Mizdakhan Complex

Western outskirts of Khodjeyli, Karakalpakstan

Mizdakhan (Mizdahkan) stretches across roughly 100–200 hectares west of modern Khodjeyli. Its oldest layers date to the 4th–3rd centuries BCE. Arab writers of the 9th–10th centuries already knew the city; by size it ranked among the largest of medieval Khorezm. After the Mongol conquest it revived under the Golden Horde as a trade and craft center. Locals still call parts of it Antakiya — and treat the necropolis as sacred ground for Karakalpakstan tourism.