Isfandiar, Ibn Arab Muhammad
Isfandiar, Ibn Arab Muhammad
(also ibn Arab Muhammad Isfendiar). Khan of Khiva from 1623 to 1642.
Isfandiar came to power after a fierce struggle with his brothers. He attempted to unite southern Turkmenistan with the Khiva khanate but was defeated in 1628 by Safavid troops. During the 1630’s and the early 1640’s, Isfandiar waged an intense struggle against the Kalmyks, whose raids had caused damage to caravan trade with Bukhara and Russia. He negotiated with Moscow about the formation of a coalition against the Kalmyks.