s accustomisation to the regional and geopolitical historical setting during the troubled period of 1359‑1380s in the Jochid ulus.
Available via: https://journals.openedition.org/remmm/11105

Laying the foundations of music of Uzbek Turkic’s in by many musicologists as Al-Farabi, Avicenna, Safiyuddin Urmevi, Abd al-Qadir Maraghi from 8th century to the present day has become a system through various stages. Today, it is possible to study Uzbek Turkic’s’ maqam music divided in three different groups. They are: Fergana-Tashkent, Bukhara-Samarkand and Khwarezm maqams. Eastern peoples who make up the traditional shashmaqam and twelve maqam music systems lay the basis of the maqams aforementioned. The period of Khiva khanate in the 19th century has seen increased studies about the scientific aspects of music by Khwarezmian scientists. Admittedly, the most beautiful result of these works is musical notation called "tanbur chizighi" found by Al-Khwarezmi. After the discovery of this notation system, all the shashmaqam songs had been written with this musical notation system and they have survived to the present day. These discoveries continue to increase interest in the science of music; new books and opinions have emerged as a result. Thus, thereafter, began an epoch of development of maqam music in Khwarezm and subsequently, the terminological studies gained momentum. Many terms as semi-maqam, whole-maqam and sesqui-maqam that describe characteristics of the maqam music and performances of aforementioned period is envisaged, but this situation has given rise to terminological controversy. A comparative analysis of the structural aspects of these types of maqams has shown that these terms used are inappropriate. Insomuch that these terminological problems have attracted the attention of a famous scientist Prof. Abdurauf Fitrat and led him to writing a book on this subject in the aforementioned period. As a result, we will examine problems of terminology emerged in the 20th century with development of Khwarezm maqam music in axis of the studies of Turk and Uzbek maqam music in this paper.

Atsiz (r. 1127-1156) was bent on safeguarding and expanding his influence among the nomads living between the Syr Darya and the Qaraqum; and he was prepared to challenge Sanjar the Great Seljuq for the sultanate as soon as an opportunity arose.

The article examines the spread of Muslim Kufic coins in Eastern, Western and Northern Europe, on the territory of Volga Bulgaria, Ancient Rus, the neighbours of Bulgars – ancestors of the Mari, Udmurt, Mordva and other Finno-Ugric ethnicities during the early Middle Ages in the 8th – beginning of the 11th centuries. The research of these coins shows the list of countries and Muslim dynasties the above-mentioned countries had trade relations with and their chronological framework. Coins of Umayyads, Abbasids, Samanids, Buwayhids, Ziyarids, Qarakhanids and other Muslim dynasties were discovered. Ways of Kufic dirhems expansion and their chronological framework are shown. The main role of Khazar Khanate is marked for the time span of 8th – 9th centuries whereas since X century the principal part was played by Volga Bulgaria. American numismatist T. Noonan designated them as Khazar and Bulgar phases of trade of Kufic coins. Bulgar coins, minted in 902–990-s, participated actively in this process. Together they acted as a commodity and medium of exchange, which reflected the scale of trade operations of the early Middle Ages. The study of Muslim Kufic dirhems allowed the author to clear up the role of Khazar Khanate and Volga Bulgaria in the functioning of Great Silk and Volga routes in the 8th – beginning of the 11th centuries.

In the late first millennium AD, there was an isolated cluster of urban sites, including Dzhankent, in the Syr-darya delta, on the interface of the steppe belt and the Central Asian civilizations. Fieldwork results show that in the ninth to eleventh centuries AD this site was a fortified urban settlement, but it had a predecessor from the sixth/seventh century onwards. Urban design and finds indicate close links to the southern civilization of Khwarazm, but also to local populations and Turkic nomads. It is suggested here that Dzhankent may originally have been a Khwarazmian trading post, later serving as nomad winter quarters while continuing as a transhipping point on the crossroads of two important trade routes: the northern Silk Road, and the route from the Baltic via the Volga to Central Asia. Location and functions also raise questions about the application of emporia typologies to this case.

Archaeological excavations in the settlement of Sadvar were carried out by the Khorezm expedition in 1972–1975, but numismatic finds have not yet been published. The monument was located on the left bank of the Amu Darya River in Turkmenistan, on a trade route from the central regions of Khwarazm to Mawarannahr and Khorasan (currently, the site is flooded by a reservoir), and consisted of a so-called citadel and residential quarters, surrounded on three sides by a moat, as well as the “Chash-kala”, a castle structure built in the 9th–11th centuries adjacent to the settlement. The article provides a brief description of the ancient settlement, excavations, open structures, and ceramic complex. A total of 44 coins were found, 3 silver and 41 copper, 28 of which were identified. Three of those belong to the ancient period (Siyavushid Dynasty), 24 to the 9th–12th centuries (Tahirids, Afrigids of Kath, Samanids, Ma’munids, etc.), and one to the late 19th century (Khiva hanate). A Khwarazmshah coin with the lakab “Crown of the Nation and Cresset of the [Religious] Community” was found here for the first time; the name of the ruler on it has not yet been established, but based on combined characteristics the coin can be dated back to the 12th century. The only Buwayhid dirham is apparently a new, as yet undescribed type. In one of the pits, a wallet with 6 coins and bare flans was found. The coins belong to a new type struck in the city of Kath, the former capital of Khwarazm prior to 995. Several coin flans are of numismatic interest, some of them were punched in the center, presumably to remove them from circulation. A number of additional materials are given in the comments to the catalog of numismatic finds in the settlement of Sadvar. Numismatic material confirms archaeological evidence that the city began to lose its significance in the 12th century.

Tarih öncesi devirlerden günümüze kadar Harezm bölgesi kültür ve sanat konusunda büyük zenginlikleri bünyesinde barındıran bir yer olmuştur. Bulunduğu bazı dönemler içerisinde, savaşlar ve göçler nedeniyle zaman zaman değişime uğramış, var olan medeniyet üzerine bir yenisi daha eklenerek kültürel mirasını zenginleştirmiştir. Yapılan arkeolojik kazılardan elde edilen bulgularda Harezm bölgesindeki kültür ve sanat hayatının, özellikle de müzik mirasının ne derece güçlü olduğunu görmek mümkündür. Harezm’in eski merkezlerinden olan “Toprak Kale” gibi abideler bizlere kayda değer müzikal bulguları sunan önemli yerden biridir. Harezm bölgesi, Türk halkları arasında ortak bir gelenek olan usta-çırak ilişkisine sıkı sıkıya bağlı bir yer olmasından dolayı, Özbek Türklerine ait birçok folklor ürünlerini günümüze kadar yaşatmış ve bizlere kadar ulaşmasını sağlamıştır. Günümüze ulaşan bu ürünlerin en önemlileri arasında yer alan müzik, Harezmli Özbek Türklerinin hayatında önemli bir yere sahiptir. Geleneksel Harezm müziğinin sosyal hayatta etkin rol oynaması, büyümesi ve gelişmesi kuşkusuz döneminde padişahların halkı müziğe karşı yönlendirme politikalarından kaynaklanmaktaydı. Bu teşvik politikaları sayesinde müzik çok önemli bir unsur haline gelmiş ve II. Muhammed Rehim Han tarafından zamanında ferman ile müzik öğrenimi yaygınlaşmıştır. Sonuç olarak, bildirimizde bir kültür başkenti olan Harezm’in Özbek Türkleri müzik mirasındaki yerinden bahsedilecektir.