Yomut Turkmen chief who held real power in the Khanate of Khiva in 1918–1920 and fought Soviet rule for more than a decade
Born in 1857 (some sources say 1862), the son of a Yomut Turkmen chief, he served as a village judge (kazi) and water distributor (mirab) and made his name in the Turkmen uprisings of 1912–1916. Appointed commander of the armed forces of Khiva by Asfandiyar Khan in January 1918, he had the khan assassinated, installed the khan’s uncle Sayyid Abdullah as a puppet and took real power. He besieged Petro-Alexandrovsk in November 1918 and in 1919 opened contact with Kolchak’s government, but in early 1920 the Red Army defeated him and he retreated into the Karakum desert. He then repeatedly invaded the Khorezm People’s Soviet Republic and the Turkmen SSR, besieging Khiva in January 1924. He went into exile in Persia and Afghanistan and died near Herat in 1938.
Also known as: Muhammet Gurban · Muhammet-Kurban Serdar
Activities and affiliations
- 1918–1931 Military command
- 1918–1920 Government and administration
Career Timeline
- 1912–1916Leader in the Turkmen uprisings
- 1918Commander of the armed forces of the Khanate of Khiva
- 1918–1920De facto ruler of the Khanate of Khiva
- 1920–1931Basmachi leader operating from the Karakum, Persia and Afghanistan