The rise of the Ashtarkhanid dynasty in the Bukhara Khanate

The Astrakhan Khanate arose in the mid-15th century on the Volga as the Golden Horde broke up; its capital was the present-day city of Astrakhan, and Russia conquered it in 1556. Members of the khan’s family scattered in search of refuge, and the family of Yarmuhammad Khan settled in Bukhara: Iskandar Khan gave his daughter Zuhra Begim in marriage to Yarmuhammad’s son Janibek Sultan. When the Shaybanids had no heir left, in 1601 Janibek’s son Baqi Muhammad took the Bukhara throne, and the era of a new dynasty — the Ashtarkhanids (Janids) — began. Baqi Muhammad (1601–1605) won back Balkh from Iran; under Imamquli Khan (1611–1642) central power was relatively firm and in 1613 Tashkent was taken back from the Kazakhs. Nadir Muhammad (1642–1645) handed provinces out to his sons and relatives, which deepened fragmentation; in 1645 the amirs proclaimed his son Abdulaziz khan, and Nadir Muhammad stayed on as governor of Balkh. Later Abdulaziz Khan gave up the throne in 1681, and his brother Subhanquli Khan (1681–1702) had to fight his sons and the provincial begs.