Bukhara

City in south-central Uzbekistan, on the Zerevshan River 220 km/137 mi east of Samarkand; population (1999) 237,900. A historic city with over 140 protected buildings, it was once the heart of Muslim Central Asia, and second only to Mecca as an Islamic holy site. It is the capital of the Bukhara province of Uzbekistan, which has given its name to a type of handwoven carpet. Textiles, including rugs and carpets, are manufactured here (though ‘Bukhara’ carpets are now principally made in Ashgabat, in Turkmenistan). Natural gas is extracted in the surrounding region, and cotton is grown extensively.

Two cities Bukhara consists of two separate cities. The new city, known since 1935 as Kagan, lies 13 km/8 mi to the east, and has railway workshops, and a cotton-processing industry. The old city is the administrative centre of the province and is thought to have been founded no later than the 1st century AD, and was under the control of the Arabs and Persians from the early 8th–10th centuries. Later, in the 16th century, it was made the capital of the independent khanate of Bukhara, which was annexed to Russia in 1868. Old Bukhara was a thriving market centre for the products of Russia, Persia, India, and China, and also manufactured its own silk, cotton, and leather goods, and cutlery. Among the buildings of historical and architectural significance in the old town are an ancient royal fortress, several mosques, and former Islamic theological colleges (madrasahs).

Bukhara

Former khanate (emirate) of Central Asia that once occupied the region around the city of Bukhara, together with the lower Zeravshan Valley, and a large part of the Kyzyl-Kum desert. The Bukhara Khanate came into existence in the 16th century, was brought under Russian control in 1868, and was finally dissolved by the Bolsheviks in 1920. The area it encompassed is now in Uzbekistan; it is an important source of natural gas and gold.

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The Bukhara region was formerly known as Sogdiana (see Samarkand). Between 874 and 999 it formed the heart of the Persian Samanid kingdom that ruled over most of Central Asia. The region was sacked by the Mongols under Genghis Khan in 1220. In the reign of Abdul Khan II (1557–98), the territory was once again strengthened politically by expansion, and trade and diplomatic relations with Russia were established. The Emir of Bukhara controlled the Kokand and Khiva Khanates until 1868, when they were captured by Russia. From then until 1920, the Emir ruled under Russian control. In 1920 a Soviet revolution broke out, the Emir fled to Afghanistan, and the Bukhara Peoples' Soviet Republic was founded. This lasted until 1924 when, after a brief existence as the Bukhara Soviet Socialist Republic, it was absorbed into the Uzbek, Turkmen, and Tajik Soviet Socialist Republics.