KHWAREZM-SHAH DYNASTY

also spelled Khwarazm-shah, or Khorezm-shah (c. 10771231), dynasty that ruled in Central Asia and Iran, first as vassals of the Seljuqs and later as independent rulers. The founder of the dynasty was Anustegin Gharacha'i, a slave who was appointed governor of Khwarezm (q.v.) about 1077 by the Seljuq ruler Malik-Shah. Anustegin's descendants governed Khwarezm on behalf of the Seljuqs. In 1141, with the defeat of the Seljuq sultan Sanjar by the Karakitai (Qara Khitay) confederation of northern China, the rulers of Khwarezm were forced to acknowledge the overall sovereignty of the Karakitai. Following Sanjar's death in 1157, the Khwarezm-Shah 'Ala' ad-Din Tekish was one of many contenders in a struggle for supremacy in Iran. By 1200 the Khwarezm-Shah had emerged victorious. 'Ala' ad-Din Muhammad (reigned 120020), the penultimate Khwarezm-Shah, created a short-lived empire that stretched from the borders of India to those of Anatolia. The empire did not endure, however; the Mongol army of Genghis Khan conquered Transoxania in 1220. The last Khwarezm-Shah, Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu (reigned 122031), was defeated by the Mongols in 1231 and his territories were taken over by them.