Dedicated to the memory of our mentor Saburdzhana Yusupov, who with his interesting stories and tales taught us to love the motherland, native nature, our favorite city Khiva

The city walls and gates
The main element that gives views of the ancient city is its walls. Their primary role is to protect the city from attacks by external enemies. It is well-known that after the conquest of the Khanate of Khiva by Tsarist Russia, the powerful city walls completely lost its meaning. Because internecine war stopped, the vast army of the khanate was disbanded. There remained only a few dozen sarbazs, that is - Khan's security. By that time, the duties of the fortress walls were reduced only to the elimination of internal strife, to protect the urban population against theft, robbery and coordination, although to a small extent, of the gradually disappearing civil service of mirshabs. In addition, they remained the keepers of the memory of the period of the lush life of once existing strong independent feudal state. The fortress walls of the city, being built of pakhsa (adobe blocks) have a distinctive architectural design. Surrounded by two rows of fortifications, the city is for this reason different from other cities of Uzbekistan. The walls of Ichan-Kala was originally erected in VI - V century BC and for centuries have been restored several times. On the inner side, the wall have loopholes (shinak) for firing at the enemy. And every 30-50 meters powerful fortification towers are towering. During the defense of the city the guns were set there to fire at the enemy.
The city, in its oldest part, was built in the form of an elongated from north to south quadrangle. The total length of the fortress walls of Ichan-Kala reaches 2,200 meters, which are installed four gates oriented to the four cardinal points. The total area of ​​the inner fortress Ichan-Kala is 26 hectares (650 x 400 m). The city's history is written on the basis of historical, cultural and material sources, the results of scientific research; books, manuscripts, memoirs of contemporaries, their speech and thoughts written about Khiva and khivians are quite enough. They are found in virtually all written sources during the last millennium. Despite this, these data do not provide full information about the specific event of the city. Therefore, since March, 1984 we have taken drastic measures in order to establish a reliable age of the city. Namely, archaeological excavations began, in which the scientists of the Karakalpak branch of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan (led by M.Mambetullaeva) and the team of scientists of Khiva’s Historical and Architectural Museum-Reservoir "Ichan-Kala" (headed by Sh.Matrasulovym) participated. The aim of the archaeological excavations was the study of the construction features of the city, its defensive structure and the initial period of residence of the population inside the fortress and other problems associated with the life of ancient Khiva.
Archaeological excavations were carried out on an area of ​​730 square meters, inside a residence of Khiva khans Kun-arch, located in the northwestern part of Ichan-Kala and in the northwest corner of the fortress walls of Ichan-Kala in the area of ​​60 sq. meters. At the same time, directly under the walls of the fortress excavations were carried out in the area of ​​the drainage ditch of 8x2 meters.
During excavations in the four construction layers, there were discovered the remains of defensive walls, two pakhsa walls with length of 20 meters, a height of 0.35 - 1.37 m. moreover, there were investigated the remains of walls, built of adobe bricks in the ancient sandy ground with the size of 49h42 cm 41h43 cm, 9x13 cm.
In place of the first excavations, there were found material objects reflecting the most ancient period of the city. Among them, the red lower part of the ceramic Houma (big pitcher for storing water, oil, grains and others) belonging to the 1 middle of the I millennium BC, is particularly noteworthy.
It was confirmed that the signs in the form of the letter "K" on the big and small ceramic Houma hums and bowls found in the excavations conducted in the years 1984 -1985 are IV-III centuries BC. During the excavations and research, work on the subject found that over the centuries the city was destroyed 7 times and rebuilt again and again, and life was very lively in the burgeoning city.
During the years 1985-1995, in six places of the most ancient part of Khiva Ichan Kala, the total area of ​​1200 square meters and 7 places of the fortress walls were conducted excavations and surveys. As a result, it was revealed that the most ancient cultural layers lie at a depth of 7 meters. As a result, scientists, archaeologists, based on the detected real objects, the construction period, preserved by city walls, proved that Khiva was founded in V-VI centuries BC on the banks of the ancient irrigation channel Heykanik (now Palvanyap). Around the walls of Ichan-Kala there was a deep ditch, which was formed in the place where the clay was taken for the construction of walls. Clay was taken on a definite plan in order to fill the ditch after the water, there was another band of the city's defense. Wall’s height is 8 - 10 m, the thickness of the lower part of the walls is 8-10 meters, the top is 4 - 5 meters. During the defense of the fortress from the enemy, there was the opportunity for carts to travel Khiva on top of the walls. About the fact that the castle was destroyed several times and then rebuilt as Khiva historian wrote Hudayberdi Koshmukhammed’s son in his "Dili garoyib" ("Heart of the startled"). In 1740 the walls of Ichan-kala were destroyed by Nadirshakh troops. "We know that the city was turned into ruins," writes the Russian scientist NN Veselovsky.
Firstly, it is confirmed by the plan diagram of the city by the drawing of engineer Nazarov, because Khiva after the siege by the troops of Nadirshakh had a completely different look.
Secondly, it was evidenced by two British merchant and Thomson Gogh caught in the besieged city. The abovementioned plan diagram has its own history. In 1730 - 1735, in the Deshti Kipchak steppes there was a great famine. At that time, the Senior Juz Kazakhs were subject to Dzungaria. Middle juz was ruled by Bukhara, and Junior juz subordinated to Khiva. But the khans of the Younger juz, fearing attacks of Jungars, sent a message to Russia, the government of Queen Anna Ivanovna, with the request to take them in Russia. In 1739, located in the lower reaches of the Syr-Darya Junior juz and its khan Abulhayrhan took Russian citizenship. Russia provided security to Younger juz, in response the Junior juz pledged to ensure the safety of Russian steppe caravans passing trade. In the same year Abulhayrhan sent a message to the Russia king asking him to help in the construction of the lower reaches of the Syr-Darya fortifying the residence for the khanate. The king granted the request of Khan, in 1740, sent his surveyors, led by Gladyshev and Muravina. Surveyor Nazimov had to perform duties in a group of expert interpreters (see Khanykov Ya .: "The trip from Orsk to Khiva and back, done in 1740 - 1741 years by Gladyshev lieutenant and surveyor Muravina", St. Petersburg., 1850 Issue 4, Dep 2, page 1).
On the eve of the arrival to the residence of Russian surveyors of Abulhayrkhan, Khivians invited Khan to the throne of Khiva. Khan, taking some Russian experts, immediately arrived in Khiva. But he stayed there only three days, because on November 11, 1740 Khiva was attacked by Iranian troops Nadirshakh; frightened by this, Khan was forced to go back to the steppe. Despite the fact that although he did not get any job, Nazimov for 4-day time drew the layout plan of the city of Khiva. It follows that Abulhayrkhan arrived in Khiva on November 7, 1740. The historical value of the plan-scheme is that after the invasion of Nadirshakh, the city was completely turned into ruins. Commenting on the layout plan Nazimov, A.Abdurasulov, scientist and historian, writes: "According to the plan, the city was the length of one thousand meters, width of 400 meters and covered an area of ​​40 hectares. This plan diagram resembled that of the ancient cities of the ancient Khorezm. The city is completely surrounded by a deep ditch filled with water. To the city one could pass on a special fold-bridge on the east side. At night, the bridge and reclined link with the outside world ceased. In the western part of the city was the Khan's palace, the road began from the bridge, located in front of the gate, abuted directly at the gate arch. Ark was in the western part of the city. "
Nazimov very precisely outlined the plan of the city and its overall appearance. The gardens that surround the city, mills, wells and other topographical signs were clearly mapped. The main street of the city was separated it into two parts, north and south. On the south side of the street there were 4 big streets and 9 mahallahs, on the north side of the street there were 3 big streets and 8 mahallahs. The Arch, located in the western part of the city, housed the Khan's palace, the harem, arsenal, which were surrounded by a separate fortification. Based on the fact that in the layout plan the city had only one goal, one can conclude that the remaining gates were built after the invasion of Nadirshakh. Khivian historian Shermuhammed Muniz Khorizmi (1778 - 1829) in his work called "Firdaus ul-Ikbol" ("Garden of Eden Welfare") wrote about Muhammad Amin inak: "In the year of the Hegira 1200 (1786) Fortress Hivaka after Nadirshakh’s coming was destroyed, and in ruins (he) rebuilt and prospered (the city). "
A little over a hundred years after the events in Khiva, Russian ambassadors, diplomats came, among which there was the surveyor G.N.Zelenin. He was given a top secret mission - with extreme care to draw secretly a plan of the city of Khiva, because, after the failures of the military expedition of Prince Perovsky in 1839, Khan (Allakuli) was suspicious of everyone who came from another country. To accomplish this secret mission, Zelenin bought two large melons on the market. On his way, with melons in his hands, he asked the citizens he met about the name of streets, mahallas, guzars, about madrasahs, mosques. At the same time he put it on the skin of melon special features with a small sharp knife and in the evenings wrote the marks on the paper.
So the Colonel of the tsarist army M.I.Venyukov describes the layout plan of the city of Khiva by Zelenin: "The general view of the city of Khiva resembles a pear, stem of which is directed to the west. The inner part of the city has a quadrilateral shape, the eastern and western sides of which comprise of 300 fathoms (1 yards is 2 m 13 cm.) And the northern and southern sides were 200 fathoms. The city is located between the channels Angarik and Sirchali. "
According to the study of Zelenin, in the city there were 17 mosques, there were 22 260 mahallas and shopping malls. On the plan diagram depicting the territory of the country of Khiva, behind the wall surrounding the city there was designated a large number of gardens, summer palaces and irrigation systems, field crops, roads. Another plan of the city was very precise and detailed, drafted in 1905 by Russian surveyor, Colonel Rodionov. This plan was valuable because it is an important source of study, not only of the city of Khiva, but also of the history of the villages around Khiva.
After formation in 1920 of KhPSR (Khorezm People's Soviet Republic), in accordance with a special decree of the Central Executive Committee of experienced engineer Matkarim (Naccache - master of ornamental painting) Nematullaev master plan was drafted for the city (now the plan is kept in the museum reserve of Ichan-kala ). Being very detailed, this plan is based on the results of historical and topographical and ethnographic research. On a scale of plan, each building, located in the city was fully displayed, without flaws: together with the names of 14 city gates, marked as Waqf 64 madrasahs, 79 mosques. It shows the location of streets, administrative buildings and caravan-sarais, and other buildings.