TheEmirate of Bukhara (Persian:امارت بخارا,romanized: Imārat-i Buxārā,^[6]Chagatay:بخارا امیرلیگی,romanized: Bukhārā Amirligi) was aMuslim-Uzbek polity in Central Asia^[7] that existed from 1785 to 1920 in what is nowUzbekistan,Tajikistan,Turkmenistan andKazakhstan. It occupied the land between theAmu Darya andSyr Darya rivers, known formerly asTransoxiana. Its core territory was the fertile land along the lowerZarafshon river, and its urban centres were the ancient cities ofSamarqand and the emirate's capital,Bukhara. It was contemporaneous with theKhanate of Khiva to the west, inKhwarazm, and theKhanate of Kokand to the east, inFergana. In 1920, it ceased to exist with the establishment of theBukharan People's Soviet Republic.

Emirate of Bukhara امارت بخارا (Persian) بخارا امیرلیگی (Chagatay)
1785–1920
Flag
The Emirate of Bukharac. 1820
Status	Independent emirate (1785–1873) Quasi-independent Russian protectorate (1873–1920)
Capital and largest city	Bukhara
Common languages	Persian (main literary and administrative language)[1] Chagatai Turkic[2]
Religion	Sunni Islam(Official),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 byRussia	1868
• Russianprotectorate	1873
• Fall of Bukhara	2 September 1920
Population
• 1875[3]	c. 2,478,000
• 1911[4]	c. 3,000,000–3,500,000
Currency	Fulus, tilla, andtenga[5]
Preceded by Succeeded by Khanate of Bukhara Bukharan People's Soviet Republic

The Emirate of Bukhara was officially created in 1785, upon the assumption of rulership by theManghit 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 theTimurids), 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 ofKungrats.^[9]

Over the course of the 18th century, the emirs had slowly gained effective control of theKhanate of Bukhara, from their position asataliq; and by the 1740s, when the khanate was conquered byNadir Shah ofPersia, 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 theJanid 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 inEastern Approaches howCharles Stoddart andArthur Conolly were executed byNasrullah Khan in the context ofThe Great Game, and howJoseph 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 awar withImperial Russia, which had aspirations ofconquest in the region. Russia annexed much of the emirate's territory, including the important city ofSamarkand.^[12] In 1873, the remainder became a Russianprotectorate,^[13] and was soon surrounded by theGovernorate-General ofTurkestan. The Russians forced the abolition of theBukhara 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 RussianBolshevik revolutionaries for military assistance. TheRed 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 theBolsheviks and replaced with theBukharan People's Soviet Republic. Today, the territory of the defunct emirate lies mostly inUzbekistan, with parts inTajikistan,Turkmenistan andKazakhstan. In the first half of the 19th century it had some influence in northern Afghanistan, as the emirs of theChahar Wilayat (Maimana,Sheberghan,Andkhui,Sar-i Pol) nominally accepted Bukharan suzerainty.^[16]

During the reign ofAmir Nasrullah, when the territory of the emirate was most expanded, Bukhara consisted of 30 regions (begliks). These were Karshi, Guzar, Chirakchi, Kitab, Shahrisabz, Yakkabog, Baysun, Denov, Sherabad, Hisar, Korategin, Darvoz, Baljuvan, Shugnon, Rushan, Kulob, Kurgantepa, Qobadiyon, Kalif, Karki, Burdalik, Kalakli, Narazm, Charjoi, Karmana, Ziyovuddin, Nurota, Khatirchi, Urgut and Samarkand regions. In addition to them, Jizzakh,Oratepa,Tashkent,Turkestan and other neighboring regions were also temporarily included in the emirate during this period.^[17]

By 1916 they were:

1. Baljuvon (nowKhatlon Region,Tajikistan)
2. Hisar (now Tajikistan)
3. Burdalik (nowLebap Region,Turkmenistan)
4. Guzar (nowQashqadaryo Region,Uzbekistan)
5. Charjuy (nowLebap Region, Turkmenistan)
6. Darvaz (c 1878, nowDarvoz district, Tajikistan)
7. Dehnav (nowSurxondaryo Region, Uzbekistan)
8. Kabakli (nowLebap Region, Turkmenistan)
9. Karakul (nowBukhara Region, Uzbekistan)
10. Karategin (nowRasht district, Tajikistan)
11. Karshi (now Qashqadaryo Region, Uzbekistan)
12. Kattakurgan (nowSamarkand region, Uzbekistan)
13. Kulyab (now Khatlon Region, Tajikistan)
14. Karshi (now Qashqadaryo Region, Uzbekistan)
15. Kerki (now Lebap Region, Turkmenistan)
16. Nurata (nowNavoiy Region, Uzbekistan)
17. Panjikent (nowSughd province, Tajikistan)
18. Rushan (nowGorno-Badakhshan Autonomous region, Tajikistan)
19. Samarkand (now Samarqand Region, Uzbekistan – part of Russia since 1868
20. Shahrisabz (c 1870, nowKashkadarya Region, Uzbekistan)
21. Urgut (now Samarqand Region, Uzbekistan)
22. Falgar (now Sughd province, Tajikistan)

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the majority of the Emirate's exports consisted primarily of cotton, wool, silk and related products, wool and oils. Bukhara was also considered the center of the Central Asian astrakhan trade, obtained from the skin ofkarakul sheep. These skins were brought from around the breeding regions in neighbouring Karakul, Chorjou, Karki, Karshi,Khorezm andAfghanistan.^[18]

Trade for the most part largely interacted with western nations, predominantly the Russian Empire, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany (and its predecessor states) and in later years, the United States of America.

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, includingPersian,Uzbek, andJewish 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.^[19]

The city of Bukhara has a rich history of Persianarchitecture andliterature, traditions that were continued into the Emirate Period. Prominent artists of the period include the poetKiromi Bukhoroi, thecalligrapherMirza Abd al-Aziz Bukhari and the scholarRahmat-Allah Bukhari. Throughout this period, themadrasahs 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 MedallionSuzani (textile) from Bukhara, c. mid-18th century

• Pink Rows denote progenitor chiefs serving as Tutors (Ataliqs) & Viziers to the Khans of Bukhara.
• Green Rows denote chiefs who took over reign of government from theJanids and placed puppet Khans.
• A photo of Mohammed Alim Khan, final emir 1911–1920, is shown atEmir.

• Timeline of the Uzbeks
• Uzbek Khanate
• Khanate of Bukhara
• Khanate of Khiva
• Khanate of Kokand

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

•   Media related toEmirate of Bukhara at Wikimedia Commons