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| Anthem | "National Anthem of the Emirate of Bukhara" | ||||
| Capital | Bukhara | ||||
| Largest city | Bukhara | ||||
| Other cities | Turkmenabat | ||||
| Language official |
Uzbek | ||||
| others | Turkmeni, Bukhori | ||||
| Religion main |
Sunni Islam | ||||
| others | Orthodox Christianism | ||||
| Ethnic Groups main |
Turkic | ||||
| others | Russian, Bukhori | ||||
| Demonym | Bukhori | ||||
| Government | Constitutional Monarchy | ||||
| Emir | Shukria Raad Alimi | ||||
| Dynasty: | Manghit | ||||
| President | Islam Karimov | ||||
| Area main |
Area | ||||
| water (%) | Neglible | ||||
| Population | app. 27,000,000 | ||||
| Established | 1756 | ||||
| Independence | from Khanate of Bukhara (Protectorate of the Mughal Empire) | ||||
| declared | 1855 | ||||
| recognized | 1856 | ||||
| Currency | Bukhori Som | ||||
| Time Zone | +5 | ||||
| summer | |||||
| Calling Code | +998 | ||||
| Internet TLD | .bk | ||||
| Organizations | UN | ||||
The Emirate of Bukhara (Uzbek: Buxoro Amirligi) is a nation in Central Asia. Originally the Khanate of Bukhara, a vassal of the Mughal Empire, it became independent in 1856, when, under the de-colonization process that affected most of the Mughgal vassal states, Bukhara declared itself independent, under a coup d'etat led by the Manghit Dynasty, who claim to be direct descendants of Genghis Khan.
History[]
main article: History of the Emirate of Bukhara
Bukhara was founded millennia ago and the events of its foundations have passed to legend. According to local legends, the city of Bukhara was founded by King Siavash, son of a mystical Iranian shah. It is said that he wanted to found the city because of its rivers, its relatively hot climate, and its unique position on the Silk Road. According to legend, Siavash was accused by his stepmother of trying to rape her. To test her innocence he suffered a trial by fire. Emerging untouched by the flames, he crossed the Oxus (now Amu Darya) river, into the Kingdom of Samarkand. Samarkand's king, Afrasiab, offered Siavash his daughter's hand and a vassal kingdom within a oasis called the Bukhara Oasis where Bukhara is today. There he built the famous Bukharan Citadel and the surrounding city. Siavash was later accused of plotting to overthrow Afrasiab to become the united king of Samarkand, Iran and Bukhara. Afrasiab believed this and executed Siavash. In revenge, Siavash's father, Shah of Persia, sent legendary super-hero Rostam to kill Afraisab. Rostam was able to do this, and took Siavah's wife and son back to Persia. Archeologically, it was discovered that Bukhara in fact was founded much afterwards than in legend, only in 500 BCE, but the Bukhara Oasis had been inhabited since much before. According to several archaeologists, Bukhara's original Persian culture in fact remounts to the third millennium BCE, when Indo-Aryan people were spreading across Central Asia. The Sapelli Culture brought more advanced culture to the area after a large combination of factors triggered a population shift from India to the Central Asian oases. By 1000 BCE, the two Persian cultures merged in a distinctive Central Asian culture. Around the 800 BCE, this new Soghdian Culture had built hundreds of small settlements. In the Bukharan Oasis, there where three different fortified settlements. In 500 BCE the settlements had grown and had been enclosed by a wall. Bukhara had been born.
Bukhara became a satrapy of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. It later became part of Alexander the Great's empire, then the Seleucid one, a Graeco-Bactrian kingdom, and the Kushan Empire. Bukhara worked as a cult center for the worship of a pagan goddess. Bukhara became a center of trade and became very rich. A golden 20-stater coin of the Graeco-Bactrian king Eucratides, the largest coin ever minted in antiquity (169.2 grams) was found at Bukhara and acquired by Napoleon III. The city of Bukhara became even more important as a market when the trade along the Silk Road intensified during the Han dynasty. The route was secured even more. However, after the fall of the Kushan Empire, Bukhara passed into hands of Mongolian tribes and entered in steep decline.
Bukhara later became part of the Sassanid Empire, and a stronghold for followers of Manicheanism and Nestorian Christianity. Islam arrived in 650, but did not actually conquer Bukhara until the Battle of Talas in 751 AD. After that, slowly but surely, Islam became the dominant religion of the region.
The Khanate of Bukhara begun in 1553 when the Shaybanid dynasty conquered Bukhara and established a small kingdom there.
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