Khan Of Bukhara

The Khanate of Bukhara was an Uzbek state in Central Asia from 1501 to 1785, founded by the Abu'l-Khayrid dynasty, a branch of the Shaybanids. From 1533 to 1540, Bukhara briefly became its capital during the reign of Ubaidullah Khan. The Khanate reached its greatest extent and influence under its penultimate Abu'l-Khayrid ruler, the scholarly Abdullah Khan II (r. 1557–1598).

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Khanate was ruled by the Janid dynasty (Astrakhanids or Toqay Timurids). They were the last Genghisid descendants to rule Bukhara. In 1740, it was conquered by Nader Shah, the Shah of Iran. After his death in 1747, the khanate was controlled by the non-Genghisid descendants of the Uzbek emir Khudayar Bi, through the prime ministerial position of ''ataliq''. In 1785, his descendant, Shah Murad, formalized the family's dynastic rule (Manghit dynasty), and the khanate became the Emirate of Bukhara. The Manghits were non-Genghisid and took the Islamic title of Emir instead of Khan since their legitimacy was not based on descent from Genghis Khan.

Shaybanid dynasty (1501–1598)

Rise of Muhammad Shibani

The first dynasty to rule the khanate was the Abu'l-Khayrid dynasty, which reigned from 1501 until 1598. They were a branch of the Shibanids and claimed descent from Genghis Khan through his son Jochi. The ancestor of the ruling Abu'l-Khayrids, Abu'l Khayr Khan, established an empire that by the time of his death in 1469 stretched from Siberia to the Syr Darya river. He controlled the cities of Sighnaq, Suzaq, Arquq, Uzgend, and Yassi along the Syr Darya. However, the Uzbek tribes remained nomadic, living a life on the steppe, and Abu'l Khayr Khan had no interest in conquering the lands of Transoxiana or Khorasan. Following his death, his empire broke up into smaller pieces led by sultans and tribal chieftains. One of these units was led by Muhammad Shaybani, Abu'l Khayr's grandson. He was well-educated, had great military intellect, and desired to conquer the sedentary lands of Mawarannahr for himself.

In the 1490s Muhammad Shibani swept through Central Asia and conquered Samarqand, Bukhara, Tashkent, and Andijan from 1500 to 1503. One of his most ferocious enemies was Zahir ud-Din Muhammad Babur, the Timurid prince of Ferghana. He managed to briefly occupy Samarqand from Muhammad Shibani, and attempted on two other occasions to take it. A turning point in the conflict between the two was the Battle of Sar-i Pul in the spring of 1501, which resulted in Babur's defeat.

In 1505 Muhammad Shibani took Urgench after a 10-month siege, resulting in the annexation of Khwarazm. The ruler of Herat, Sultan Husayn Bayqara, attempted to launch a campaign to Transoxiana but it proved to be abortive. When he decided to take the field, he was no longer capable of leading the army. In 1506 he died, being succeeded by his two sons (Badi' al-Zaman Mirza and Muzaffar Husayn Mirza). Despite their differences, they agreed to jointly field an army against the Uzbeks. They assembled their forces along the Murghab River, allying with Babur to crush Muhammad Shibani. In 1506 Shibani captured Balkh, and the allied Timurid force disintegrated on its own. Finally in 1507 he was able to take Herat and the rest of the Timurid lands. By this time he ousted the Timurids from Qunduz, Balkh, Khorasan, Khwarazm, and other regions and incorporated them into his empire.

However Shah Isma'il I of the newly founded Safavid Empire, wishing to conquer the Timurid lands for himself and enraged by Shibani's staunch Sunnism, invaded Khorasan and killed Mohammad Shibani outside the city of Merv in 1510. Khorasan and Khwarazm were conquered by Iran and Samarqand was briefly lost to Babur in 1512. However, he was unable to establish his presence there for long and soon the Uzbeks were able to reclaim their lost territory. However, Khwarazm permanently became independent, becoming the Khanate of Khiva. It was ruled by the Arabshahids, another branch of the Shibanids. Khwarazm was briefly conquered by Ubaidullah Khan (1533–1539) but shortly after it became independent once again.

Janid dynasty (1599–1747)

The Janid dynasty (descendants of Astrakhanids) ruled the Khanate from 1599 until 1747. Yar Muhammad and his family had escaped from Astrakhan after Astrakhan fell to Russians. He had a son named Jani Muhammad who had two sons named Baqi Muhammad and Vali Muhammad Khan from his wife, who was the daughter of the last Shaybanid ruler.

The son of Din Muhammad Sultan – Baqi Muhammad Khan in 1599 defeated Pir Muhammad Khan II, who had lost his authority. He became the real founder of a new dynasty of Janids or Ashtarkhanids in the Bukhara Khanate (1599–1756). Baqi Muhammad Khan, despite his short reign, carried out administrative, tax and military reforms in the country, which contributed to its further development. He issued coins with the inscription Baqi Muhammad Bahadurkhan and the names of the first four caliphs.

During this period, the Uzbek poet Turdy wrote critical poems and called for the unity of 92 tribal Uzbek people. The most famous Uzbek poet is Mashrab, writing in both Chagatai and Persian, who composed a number of poems in that are still popular today. In the 17th and early 18th centuries, historical works were written in Persian. Among the famous historians, Abdurahman Tole, Muhammad Amin Bukhari, Mutribi should be noted.

In the sources of the second half of the 17th century, the expression "92 Uzbek tribes" is used in relation to the part of the population of the Bukhara Khanate.

After the assassination of Ubaydullah Khan on 18 March 1711, the Bukharan state disintegrated into multiple different principalities. According to Chekhovich, only the districts of Qarakul, Wardanzi, Wabkent, and Ghijduwan were under the new Bukharan khan, Abu'l-Fayz. Other sources report that his authority didn't stretch beyond the Bukharan citadel.

Janid decline and Manghit takeover

The Ashtarkhanids were replaced by the Uzbek Manghit dynasty, whose members ruled Bukhara until 1920.

The beginning of the strengthening of the political influence of representatives of the Uzbek Manghit aristocracy in the Bukhara Khanate dates back to the beginning of the 17th century. But the real growth of their power occurred after the appointment in 1712 of Khudayar-biy Manghit to the post of ataliq. His son Muhammad Hakim-biy took the post of divanbegi at the court of Abulfayz Khan. In 1715–1716, Khudayar-biy was removed from his post at the initiative of Ibrahim-parvanachi from the Uzbek family of keneges. In 1719–1720, after the flight of Ibrahim-bey from Bukhara, Khudayar-bey, who was in Balkh, was allowed to return to power, giving him the inheritance of Karshi, which was the result of the policy of his son Muhammad Hakim-bey. In 1721, Muhammad Hakim-biy was appointed ataliq.

During the campaign of the Afsharid ruler of Persia Nadir Shah to Maverannahr in 1740, Muhammad Hakim-biy went to peace negotiations with him, thus saving the country from war and strengthening his power. He had five sons: Muhammad Badal-biy, Kurban-mirahur (died in 1733), Muhammad Rahim, Yav Kashti-biy, Barat-sultan. His third son, Muhammad Rahim, joined Nadir Shah and participated in his further campaigns.

Since 1740, the actual power in the Bukhara Khanate was in the hands of the last ataliqs from the Uzbek clan Manghit, Muhammad Hakim-biy (1740–1743), Muhammad Rakhim (1745–1753) and Daniyal-biy (1758–1785). The Bukhara khans turned out to be completely dependent on them.

In 1747, after the assassination of Abulfayz Khan, the actual power was completely in the hands of Muhammad Rahim. Until 1756, the nominal rulers were the Ashtarkhanid babies Abdulmumin Khan (1747–1751), Ubaydallah Khan III (1751–1754) and Abulgazi Khan (1754–1756). Muhammad Rahim himself married the daughter of Abulfayz Khan. Under Mohammad Rahim Bi, the Bukhara Khanate was able to expand to the regions of Hissar, Samarqand, Urgut, the Zarafshan Valley, Kulab, Jizzakh

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