☰ Contents · History of Uzbekistan

The formation of the Bukhara Khanate

Lessons 5 · 1 lessons · U. Jo‘rayev, Q. Usmonov, G. Jo‘rayeva, N. Norqulov. O‘zbekiston tarixi (History of Uzbekistan, 16th to mid-19th century), Grade 8. O‘qituvchi, Tashkent, 2019 (revised and expanded 4th edition)
5

The formation of the Bukhara Khanate

Textbook: pp. 17–19
GoalExplain how the Shaybanid state became the Bukhara Khanate and describe the struggles for the throne in 1510–1556.
New words
Bukhara Khanate · Buxoro xonligidual rule (two rulers at once) · qo‘sh hokimiyatMir-i Arab madrasa · Mir Arab madrasasiUbaydullah Khan · Ubaydullaxon
Explanation

After Shaybani Khan died in 1510 the throne went to his uncle Kuchkunchi Khan, who ruled until 1530. In 1511 Babur Mirza, helped by the Safavids, took Samarkand for the third time, but in 1512 the Shaybanids defeated his army and his allies and won back Transoxiana (the battle was fought at Ghijduvan near Bukhara). After Kuchkunchi came Abu Said (1530–1533) and then Ubaydullah Khan (1533–1540), a nephew of Shaybani Khan; in 1533 he moved the capital from Samarkand to Bukhara, and from then on the state was called the Bukhara Khanate. Ubaydullah worked to repel Safavid attacks and in 1533–1536 had a madrasa built in Bukhara in honour of the religious leader known as Mir-i Arab. After his death members of the dynasty ruled in different cities at once: Abdulaziz in Bukhara, Abdullatif in Samarkand, Pirmuhammad in Balkh, and Nowruz Ahmad in Tashkent and Turkestan. From the 1540s Nowruz Ahmad (Baraq Khan) fought for Samarkand and Bukhara and became the senior khan; after he died in 1556 Iskandar Khan and his son Abdullah gained the upper hand.

Worked examples
Cause and result: once the capital moved to Bukhara, the state took its name from the city.
Dual rule: in the 1540s Abdulaziz Khan in Bukhara and Abdullatif Khan in Samarkand — two khans, but neither firmly in control.
Class activity

“Khan and city”: make a table with 1530, 1533, 1540 and 1556 and write the ruler and city for each.

Practice
1
When was the capital moved from Samarkand to Bukhara, and what was the result?
2
Who fought whom for Transoxiana in 1511–1512, and who won?
3
When and by whom was the Mir-i Arab madrasa built?
4
Why were 1540–1556 hard years for the state? Explain.