Khwarazmian Empire

The Khwarazmian Empire (English: /kwəˈræzmiən/), or simply Khwarazm, was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim empire of Turkic mamluk origin. Khwarazmian Empire ruled large parts of present-day Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran from 1077 to 1231; first as vassals of the Seljuk Empire and the Qara Khitai (Western Liao dynasty), and from circa 1190 as independent rulers up until the Mongol invasion in 1219–1221.

The date of the founding of the state remains debatable. The dynasty that ruled the empire was founded by Anush Tigin (Gharachai), initially a Turkic slave of the rulers of Gharchistan, later a Mamluk in the service of the Seljuks. However, it was under Ala ad-Din Atsiz (r. 1127–1156), a descendant of Anush Tigin, that Khwarazm became independent from its neighbors.

The Khwarazmian Empire eventually became the most powerful state in and around Persia, defeating the Seljuk Empire and the Ghurid Empire, and even threatening the Abbasid Caliphate. It is estimated that the empire spanned an area of 2.3 to 3.6 million square kilometres. The empire, which was modelled on the preceding Seljuk Empire, was defended by a huge cavalry army composed largely of Kipchak Turks.

In 1219, the Mongols under their ruler Genghis Khan invaded the Khwarazmian Empire, conquering the whole of it in just two years. The Mongols exploited existing weaknesses and conflicts in the empire, besieging and plundering the richest cities, and putting its citizens to the sword in one of the bloodiest conquests in human history.