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Emirate of BukharaTemplate:Lang-fa Template:Lang-uz
1785–1920
Flag
The Emirate of Bukhara (green), c. 1850.
Status	Independent state (under Russian protection 1873–1917)
Capital	Bukhara
Common languages	Persian (official) Uzbek
Religion	Sunni Islam, Shia Islam, Sufism (Naqshbandi), Judaism
Government	Monarchy
Emir
• 1785–1800	Mir Masum Shah Murad
• 1911–1920	Alim
History
• Manghit control	1747
• Established	1785
• Conquered by Russia	1868
• Russian protectorate	1873
• Disestablished	October 1920
Preceded by Succeeded by Khanate of Bukhara Bukharan People's Soviet Republic

The Emirate of Bukhara (Template:Lang-fa; Template:Lang-uz) 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 Samarkand and the emirate's capital, Bukhara. It was contemporaneous with the Khanate of Khiva to the west, in Khwarezm, and the Khanate of Kokand to the east, in Fergana. It is now within the boundaries of Uzbekistan.

History

The Emirate of Bukhara was officially created in 1785, upon the assumption of rulership by the Manghit emir, Shah Murad. Over the course of the 18th century, the emirs had slowly gained effective control of the Khanate of Bukhara, from their position as ataliq. 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.

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 suffered to leave Bokhara, greatly to the surprise of the populace, who were not accustomed to such clemency.".

In 1868 the emirate lost a war with Imperial Russia, which had colonial aspirations in the region. Russia annexed much of the emirate's territory, including the important city of Samarkand. In 1873 the remainder became a Russian protectorate, and was soon surrounded by the Governorate-General of Turkestan.

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. 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. It had also included present northern Afghanistan between 1793 and 1850.

Family

The emir's daughter Shukria Raad Alimi worked as a broadcaster in Radio Afghanistan. Shukria Raad left Afghanistan with her family three months after Soviet troops invaded the country in December 1979. With her husband, also a journalist, and two children she fled to Pakistan, and then through Germany to the United States. In 1982, she joined the VOA, and has worked as a broadcaster for VOA's Dari Service, editor, program host and producer ever since.

Culture

Located along important trading routes, Bukhara enjoyed a rich cultural mixture, including Uzbeks, Persian (Tajiks), and Jewish influences. The city of Bukhara has a rich history of Persian (Tajik) 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.

Amirs/Emirs of Bukhara (1785–1920)

• Pink Rows Signifies progenitor chiefs serving as Tutors (Ataliqs) & Viziers to the Khans of Bukhara.
  • Green Rows Signifies chiefs who took over reign of government from the Janids and placed puppet Khans.

References

Constructs such as ibid., loc. cit. and idem are discouraged by Misplaced Pages's style guide for footnotes, as they are easily broken. Please improve this article by replacing them with named references (quick guide), or an abbreviated title. (November 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

1. Olivier Roy (2000), The new Central Asia: the creation of nations, p.70
2. Gabriele Rasuly-Paleczek, Julia Katschnig (2005), European Society for Central Asian Studies. International Conference, p.31
3. Svat Soucek, A History of Inner Asia (2000), pp 179–80
4. Eastern Approaches ch 6 "Bokhara the Noble"
5. ibid., p 198
6. Russo-Bukharan War 1868, Armed Conflict Events Database, OnWar.com
7. ibid., pp 221–2
8. "A Princess-Broadcaster". Voice of America. March 31, 2002.

Literature

• Malikov A., The Russian conquest of the Bukharan Emirate: military and diplomatic aspects in Central Asian Survey, Volume 33, issue 2, 2014, p.180-198

• Articles with ibid from November 2011
• States and territories established in 1785
• 1920 disestablishments
• Mongol dynasties
• History of the Turkish people
• History of the Turkic peoples
• Former countries in Central Asia
• History of Tajikistan
• History of Uzbekistan
• History of Central Asia
• Russian Empire
• Former emirates
• Former Russian protectorates
• Turkic dynasties