Khwarazmian

Khwarazmian, also rendered Khwarezmian, is an adjective and demonym relating to Khwarezm, a historic region along the Amu Darya in Central Asia. The term can refer to the people of Khwarezm, the language that was once spoken there, or the medieval Khwarezmian state known as the Khwarezmian Empire. In scholarly usage, it helps distinguish regional history and linguistic heritage from neighboring Iranian and Turkic traditions.

Khwarezmian language: An extinct Eastern Iranian language once spoken in Khwarezm and surrounding areas. The surviving material is limited, but it is generally classified as part of the Eastern Iranian subgroup and is considered related to Sogdian and possibly Bactrian. The language is attested in inscriptions and chrestomathic texts from late antiquity through the medieval period, with gradual replacement by Turkic languages and Persian by the late medieval era, leaving it extinct by roughly the 13th–14th centuries.

Khwarezmian people and empire: The inhabitants of Khwarezm formed the core population of the region and later gave their name to a medieval state, the Khwarezmian Empire, which arose in the 11th century. The empire, with its capital at Gurganj (Konye-Urgench), expanded into Transoxiana and Khurasan before being absorbed by the Mongol Empire following Genghis Khan’s campaigns in the early 13th century. The legacy of Khwarezmian statehood influenced successor polities in the region.

Etymology and usage: The name derives from the region of Khwarezm, and the term appears in various languages, including the surname al-Khwarizmi, associated with origin from Khwarezm. The word Khwarazmian remains a conventional label in historical and linguistic contexts for things connected to Khwarezm.