Conflicts Between the Khiva and Bukhara Khanates in the 1620s

Timeline

1. 1621–1624Khiva (Khwarazm) · KhivaIn the early 1620s, local Khiva powers under leaders such as Abulghazi Khan consolidated control over the Khwarazm oasis, challenging Bukhara's suzerainty over the lower Amu Darya; Khiva exploited ties with northern nomadic tribes to expand its influence, while Bukhara attempted military expeditions to restore authority.
2. 1624–1627Lower Amu Darya and Khwarazm · UzbekistanIn the mid-1620s, Imam Quli Khan of the Khanate of Bukhara organized multiple expeditions against Khiva, contesting Khwarazm and the trade routes to the Caspian Sea; both sides relied on different branches of the Uzbek tribal confederation, and the wars were characterized by sieges, raids, and short-term peace treaties, failing to achieve lasting unification.
3. 1628–1630Samarkand and the Khurasan frontier · SamarkandIn the late 1620s, the Persian Safavid Empire and northern steppe nomadic powers deepened their indirect influence over Central Asian affairs; after the 1623 Ottoman-Safavid peace treaty, Persia turned eastward, and Bukhara and Khiva, while contesting the oases, also had to contend with external diplomatic pressure; by the end of the 1620s, the two khanates still maintained a divided standoff.