64 KHIVA
metch-mehrem and batchman, controller and collector of customs respectively; (5) biy, the khan's supporter in battle; (6) minbashi, yuzbashi, and onbashi, belonging to the military class, now fast disappearing. The ulema or priests, of whom the nakib is the chief, are subdivided as follows: – (1) kazi kelan and kazi, judicial functionaries; (2) alem, chief of the five muftis; (3) reis, mufti, and akhond. The acknowledged religion is the Suni form of Mohammedanism. Justice is administered in the mosques and in the private dwellings of the cadis and muftis, but every Khivan subject has the right to prefer his complaint before the governor or even before the khan.
Revenue. – The khan's revenue is derived from (1) the land-tax, paid in coin by all sedentary Khivan subjects, and in cattle (2½ per cent.) by nomads; (2) a customs due on all incoming and outgoing caravans, and on the sale of cattle – 2½ per cent. ad valorem; (3) the rent of crown lands. The revenue of certain districts is set aside for the support of the relatives of the reigning khan, and of the rest the greater part is exhausted in paying the large indemnity imposed by the Russians after the campaign of 1873.
Population. – The inhabitants are partly sedentary and partly nomad. They include Uzbegs, Karakalpaks, Turcomans, Sarts, Kizilbashes, and Arabs – the first three of Mongol origin, the rest of Aryan descent. The Uzbegs come from a Turk stock, and constitute the dominant class. Some few live in towns, but the bulk reside on their farms, where they occupy themselves in agriculture, gardening, silk cultivation, and fishing. Very few engage in trade. They are divided into tribes. The Karakalpaks, or "black-hats," are supposed to be a clan of Uzbegs. They inhabit the lower part of the Oxus, and are mostly stock-breeders; they are divided into tribes, and are nearly all nomadic. The Turcomans are of similar origin to the Uzbegs, and are divided into tribes, of which the chief are the Yomud, Karadashli, Goklen, Ersari, Chaudor, and Imrali. They are all engaged in breeding horses and stock and in agriculture. Some are sedentary, while others migrate to the steppe in summer. The Sarts or Tajiks, who were probably the original inhabitants of the country, live chiefly in the large towns and are engaged in trade or in handicrafts, some in agriculture and silk cultivation. The Kizilbashes are liberated Persian slaves, and are distributed over the khanate, but more particularly inhabit the Tashauz district. Of the Semitic race we find Arabs in small numbers at Shavat. They form the living monuments of the Arab conquest.
Owing to the absence of any census it is impossible to give more than a very rough estimate of the population of the Khivan oasis. Major Wood, a competent observer, estimated it in 1875 at 300,000 souls, of whom two-thirds are Uzbegs and Tajiks. Liberated Persians and other slaves make up 50,000, while the remainder is composed of sedentary Turcomans who occupy cultivated lands or who nomadize about the western borders of the khanate.
There is no marked division of the people into castes or classes. A Khivan may be a merchant, an agriculturist, or craftsman as he pleases; he may possess land or other real property, but for this privilege he must fulfil his obligation to the state, pay taxes, and furnish labourers for digging or repairing canals, upon which the life of the oasis may be said to depend. Only the military class, the priesthood, and the khodjas are exempt from the payment of taxes. The khodjas consider themselves descendants of the prophet; they pay no taxes and render no military service, nor do they furnish canal labour. They are derived from the same stock as the khodjas of Turkestan, and according to tradition came to Khiva six hundred years ago. Agriculture, trade, and handicrafts constitute their chief employment.
Towns. – Khivan towns are nothing more than agglomerations of houses without plan or regularity; the streets are so crooked and narrow that two carts can only pass with difficulty or not at all. The towns are usually surrounded by a defensive wall, in a more or less dilapidated state; sometimes there is also a wet ditch. Outside the walls stretches an extensive suburb. Each town contains usually a bazaar, a caravanserai, and one or more medresses (ecclesiastical colleges) and mosques. The population consists of government officials, shopkeepers, mechanics, and a very few agriculturists. There are no villages as we understand the term, – only farmsteads dotted at intervals along the banks of the canals. The security against Turcoman raids which is given to the townspeople by the wall and ditch is replaced in the case of the farming class by small round guard-houses (karachi-khane) constructed along the same canals where the farmsteads are placed.
The chief towns are Khiva (the present capital and residence of the khan); Khazarasp, spoken of by the Arab geographers as a strong place in the 10th century, a reputation it still maintains; New Urgentch, the chief trading town; Tashauz, another strong place; Gurlen, Hazavat, Halli, Kipchak, Khanka, Hodjeili, Kungrad, Pitniak, Kunia Urgentch (once the capital, but destroyed first by Jenghiz Khan, and afterwards by Timur), and Kiat, which up to the 15th century was the capital of Kharezm, but is now a place of little importance.
Climate. – The climate is quite continental, but is healthy, and the people are long-lived. The prevailing ailments are small-pox, inflammation of the eyes, and ague. Cholera is a rare visitant. Winter begins in November and lasts until February. At this season the thermometer sometimes falls to 20° Fahr., and the Oxus freezes to a depth of 6 to 12 inches, At the end of March the vine, pomegranate, and fig commence to bud, and in the first days of April are covered with green. Wheat harvesting commences early in July; about this time apricots and plums ripen. Leaves begin to grow yellow and fall in the first half of November. The west wind is distinguished by its violence, but it only rages in spring. At this season the north wind also blows strongly. When the wind is in these quarters dews are abundant. Severe storms and earthquakes are of rare occurrence; and, generally speaking, there is little rain, snow, or hail.
Products. – The chief agricultural products are wheat, jugara, rice, sesamum, millet, chigin (a variety of millet), barley, mash (a pulse), linseed, cotton, hemp, lucerne, tobacco, poppy, and madder. The gardens furnish the melon, cucumber, pumpkin, capsicum, garlic, onion, beet, radish, carrot, turnip, potato, and cabbage. Of fruits the mulberry, apple, pear, cherry, plum, date, peach, pomegranate, and grape are in abundance. Of trees we find in small quantities the poplar, black poplar, plane, elm, willow, karaman (a sort of elm), and narvan (a species of oak). Saksaul (Holoxylon ammodendron) is found in quantities, and furnishes excellent fuel. Shrubs of various kinds are indigenous, and the reed grass, in the absence of meadow-land, affords good fodder for cattle.
Khiva furnishes no metals, but sulphur and salt are present in sufficient quantities to satisfy home demands.
The domestic quadrupeds are camels, horses, asses, horned cattle, sheep, and goats. Of wild animals are found the hog, giraffe, panther, jackal, fox, wolf, and hare. The feathered tribe is represented by the wild goose, swan, crane, pelican, duck, moorhen, bustard, pheasant, quail, snipe, partridge, magpie, crow, sparrow, nightingale (in large numbers), and lark, besides domestic fowls and pigeons. The fish include sturgeon, sterlet, bream, pike, carp, and sandre.
Trade and Industry. – The trade of Khiva, in the Middle
