Review of the City of Khiva: Manifestation of Iranian Culture and Civilization in the Region of Khwarezm

Khiva has such a resemblance with Iranian art, culture, and civilization and it will not be irrelevant to consider it as a gemstone in the field of culture and civilization of Iran in Transoxiana. This city is located in the Khwarezm. Reviews tell of earlier historical and cultural links of Khwarezm with Iran. Khwarezm name has come in the Achaemenid inscriptions.Khiva is a city with a plethora of historic buildings with curved and flat common Persian coverings, surrounded in a mud and brick enclosure and the urban structure of which includes Old castle, "Sharestan" which is known as Ichan-Qala (inner fortress) and Rabaz that is called Dishan-Qala. Ichan-Qala urban structure is comparable with Bam castle. Similarities in art and, architecture and urbanism of this magnitude cannot occur at once. As referring to the history reveals that, until, recent centuries, even Qajar era, this area was part of Iranian territory. Schools of this city are built with chamfered corner plans and with the Iranian architectural style and their geometry, decorations and inscriptions are Iranian. Recent sources have proposed other interpretations based on their own ideas of its architecture and art spaces and do not much refer to their Iranian artistic spirit. There are a variety of manifestations of the Zoroastrian religion in Khwarezm. This study investigates different architectural and urban aspects of Khiva and their roots,and the identification of the cause of physical similarity, the works of art of Khwarezm, and Iran, based on acomparative style methodology.