The work of Yu.E. Bregel allows not only to fill individual gaps in the study of the past of the Khorezm Turkmens, but also to more deeply resolve some issues of the socio-economic history of the Turkmen people in the 19th century. In addition, the book examines a very important period in the history of feudal Khiva and clarifies the role of Turkmen in the life of the Khiva Khanate. Yu.E. Bregel continued the research begun by P.P. Ivanov on documents from the archive of the Khiva khans, analyzed a lot of material regarding the Khorezm Turkmens. Along with this, the work used information from Central Asian chronicles, literary sources, as well as field ethnographic materials. The book consists of two parts. The first contains a study of the economy, social relations and history of the Khorezm Turkmens, the second is the publication (description and translations with comments) of documents about the Turkmens from the archive of the Khiva khans.