%A Akifumi (塩谷 哲史), Shioya %D 2021 %T The Association between the Descendants of Sufi Saint Sayyid Ata and the Khans of Khiva at the Beginning of the 19th Century %! The Association between the Descendants of Sufi Saint Sayyid Ata and the Khans of Khiva at the Beginning of the 19th Century %X Sayyid Ata was one of the most active Sufi saints in the Eurasian Steppe regions during the post-Mongol period. The early Qongrat khans were eager to secure the support of Sayyid Ata's descendants for their campaign to conquer the Aral region by establishing marital ties with them and making religious donations for the tombs of Sayyid Ata and his tutor, Hakim Ata. The early Qongrat khans formed ties with the Ishans of Khojaeli, who were supposedly descendants of Sayyid Ata. The Ishans of Khojaeli served as administrators for the tomb of Sufi saints near Khojaeli, received respect from local inhabitants, and became meditators between the Khivan and Aral armies when the latter continued to wage fierce battles for the rule of Khojaeli, a strategic point on the border between the southern sedentary and northern semi-sedentary and semi-nomadic zones. By analyzing descriptions from the Qongrat court chronicles, Firdaws al-iqbāl, and information from field surveys conducted in the Khanate of Khiva in 1873, the author argues that the relationship between the Qongrat dynasty and the Ishans of Khojaeli was ideologically based on the early Qongrat rulers' piety toward the latter, who claimed to be the descendants of Sayyid Ata. Additionally, this connection favored the early Qongrat leaders' political and military conquest of the Aral region and aided in the establishment of a united royal authority over the Khorezm oasis. Consequently, the author argues that the Qongrat rulers tried to combine ideals and religious piety with their political and military motives. %U https://doi.org/10.13173/centasiaj.64.1-2.0183 %0 Journal Article %R 10.13173/centasiaj.64.1-2.0183 %J Central Asiatic Journal %V 64 %N 1-2