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The Emirate of Bukhara (Persian: امارت بخارا, romanized: Imārat-i Buxārā,[6] Chagatay: بخارا امیرلیگی, romanized: Bukhārā Amirligi) was a Muslim-Uzbek polity in Central Asia[7] that existed from 1785 to 1920 in what is now Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. It occupied the land between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, known formerly as Transoxiana. Its core territory was the fertile land along the lower Zarafshon river, and its urban centres were the ancient cities of Samarqand and the emirate's capital, Bukhara. It was contemporaneous with the Khanate of Khiva to the west, in Khwarazm, and the Khanate of Kokand to the east, in Fergana. In 1920, it ceased to exist with the establishment of the Bukharan People's Soviet Republic.
Emirate of Bukhara | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1785–1920 | |||||||||
 Flag | |||||||||
 The Emirate of Bukhara c. 1820 | |||||||||
| Status |
| ||||||||
| Capital and largest city | Bukhara | ||||||||
| Common languages |
| ||||||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam, Shia Islam, Sufism (Naqshbandi), Zoroastrianism, Judaism | ||||||||
| Government | Absolute monarchy | ||||||||
| Emir | |||||||||
• 1785–1799 | Mir Masum Shah Murad | ||||||||
• 1911–1920 | Mir Muhammad Alim Khan | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Manghit control | 1747 | ||||||||
• Shah Murad became Emir | 1785 | ||||||||
• Conquered by Russia | 1868 | ||||||||
• Russian protectorate | 1873 | ||||||||
| 2 September 1920 | |||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1875[3] | c. 2,478,000 | ||||||||
• 1911[4] | c. 3,000,000–3,500,000 | ||||||||
| Currency | Fulus, tilla, and tenga[5] | ||||||||
| |||||||||
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The Emirate of Bukhara was officially created in 1785, upon the assumption of rulership by the Manghit emir, Shah Murad. Shahmurad, formalized the family's dynastic rule (Manghit dynasty), and the khanate became the Emirate of Bukhara.[8]
As one of the few states in Central Asia after the Mongol Empire not ruled by descendants of Genghis Khan (besides the Timurids), it staked its legitimacy on Islamic principles rather than Genghisid blood, as the ruler took the Islamic title of Emir instead of Khan. In the 18th-19th centuries, Khwarazm (Khiva Khanate) was ruled by the Uzbek dynasty of Kungrats.[9]
Over the course of the 18th century, the emirs had slowly gained effective control of the Khanate of Bukhara, from their position as ataliq; and by the 1740s, when the khanate was conquered by Nadir Shah of Persia, it was clear that the emirs held the real power. In 1747, after Nadir Shah's death, the ataliq Muhammad Rahim Bi murdered Abulfayz Khan and his son, ending the Janid dynasty. From then on the emirs allowed puppet khans to rule until, following the death of Abu l-Ghazi Khan, Shah Murad assumed the throne openly.[10]
Fitzroy Maclean recounts in Eastern Approaches how Charles Stoddart and Arthur Conolly were executed by Nasrullah Khan in the context of The Great Game, and how Joseph Wolff, known as the Eccentric Missionary, escaped their fate when he came looking for them in 1845. He was wearing his full canonical costume, which caused the Emir to burst out laughing, and "Dr Wolff was eventually forced to leave Bokhara, greatly to the surprise of the populace, who were not accustomed to such clemency."[11]
In 1868, the emirate lost a war with Imperial Russia, which had aspirations of conquest in the region. Russia annexed much of the emirate's territory, including the important city of Samarkand.[12] In 1873, the remainder became a Russian protectorate,[13] and was soon surrounded by the Governorate-General of Turkestan. The Russians forced the abolition of the Bukhara slave trade in 1873, though slavery itself was not formally abolished until 1885.[14]
Reformists within the Emirate had found the conservative emir, Mohammed Alim Khan, unwilling to loosen his grip on power, and had turned to the Russian Bolshevik revolutionaries for military assistance. The Red Army launched an unsuccessful assault in March 1920, and then a successful one in September of the same year.[15] The Emirate of Bukhara was conquered by the Bolsheviks and replaced with the Bukharan People's Soviet Republic. Today, the territory of the defunct emirate lies mostly in Uzbekistan, with parts in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. In the first half of the 19th century it had some influence in northern Afghanistan, as the emirs of the Chahar Wilayat (Maimana, Sheberghan, Andkhui, Sar-i Pol) nominally accepted Bukharan suzerainty.[16]
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In the era of the Manghyt emirs in Bukhara, a large construction of madrasahs, mosques and palaces was carried out. Located along important trading routes, Bukhara enjoyed a rich cultural mixture, including Persian, Uzbek, and Jewish influences.
A local school of historians developed in the Bukhara emirate. The most famous historians were Mirza Shams Bukhari, Muhammad Yakub ibn Daniyalbiy, Muhammad Mir Olim Bukhari, Ahmad Donish, Mirza Abdalazim Sami, Mirza Salimbek.[17]
The city of Bukhara has a rich history of Persian architecture and literature, traditions that were continued into the Emirate Period. Prominent artists of the period include the poet Kiromi Bukhoroi, the calligrapher Mirza Abd al-Aziz Bukhari and the scholar Rahmat-Allah Bukhari. Throughout this period, the madrasahs of the region were renowned.
The Emir of Bukhara and the notables of the city watch how the heads of Russian soldiers are impaled on poles. Samarkand
Chor Minor Madrasah, Bukhara (built in 1807)
A bureaucrat in Bukhara, c. 1910
Large Medallion Suzani (textile) from Bukhara, c. mid-18th century
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Administratively, the Emirate was divided into several beyliks or bekliks:
- Baljuvon (now Khatlon Region, Tajikistan)
- Hisar (now Tajikistan)
- Burdalik (now Lebap Region, Turkmenistan)
- Guzar (now Qashqadaryo Region, Uzbekistan)
- Charjuy (now Lebap Region, Turkmenistan)
- Darvaz (c 1878, now Darvoz district, Tajikistan)
- Dehnav (now Surxondaryo Region, Uzbekistan)
- Kabakli (now Lebap Region, Turkmenistan)
- Karakul (now Bukhara Region, Uzbekistan)
- Karategin (now Rasht district, Tajikistan)
- Karshi (now Qashqadaryo Region, Uzbekistan)
- Kattakurgan (now Samarkand region, Uzbekistan)
- Kulyab (now Khatlon Region, Tajikistan)
- Karshi (now Qashqadaryo Region, Uzbekistan)
- Kerki (now Lebap Region, Turkmenistan)
- Nurata (now Navoiy Region, Uzbekistan)
- Panjikent (now Sughd province, Tajikistan)
- Rushan (now Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous region, Tajikistan)
- Samarkand (now Samarqand Region, Uzbekistan — part of Russia since 1868
- Shahrisabz (c 1870, now Kashkadarya Region, Uzbekistan)
- Urgut (now Samarqand Region, Uzbekistan)
- Falgar (now Sughd province, Tajikistan)
A map of the Emirate of Bukhara's beyliks
Fires in Bukhara during the Red Army's attack, 1 September 1920
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| Titular Name | Personal Name | Reign |
|---|---|---|
| Ataliq اتالیق |
Khudayar Bey خدایار بیگ |
? |
| Ataliq اتالیق |
Muhammad Hakim محمد حکیم |
?–1747 |
| Ataliq اتالیق |
Muhammad Rahim محمد رحیم |
1747–1753 |
| Amir امیر |
Muhammad Rahim محمد رحیم |
1753–1756 |
| Khan خان |
Muhammad Rahim محمد رحیم |
1756–1758 |
| Ataliq اتالیق |
Daniyal Biy دانیال بیگ |
1758–1785 |
| Amir Masum امیر معصوم |
Shahmurad شاہ مراد بن دانیال بیگ |
1785–1799 |
| Amir امیر |
Haydar bin Shahmurad حیدر تورہ بن شاہ مراد |
1799–1826 |
| Amir امیر |
Mir Hussein bin Haydar حسین بن حیدر تورہ |
1826–1827 |
| Amir امیر |
Umar bin Haydar عمر بن حیدر تورہ |
1827 |
| Amir امیر |
Nasr-Allah bin Haydar Tora نصراللہ بن حیدر تورہ |
1827–1860 |
| Amir امیر |
Muzaffar bin Nasrullah مظفر الدین بن نصراللہ |
1860–1885 |
| Amir امیر |
Abdul-Ahad bin Muzaffar al-Din عبد الأحد بن مظفر الدین |
1885–1911 |
| Amir امیر |
Muhammad Alim Khan bin Abdul-Ahad محمد عالم خان بن عبد الأحد |
1911–1920 |
| Overthrow of Emirate of Bukhara by Bukharan People's Soviet Republic. | ||
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