Middle Ages

Khwarezmid Empire

Period
AD 1202 – AD 1235
Duration
approx. 33 years
Greatest extent
around AD 1216
Area (max.)
approx. 4 million km²
Khwarezmid Empire at its greatest extent (around AD 1216) · Borders: Cliopatria
▶ View on the interactive map

Profile

Strength

Turkic cavalry armies; at times the empire ruled Persia and Central Asia.

Famous figures

  • Ala ad-Din Muhammad II
  • Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu

Wars & battles won

  • Victory over the Ghurids (c. 1215)
  • Battle of Parwan (1221): a rare victory over the Mongols

Wars & battles lost

  • Mongol invasion (1219–21): fall of Bukhara, Samarkand and Urgench
  • Battle of the Indus (1221)

Languages

  • Persian

Period and duration

Khwarezmid Empire — according to the map data from AD 1202 to AD 1235, roughly 33 years. The dates refer to the time the empire is drawn as its own territory on the world map; historians sometimes date its founding and end differently.

Greatest extent

Khwarezmid Empire — greatest extent around AD 1216: the mapped borders then cover about 4 million km², roughly 2.7% of Earth's land area. The area is calculated from the border lines of the map and is therefore an approximation.

AD 1202Area according to the map data (max. 4 million km²)AD 1235

Predecessors and successors

States that ruled the same territory directly before and after:

Before (AD 1201)

After

Neighbours around AD 1216

The largest states in the region at the same time:

Learn more

Borders and dates: Cliopatria / Seshat Global History Databank (CC BY 4.0). Coastlines: Natural Earth. Text: Centaurian.