John Thomas Bealby and Charles Norton Edgcumbe Eliot

“ The white-washed houses scattered amidst the elms and poplars, and surrounded by flourishing fields, produce the most agreeable contrast with the arid steppes. Livestock, especially sheep, camels, horses and cattle, is extensively bred by the nomads. ”

“ The Khivans, however, induced the victors to break up their army into small detachments and treacherously annihilated them in detail. It was not until the third decade of the 19th century that the attention of the Muscovite government was again directed to the khanate. In 1839 a force under General Perovsky moved from Orenburg across the Ust-Urt plateau to the Khivan frontiers, to occupy the khanate, liberate the captives and open the way for trade. ”

“ They cultivate the soil, breed cattle, and their women make carpets. There are also about 10,000 Kirghiz, and when the Russians took Khiva in 1873 there were 29,300 Persian slaves, stolen by Turkoman raiders, and over 6500 liberated slaves, mostly Kizil-bashes. The former were set free and the slave trade abolished. Of domestic industries, the embroidering of cloth, silks and leather is worthy of notice. The trade of Khiva is considerable: cotton, wool, rough woollen cloth and silk cocoons are exported to Russia, and various animal products to Bokhara. ”