History of Bukhara
Encyclopedia
The history of Bukhara
stretches back millennia. It is now the capital of the Bukhara Province (viloyat) of Uzbekistan
. Located on the Silk Road
, the city has long been a center of trade, scholarship, culture, and religion. During the golden age of the Samanids, Bukhara became the intellectual center of the Islamic world and therefore, at that time, of the world itself. The historic center of Bukhara, which contains numerous mosque
s and madrassas, has been listed by UNESCO
as one of the World Heritage Sites.
Bukhara has been one of the main centres of Persian civilization from its early days in 6th century BCE. From the 6th century CE, Turkic speakers gradually moved in. Its architecture and archaeological sites form one of the pillars of Central Asian history and art. The region of Bukhara was for a long period a part of the Persian Empire. The origin of its inhabitants goes back to the period of Aryan
immigration into the region.
, the city was founded by King Siavash
, son of Shah Kai Kavoos, one of the mythical Iranian kings of the Pishdak (Pishdādian) Dynasty. He said that he wanted to create this town because of its many rivers, its hot lands, and its location on the silk road. As the legend goes, Siāvash was accused by his stepmother Sudabeh of seducing her and even attempting to violate her. To test his innocence he underwent trial by fire
. After emerging unscathed from amidst the flames, he crossed the Oxus River (now the Amu Darya
) into Turan
. The king of Samarkand
, Afrasiab
, wed his daughter, Ferganiza (Persian
: فرنگيس Farangis
), to Siavash, and further granted him a vassal
kingdom in the Bukhara oasis. There he built the Ark
or Arg (Persian for 'citadel') and the surrounding city. Some years later, Siavash was accused of plotting to overthrow his father-in-law and become the king of united Iran and Turan. Afrasiab believed this and ordered Siavash's execution in front of Farangis, and buried Siavash's head under the Hay-sellers' Gate. In retaliation, King Kai Kavoos sent Rostam
, the legendary super-hero, to attack Turan. Rostam killed Afrasiab, and took Farangis and Siavash's son, Kay Khusrau, back to Persia.
s across Central Asis. Since 3000 BCE an advanced Bronze Age culture called the Sapalli Culture thrived at such sites as Varakhsha, Vardan, Paykend, and Ramitan. In 1500 BCE a combination of factors—climatic drying, iron technology, and the arrival of Aryan nomads—triggered a population shift to the oasis from outlying areas. Together both the Sapalli and Aryan people lived in villages along the shores of a dense lake and wetland area in the Zeravshan Fan (the Zeravshan (Zarafshan) River had ceased draining to the Oxus). By 1000 BC both groups had merged into a distinctive culture. Around 700 BCE this new culture, called Sogdian
, flourished in city-states along the Zeravshan Valley. By this time, the lake had silted up and three small fortified settlements had been built. By 500 BCE these settlements had grown together and were enclosed by a wall, thus Bukhara was born.
Bukhara entered history in 500 BCE as vassal state or satrapy in the Persian Empire. Later it passed into the hands of the Alexander the Great, the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire
, the Greco-Bactrians, and the Kushan Empire
. During this time, Bukhara functioned as a cult center for the worship of Anahita
, and her associated temple economy. Approximately once a lunar cycle, the inhabitants of the Zeravshan Fan exchanged their old idols of the goddess for new ones. The trade festival took place in front of the Mokh Temple. This festival was important in assuring the fertility of land on which all inhabitants of the delta depended. As a result of the trade festivals, Bukhara became a center of commerce. The gold 20-stater
of the Greco-Bactrian king Eucratides (170-145 BC), the largest gold coin ever minted in antiquity weighing 169.2 gram
s was found in Bukhara. It was later acquired by Napoleon III. Cabinet des Médailles
, Paris
.
As trade accelerated along the silk road
after the Han Dynasty
(206 BCE-220 CE) pushed back the northern tribes to secure this key trading route, the already prosperous city of Bukhara then became the logical choice for a market. The silk trade itself created a growth boom in the city which ended around 350 BCE. After the fall of the Kushan Empire
, Bukhara passed into the hands of Hua
tribes from Mongolia
and entered a steep decline.
Prior to the Arab invasion, Bukhara was a stronghold for followers of two persecuted religious movements within the Sassanian Empire, that is, Manicheanism and Nestorian Christianity
. In and around Bukhara many coins have been discovered with Christian symbols such as crosses, dating around the late seventh or early eighth centuries. Scholars have suggested that due to the large amount of coins Christianity have been the official religion of the ruling caste. More coins with crosses have been found around Bukhara than anywhere else in Central Asia.
When the Islamic armies arrived in 650 AD, they found a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and decentralized collection of peoples; nevertheless, after a century many of the subjects of the Caliphate had not converted to Islam, but retained their previous religion. The lack of any central power meant that while the Arabs could gain an easy victory in battle or raiding, they could never hold territory in Central Asia. In fact, Bukhara, along with other cities in the Sogdian federation, played the Caliphate against the Tang Empire. The Arabs did not truly conquer Bukhara until after the Battle of Talas
in 751 AD. Islam
gradually became the dominant religion at this time and remains the dominant religion to the present day.
in his History of Bukhara (completed 943-44 CE) states, .
For a century after the Battle of Talas
, Islam slowly took root in Bukhara. In 850 AD Bukhara became the capital of the Samanid Empire
, which brought about a revival of Iranian language and culture after the period of Arab domination. While under Samanid control, Bukhara was a rival to Baghdad
in its glory. Scholars note that the Samanids revived Persian more than the Buyids and the Saffarids, while continuing to patronize Arabic to a significant degree. Nevertheless, in a famous edict, Samanid authorities declared that "here, in this region, the language is Persian
, and the kings of this realm are Persian kings."
During the golden age of the Samanids, Bukhara became the intellectual center of the Islamic world and therefore, at that time, of the world itself. Many illustrious scholars penned their treatises here. Muhammad al-Bukhari
, a prominent Islamic scholar who gathered the authentic sayings (hadiths) of the Prophet Muhammad
, was born in this city. During this time Bukhara was by far the largest city in Central Asia
and it was one of the biggest and most populated cities (having a population of over 300,000) in the world along with Córdoba
, Cairo
and Baghdad
. The city was also a center of Sufi Islam
, most notably the Naqshbandi Order
. In 999 AD the Samanids were toppled by the Karakhanid Turkic dynasty. Later, Bukhara became part of the kingdom of Khwarazm Shahs
, who incurred the wrath of the Mongols
by killing their ambassador, and in 1220 the city was leveled by Genghis Khan
. The city slowly recovered, and was part of first the Chaghatay Khanate
, then the Timurid Empire. Ibn Hawqal
gives a detailed account of the chief canals which, starting from the left bank of the Sughd river, watered Bukhara and the gardens in the plain around the city.
At the beginning of 13th century it was invaded by khorezmshakh Muhammed (1200–1220).
dynasty), and the khanate became the Emirate of Bukhara
.
Bukhara played a role in The Great Game
between the Russian
and the British
Empires' games. Charles Stoddart
and Arthur Conolly
were imprisoned there by the Emir, first thrown into a vermin pit for months, and then beheaded outside the Citadel. Joseph Wolff
, known as the Eccentric Missionary, escaped their fate when he came looking for them in 1845. Eventually it became a colonial acquisition
of the Russian Empire.
In 19th century, Bukhara still played a significant part in regional cultural and religious life. The French Orientalist
Jean Jacques Pierre Desmaisons visited, disguised as a Muslim merchant, in 1834.
The last Emir of Bukhara was Muhammad Alim Khan (1880–1944). The Trans-Caspian railway
was built through the city in the late 19th century. The nearest station is at Kagan
, a dozen miles away, but the emir had a private spur built to Bokhara itself.
existed from 1920 to 1925, when the city was integrated into the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. Fitzroy Maclean
, then a young diplomat in the British Embassy in Moscow, made a surreptitious visit to Bokhara in 1938, sight-seeing and sleeping in parks. In his memoir Eastern Approaches
, he judged it an "enchanted city", with buildings that rivalled "the finest architecture of the Italian Renaissance
".
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
stretches back millennia. It is now the capital of the Bukhara Province (viloyat) of Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
. Located on the Silk Road
Silk Road
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...
, the city has long been a center of trade, scholarship, culture, and religion. During the golden age of the Samanids, Bukhara became the intellectual center of the Islamic world and therefore, at that time, of the world itself. The historic center of Bukhara, which contains numerous mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s and madrassas, has been listed by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
as one of the World Heritage Sites.
Bukhara has been one of the main centres of Persian civilization from its early days in 6th century BCE. From the 6th century CE, Turkic speakers gradually moved in. Its architecture and archaeological sites form one of the pillars of Central Asian history and art. The region of Bukhara was for a long period a part of the Persian Empire. The origin of its inhabitants goes back to the period of Aryan
Aryan
Aryan is an English language loanword derived from Sanskrit ārya and denoting variously*In scholarly usage:**Indo-Iranian languages *in dated usage:**the Indo-European languages more generally and their speakers...
immigration into the region.
Origin in legends
According to the Iranian epic poem ShahnamehShahnameh
The Shahnameh or Shah-nama is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c.977 and 1010 AD and is the national epic of Iran and related societies...
, the city was founded by King Siavash
Siavash
Siavash or Syavash is a Persian male given name.The following people have the given name Siavash:*Siyâvash, a character in the Persian epic Shahnameh*Siavash Alamouti, Iranian scientist*Siavash Akbarpour, Iranian footballer...
, son of Shah Kai Kavoos, one of the mythical Iranian kings of the Pishdak (Pishdādian) Dynasty. He said that he wanted to create this town because of its many rivers, its hot lands, and its location on the silk road. As the legend goes, Siāvash was accused by his stepmother Sudabeh of seducing her and even attempting to violate her. To test his innocence he underwent trial by fire
Trial by fire
Trial by fire may refer to:* Trial by ordeal, by which the guilt or innocence of the accused is determined by subjecting them to a painful taskIn music:* Trial By Fire: Greatest and Latest, an album by Bachman-Turner Overdrive...
. After emerging unscathed from amidst the flames, he crossed the Oxus River (now the Amu Darya
Amu Darya
The Amu Darya , also called Oxus and Amu River, is a major river in Central Asia. It is formed by the junction of the Vakhsh and Panj rivers...
) into Turan
Turan
Tūrān is the Persian name for Central Asia, literally meaning "the land of the Tur". As described below, the original Turanians are an Iranian tribe of the Avestan age. As a people the "Turanian" are one of the two Iranian peoples both descending from the Persian Fereydun but with different...
. The king of Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
, Afrasiab
Afrasiab
Afrasiab is the name of the mythical king and hero of Turan.-The Mythical King and Hero:According to the Shahnameh , by the Persian epic poet Ferdowsi, Afrasiab was the king and hero of Turan and an archenemy of Iran...
, wed his daughter, Ferganiza (Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
: فرنگيس Farangis
Farangis
Farangis or Farigees is a female character in the Persian epic Shahnameh. She is the eldest daughter of Afrasiab, king of Turan. She is also the second and favourite wife of Siavash, the saintlike prince of Iran and mother of a legendary hero and later Shah of Iran, Kai Khosrow...
), to Siavash, and further granted him a vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
kingdom in the Bukhara oasis. There he built the Ark
The Ark (Fortress)
The Ark is a massive fortress located in the city of Bukhara, Uzbekistan that was initially built and occupied around the 5th century AD. In addition to being a military structure, the Ark encompassed what was essentially a town that, during much of the fortress' history, was inhabited by the...
or Arg (Persian for 'citadel') and the surrounding city. Some years later, Siavash was accused of plotting to overthrow his father-in-law and become the king of united Iran and Turan. Afrasiab believed this and ordered Siavash's execution in front of Farangis, and buried Siavash's head under the Hay-sellers' Gate. In retaliation, King Kai Kavoos sent Rostam
Rostam
Rostam is the national hero of Greater Iran from Zabulistan in Persian mythology and son of Zal and Rudaba. In some ways, the position of Rostam in the historical tradition is parallel to that of Surena, the hero of the Carrhae. His figure was endowed with many features of the historical...
, the legendary super-hero, to attack Turan. Rostam killed Afrasiab, and took Farangis and Siavash's son, Kay Khusrau, back to Persia.
Origin in archaeology
Officially the city was founded in 500 BCE in the area now called the Ark. However, the Bukhara oasis had been inhabitated long before. According to the Russian archaeologist E. E. Kuzmina, writing in 2007 in The Prehistory of the Silk Road, links the Zaman-Baba culture found in the Bukhara Oasis in the third millennium BCE to the spread of Indo-AryanIndo-Aryans
Indo-Aryan is an ethno-linguistic term referring to the wide collection of peoples united as native speakers of the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-Iranian family of Indo-European languages...
s across Central Asis. Since 3000 BCE an advanced Bronze Age culture called the Sapalli Culture thrived at such sites as Varakhsha, Vardan, Paykend, and Ramitan. In 1500 BCE a combination of factors—climatic drying, iron technology, and the arrival of Aryan nomads—triggered a population shift to the oasis from outlying areas. Together both the Sapalli and Aryan people lived in villages along the shores of a dense lake and wetland area in the Zeravshan Fan (the Zeravshan (Zarafshan) River had ceased draining to the Oxus). By 1000 BC both groups had merged into a distinctive culture. Around 700 BCE this new culture, called Sogdian
Sogdiana
Sogdiana or Sogdia was the ancient civilization of an Iranian people and a province of the Achaemenid Empire, eighteenth in the list on the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great . Sogdiana is "listed" as the second of the "good lands and countries" that Ahura Mazda created...
, flourished in city-states along the Zeravshan Valley. By this time, the lake had silted up and three small fortified settlements had been built. By 500 BCE these settlements had grown together and were enclosed by a wall, thus Bukhara was born.
Persian and Sassanid Empires
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
, the Greco-Bactrians, and the Kushan Empire
Kushan Empire
The Kushan Empire originally formed in the early 1st century AD under Kujula Kadphises in the territories of ancient Bactria on either side of the middle course of the Oxus in what is now northern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and southern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.During the 1st and early 2nd centuries...
. During this time, Bukhara functioned as a cult center for the worship of Anahita
Anahita
Anahita is the Old Persian form of the name of an Iranian goddess and appears in complete and earlier form as ' ; the Avestan language name of an Indo-Iranian cosmological figure venerated as the divinity of 'the Waters' and hence associated with fertility, healing and wisdom...
, and her associated temple economy. Approximately once a lunar cycle, the inhabitants of the Zeravshan Fan exchanged their old idols of the goddess for new ones. The trade festival took place in front of the Mokh Temple. This festival was important in assuring the fertility of land on which all inhabitants of the delta depended. As a result of the trade festivals, Bukhara became a center of commerce. The gold 20-stater
Stater
The stater was an ancient coin used in various regions of Greece.-History:The stater is mostly of Macedonian origin. Celtic tribes brought it in to Europe after using it as mercenaries in north Greece. It circulated from the 8th century BC to 50 AD...
of the Greco-Bactrian king Eucratides (170-145 BC), the largest gold coin ever minted in antiquity weighing 169.2 gram
Gram
The gram is a metric system unit of mass....
s was found in Bukhara. It was later acquired by Napoleon III. Cabinet des Médailles
Cabinet des Médailles
The Cabinet des Médailles, more formally known as Département des Monnaies, Médailles et Antiques de la Bibliothèque nationale de France, is a department of the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris, France, housed in its former premises in Rue de Richelieu.The Cabinet des Médailles is a museum...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
As trade accelerated along the silk road
Silk Road
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...
after the Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
(206 BCE-220 CE) pushed back the northern tribes to secure this key trading route, the already prosperous city of Bukhara then became the logical choice for a market. The silk trade itself created a growth boom in the city which ended around 350 BCE. After the fall of the Kushan Empire
Kushan Empire
The Kushan Empire originally formed in the early 1st century AD under Kujula Kadphises in the territories of ancient Bactria on either side of the middle course of the Oxus in what is now northern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and southern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.During the 1st and early 2nd centuries...
, Bukhara passed into the hands of Hua
Uar
The Uar were the largest of three ethnic components constituting the confederation known to the west as the Hephthalites and to the Chinese as Yanda and the dominant ethnicity of Khwarezm...
tribes from Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
and entered a steep decline.
Prior to the Arab invasion, Bukhara was a stronghold for followers of two persecuted religious movements within the Sassanian Empire, that is, Manicheanism and Nestorian Christianity
Assyrian Church of the East
The Assyrian Church of the East, officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East ʻIttā Qaddishtā w-Shlikhāitā Qattoliqi d-Madnĕkhā d-Āturāyē), is a Syriac Church historically centered in Mesopotamia. It is one of the churches that claim continuity with the historical...
. In and around Bukhara many coins have been discovered with Christian symbols such as crosses, dating around the late seventh or early eighth centuries. Scholars have suggested that due to the large amount of coins Christianity have been the official religion of the ruling caste. More coins with crosses have been found around Bukhara than anywhere else in Central Asia.
When the Islamic armies arrived in 650 AD, they found a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and decentralized collection of peoples; nevertheless, after a century many of the subjects of the Caliphate had not converted to Islam, but retained their previous religion. The lack of any central power meant that while the Arabs could gain an easy victory in battle or raiding, they could never hold territory in Central Asia. In fact, Bukhara, along with other cities in the Sogdian federation, played the Caliphate against the Tang Empire. The Arabs did not truly conquer Bukhara until after the Battle of Talas
Battle of Talas
The Battle of Talas in 751 AD was an especially notable conflict between the Arab Abbasid Caliphate and the Chinese Tang Dynasty for control not only of the Syr Darya region, but even more...
in 751 AD. Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
gradually became the dominant religion at this time and remains the dominant religion to the present day.
Early Islamic era
NarshakhiNarshakhi
Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Jafar Narshakhi , from the village of Narshak in the Bukhara oasis, can be considered the first historian in Central Asia. His unique History of Bukhara was written in Arabic and presented to the Samanid ruler Nuh ibn Nasr either in 943 or 948. In 1128 Narshakhi's book was...
in his History of Bukhara (completed 943-44 CE) states, .
For a century after the Battle of Talas
Battle of Talas
The Battle of Talas in 751 AD was an especially notable conflict between the Arab Abbasid Caliphate and the Chinese Tang Dynasty for control not only of the Syr Darya region, but even more...
, Islam slowly took root in Bukhara. In 850 AD Bukhara became the capital of the Samanid Empire
Samanid
The Samani dynasty , also known as the Samanid Empire, or simply Samanids was a Persian state and empire in Central Asia and Greater Iran, named after its founder Saman Khuda, who converted to Sunni Islam despite being from Zoroastrian theocratic nobility...
, which brought about a revival of Iranian language and culture after the period of Arab domination. While under Samanid control, Bukhara was a rival to Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
in its glory. Scholars note that the Samanids revived Persian more than the Buyids and the Saffarids, while continuing to patronize Arabic to a significant degree. Nevertheless, in a famous edict, Samanid authorities declared that "here, in this region, the language is Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, and the kings of this realm are Persian kings."
During the golden age of the Samanids, Bukhara became the intellectual center of the Islamic world and therefore, at that time, of the world itself. Many illustrious scholars penned their treatises here. Muhammad al-Bukhari
Muhammad al-Bukhari
Muhammad Ibn Ismail Ibn Ibrahim Ibn al-Mughirah Ibn Bardizbah al-Bukhari , popularly known as Bukhari or Imam Bukhari, , was a Sunni Islamic scholar of Persia...
, a prominent Islamic scholar who gathered the authentic sayings (hadiths) of the Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
, was born in this city. During this time Bukhara was by far the largest city in Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
and it was one of the biggest and most populated cities (having a population of over 300,000) in the world along with Córdoba
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
, Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
and Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
. The city was also a center of Sufi Islam
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
, most notably the Naqshbandi Order
Naqshbandi
Naqshbandi is one of the major Sufi spiritual orders of Sufi Islam. It is considered to be a "Potent" order.The Naqshbandi order is over 1,300 years old, and is active today...
. In 999 AD the Samanids were toppled by the Karakhanid Turkic dynasty. Later, Bukhara became part of the kingdom of Khwarazm Shahs
Khwarezmian Empire
The Khwarazmian dynasty or Khwarezmian dynasty, also known as Khwarezmids, dynasty of Khwarazm Shahs or Khwarezm-Shah dynasty was a Persianate Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic mamluk origin.They ruled Greater Iran in the High Middle Ages, in the period of about 1077 to 1231, first as vassals of...
, who incurred the wrath of the Mongols
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
by killing their ambassador, and in 1220 the city was leveled by Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
. The city slowly recovered, and was part of first the Chaghatay Khanate
Chagatai Khanate
The Chagatai Khanate was a Turko-Mongol khanate that comprised the lands ruled by Chagatai Khan , second son of the Great Khan Genghis Khan, and his descendents and successors...
, then the Timurid Empire. Ibn Hawqal
Ibn Hawqal
Muḥammad Abū’l-Qāsim Ibn Ḥawqal was a 10th century Muslim writer, geographer, and chronicler. His famous work, written in 977, is called Ṣūrat al-’Arḍ ....
gives a detailed account of the chief canals which, starting from the left bank of the Sughd river, watered Bukhara and the gardens in the plain around the city.
Bukhara in Karakhanid and Khorezshakh periods
In 1005 Bukhara was included into the Turkic state of Karakhanids. Karakhanid ruler Arslan khan ordered to built one of the beautiful minarets in the Islamic world - Minora-i Kalon.At the beginning of 13th century it was invaded by khorezmshakh Muhammed (1200–1220).
Khanate of Bukhara
This was a feudal state during the 16th–18th centuries. It received this name when the capital of the Shaybanid state (1500–1598) was moved to Bukhara. It reached its greatest extent and influence under its last Shaybanid ruler, Abdullah Khan II (r. 1577–1598). In 1740 it was conquered by Nadir Shah. After his death, in 1747, the khanate was controlled by the descendents of the Uzbek emir Khudayar Bi, through the prime ministerial position of ataliq. In 1785, his descendent, Shah Murad, formalized the family's dynastic rule (ManghitManghit
The Manġhud or Mangudai were a Mongol tribe of the Urud-Manghud federation. They established the Nogai Horde in the 14th c. and the Manghit Dynasty to rule the Emirate of Bukhara in 1785. The clan name was used for Mongol vanguards as well...
dynasty), and the khanate became the Emirate of Bukhara
Emirate of Bukhara
The Emirate of Bukhara was a Central Asian state that existed from 1785 to 1920. It occupied the land between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, known formerly as Transoxiana. Its core territory was the land along the lower Zarafshan River, and its urban centres were the ancient cities of...
.
Emirate of Bukhara (1785-1920)
The Great Game
The Great Game or Tournament of Shadows in Russia, were terms for the strategic rivalry and conflict between the British Empire and the Russian Empire for supremacy in Central Asia. The classic Great Game period is generally regarded as running approximately from the Russo-Persian Treaty of 1813...
between the Russian
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
and the British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
Empires' games. Charles Stoddart
Charles Stoddart
Colonel Charles Stoddart was a British officer and diplomat. He was a famous British agent in Central Asia during the period of the Great Game....
and Arthur Conolly
Arthur Conolly
Arthur Conolly was a British intelligence officer, explorer and writer. He was a captain of the 1st Bengal Light Cavalry in the service of the British East India Company...
were imprisoned there by the Emir, first thrown into a vermin pit for months, and then beheaded outside the Citadel. Joseph Wolff
Joseph Wolff
Joseph Wolff , Jewish Christian missionary, was born at Weilersbach, near Bamberg, Germany. He travelled widely, and was known as the Eccentric Missionary, according to Fitzroy Maclean's Eastern Approaches...
, known as the Eccentric Missionary, escaped their fate when he came looking for them in 1845. Eventually it became a colonial acquisition
Russian Conquest of Bukhara
The Conquest of Bokhara was an invasion of the Emirate of Bukhara by the Russian Empire.- War :The nomads of central Asia, who had produced great conquerors in the distant past, were little match for the disciplined armies of the 19th century. Raids by Muslim guerillas encouraged local Russian...
of the Russian Empire.
In 19th century, Bukhara still played a significant part in regional cultural and religious life. The French Orientalist
Orientalism
Orientalism is a term used for the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists, as well as having other meanings...
Jean Jacques Pierre Desmaisons visited, disguised as a Muslim merchant, in 1834.
The last Emir of Bukhara was Muhammad Alim Khan (1880–1944). The Trans-Caspian railway
Trans-Caspian railway
The Trans-Caspian Railway is a railway that follows the path of the Silk Road through much of western Central Asia. It was built by the Russian Empire during its expansion into Central Asia in the 19th century. The railway was started in 1879, following the Russian defeat of Khokand...
was built through the city in the late 19th century. The nearest station is at Kagan
Kagan
- People :* Daryn Kagan , former American newscaster* Donald Kagan , Yale historian specializing in ancient Greece* Elena Kagan, dean of Harvard Law School, U.S. Solicitor General , and Associate Justice of the U.S...
, a dozen miles away, but the emir had a private spur built to Bokhara itself.
Russian Revolution and later
The Bukharan People's Soviet RepublicBukharan People's Soviet Republic
The Bukharan People's Soviet Republic was a short-lived Soviet state which governed the former Emirate of Bukhara during the period immediately following the Russian Revolution from 1920-1925. In 1924 its name was changed to the Bukharan Soviet Socialist Republic...
existed from 1920 to 1925, when the city was integrated into the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. Fitzroy Maclean
Fitzroy Maclean
Sir Fitzroy Hew Royle MacLean of Dunconnel, 1st Baronet KT CBE was a Scottish soldier, writer and politician. He was a Unionist MP from 1941 to 1974 and was one of few people who entered World War II as a private and left having risen to the rank of Brigadier.Maclean wrote several books, including...
, then a young diplomat in the British Embassy in Moscow, made a surreptitious visit to Bokhara in 1938, sight-seeing and sleeping in parks. In his memoir Eastern Approaches
Eastern Approaches
Eastern Approaches is an autobiographical account of the early career of Fitzroy Maclean. It is divided into three parts: his life as a junior diplomat in Moscow and his travels in the Soviet Union, especially the forbidden zones of Central Asia; his exploits in the British Army and SAS in the...
, he judged it an "enchanted city", with buildings that rivalled "the finest architecture of the Italian Renaissance
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...
".