Empire · 1500–1920 · Northern & Central Asia
Khanate and Emirate of Bukhara
Also known as Bukara Khanate, Bokhara Khanate
In 1500 the Uzbek leader Muhammad Shaybani, a descendant of Genghis Khan, swept down from the steppe and conquered Timurid Transoxiana, taking Samarkand and Bukhara. His Shaybanid heirs made Bukhara their capital, and under Abdullah Khan II in the late 1500s the khanate reached Herat, Mashhad and Badakhshan.
Power passed to the Janid, or Ashtarkhanid, dynasty around 1600, and later to the Manghit family, whose rulers took the Islamic title of emir in 1785. Bukhara was a great centre of Islamic learning, with scores of madrasas, and a hub of the caravan trade, though it competed constantly with Khiva, Kokand and Iran. Russian armies defeated it in 1868, making it a protectorate, and the Red Army overthrew the last emir in 1920.
- Years
- 1500–1920
- Capital
- Bukhara (Samarkand in the early years)
- Greatest extent
- 1585, about 900,000 km²
- Region
- Northern & Central Asia
Rough estimate under Abdullah Khan II, including Khorasan and Balkh; no scholarly area figure found
Legacy
Bukhara's old city, rich in mosques and madrasas, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the khanate's lands form the core of modern Uzbekistan.
Rulers
- Muhammad Shaybani 1500–1510
Uzbek conqueror of Transoxiana
- Abdullah Khan II 1583–1598
Effective ruler from 1557; the khanate's greatest extent
- Imam Quli Khan 1611–1642
Strongest ruler of the Janid dynasty
- Shah Murad 1785–1800
Manghit ruler who took the title of emir
- Muzaffar 1860–1885
Defeated by Russia, which made Bukhara a protectorate in 1868
- Alim Khan 1910–1920
Last emir, overthrown by the Red Army
Realms on the map
- Khanate of Bukhara 1516–1787
- Emirate of Bukhara 1788–1919