Kangiui

(Kangyuy), Kangha (Kangkha), or Kangdiz, a state formation in ancient Middle Asia. The core of the Kangiui population consisted of nomads who probably lived near the Syr Darya, which was called the River of the Kang as late as the Middle Ages. The period of formation of the Kangiui state is unknown, although it certainly was already in existence in the second century b. c.

In the south the Kangiui state included the present-day Tashkent Oasis and some of the lands between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya. In the first century b. c., Kangiui also gained control of Khwarazm and several other domains. By that time it was a large state that had united a number of settled agricultural regions and nomad territories. Since it had a large army (up to 120, 000 men), Kangiui took an active part in the struggle of the peoples of Fergana and Eastern Turkestan against China. Between the first and third centuries a. d., Kangiui lost Khwarazm and the Tashkent Oasis, which became part of the Kushan Kingdom, but it did retain its independence and even conquered several domains in the northern Aral and southern Ural regions. Kangiui is not mentioned in sources later than the fourth century.