Southern Karakalpakstan

The right bank of the Amu Darya, now known as Southern Karakalpakstan, was a flourishing oasis during the first half of the first millennium BC. Its towns and complex irrigation system developed under the kings of ancient Khorezm, whose state controlled northern branches of the Silk Road for centuries. Khorezm had its own calendar, traditionally associated with the accession of the Siyavushid dynasty in the 13th century BC, and its own written tradition from approximately the 5th–4th centuries BC.

In the middle of the 6th century BC, Khorezm came under Achaemenid Persian rule. By the middle of the 4th century BC it had regained independence under the Siyavushids. In 328 BC King Farasman sent an embassy to Alexander the Great. At Akshakhan Kala, a 42-hectare settlement, archaeologists discovered remains of a Khorezmian capital dating from the 5th–2nd centuries BC, including a royal palace with a gallery of rulers' portraits.

During the second half of the 2nd century BC, the Yuezhi dynasty rose to power. Its great royal residence occupied Toprak Kala, a vast complex of the 2nd–3rd centuries AD. From the early 4th century, Khorezm was ruled by the Afrighid dynasty from Kyat, near modern Beruni. Following the Arab conquest in the 8th century, the region became part of the Islamic world.

Environmental changes linked to the cycles of the Aral Sea and the shifting Amu Darya gradually undermined the ancient irrigation network. From the 12th–14th centuries, channels dried, settlements were abandoned and desert sands reclaimed the oasis. Today the monumental ruins of cities, castles and fortified residences preserve the scale of this vanished culture.

The main archaeological sites can be visited on road excursions from Nukus, Beruni, Buston or Khiva. Distances, summer heat and the exposed desert terrain make a vehicle, drinking water and a local guide important. Spring and autumn provide the most comfortable conditions. The activity cards below lead to detailed pages for eight major monuments.