Khanate of Bukhara: Map & History
The Khanate of Bukhara was an Uzbek monarchy in Central Asia from 1501 to 1785, founded by the Shaybanid dynasty, a branch of the Abu'l-Khayrids.
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The Khanate of Bukhara was an Uzbek monarchy in Central Asia from 1501 to 1785, founded by the Shaybanid dynasty, a branch of the Abu'l-Khayrids. Muhammad Shaybani, grandson of the steppe ruler Abu'l Khayr Khan, conquered the major cities of Mawarannahr (Transoxiana) – Balkh, Bukhara, Samarkand, and Tashkent – and established his rule in the region. In its earliest years, the Khanate was alternately governed from each of these cities before Abdullah Khan II established Bukhara as its permanent capital by 1562.
Modern Countries Once Part of Khanate of Bukhara
At its mapped extent, Khanate of Bukhara covered territory in 6 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
- Tajikistan1516–1787 CE · nearly all
- Uzbekistan1516–1787 CE · most
- Turkmenistan1526–1737 CE · most
- Kyrgyzstan1516–1708 CE · a large part
- Afghanistan1516–1756 CE · a small part
- Kazakhstan1516–1520 CE · a small part
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Khanate of Bukhara's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Khanate of Bukhara in Depth
History
The first dynasty to rule the khanate was the Shaybanid dynasty, which reigned from 1501 until 1598. They were a branch of the Abu'l-Khayrid dynasty 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 Mawarannahr (Transoxiana) or Khorasan. Following his death, his empire broke up into smaller pieces led by sultans and tribal chieftains.
Government
Administration of the khanate was decentralized through a system of appanage. The major appanages, divided by a kurultai after Muhammad Shaybani's death, were based in Bukhara, Samarkand, Tashkent, and Balkh. Each of these was traditionally held by a different lineage of the Abu'l-Khayrid dynasty. Lesser appanages included Miyonkol (the region between Bukhara and Samarkand, including Jizzakh); Sogd (in northern Tajikistan); Fergana (including Khujand); Ḥeṣār-e Šādmān (present-day Dushanbe and the Vakhsh valley); Shahrisabz (historically known as Kesh); and Badakhshan. The lesser appanages often fell under the influence of the major appanage rulers. Fergana was frequently contested between the rulers of Tashkent and Samarkand; Shahrisabz similarly alternated between Samarkand and Bukhara.
Culture
Muhammad Shaybani Khan was fond of poetry, and Turkic language collections of his poetry are extant today. There are sources that Muhammad Shibani wrote poetry in both Turkic and Persian. The "Divan" of Muhammad Shibani's poems, written in the Central Asian Turkic literary language, is currently kept in the Topkapi manuscript collection in Istanbul. The manuscript of his philosophical and religious work: "Bahr ul-Khudo", written in the Central Asian Turkic literary language in 1508, is located in London. Muhammad Shaybani wrote poetry under the pseudonym Shibani. He wrote a prose work, Risale-yi maarif-i Shibani. It was written in the Turkic-Chagatai language in 1507 shortly after his capture of Khorasan and is dedicated to his son, Muhammad Timur-Sultan.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Khanate of Bukhara (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Khanate of Bukhara: Key Facts
| Official language | Persian |
|---|---|
| Form of government | theocracy, absolute monarchy |
| Founded | 1500 |
| Dissolved | 1785 |
Preceded by
- Timurid Empire
- Uzbek Khanate
Facts from Wikidata Q577668 (CC0).
Khanate of Bukhara Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Khanate of Bukhara appears, with the other states of the time.
Khanate of Bukhara Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 767,162 km² in 1527 CE.
Khanate of Bukhara: Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Khanate of Bukhara exist?
The Khanate of Bukhara is dated to 1516 CE – 1787 CE, in the Early Modern & Age of Discovery era.
What was the capital of the Khanate of Bukhara?
The capital of the Khanate of Bukhara was Bukhara.
How large was the Khanate of Bukhara at its peak?
At its peak in 1527 the Khanate of Bukhara covered about 767,162 km².
How did the map of the Khanate of Bukhara change over time?
The Khanate of Bukhara appears on 2 dated world maps in the atlas, from 1600 CE to 1700 CE. Each shows its borders in that year next to the other states of the time.
Other Sovereign Realms
High & Late Middle Ages • Capital: Avarga
Early Modern & Age of Discovery • Capital: Söğüt, Bursa, Edirne, Constantinople
Industrial Era • Capital: London
Early Modern & Age of Discovery • Capital: Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Lahore, Delhi