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'Bukhara' (formerly 'Bokhara') (Tajik: Бухоро; , ''Buxârâ''; ; ), from the Soghdian ''βuxārak'' ("lucky place"), is the fifth-largest city in Uzbekistan, and capital of the Bukhara Province (viloyat). It has a population of 237,900 (1999 census estimate). Bukhara (along with Samarkand) is one of the two major centres of Uzbekistan's Tajik minority. The city was also known as ''Bokhara'' in 19th century English and ''Buhe/Puhe''（捕喝） in Tang Chinese.[1] Bukhara is also home to a large number of Jews, whose ancestors settled in the city during Roman times. The term 'Bukharan Jews' is frequently used to describe the indigenous Jews of Central Asia.

Contents

History

Introduction

Legends

Origin

Pre-Islamic era

Islamic era

Bukhara – the center of enlightenment in the East

Modern era

Major sights

Po-i Kalyan Complex'

Ismail Samani mausoleum

Chashma-Ayub

Lyab-i Hauz

Transportation

Bukhara in poetry and literature

Notable people born in Bukhara

Sister cities

References

Views of Bukhara

History

Introduction

Bukhara has been one of the main centres of Iranian civilization during its history. Its architecture and archaeological sites form one of the pillars of the Persian history and art. The region of Bukhara was for a long period a part of the Persian Empire. The origin of its inhabitants goes back to the period of Aryan immigration into the region.
Iranian Soghdians inhabited the area and some centuries later the Persian language became dominant among them. Encyclopedia Iranica mentions that the name Bukhara is possibly derived from the Soghdian ''βuxārak''.^[1] Another possible source of the name Bukhara may be from "Vihara", the Sanskrit word for monastery and may be linked to the pre-Islamic presence of Buddhism (especially strong at the time of the Kushan empire) originating from the Indian sub-continent.^[2]
The last emir of Bukhara was Muhammad Alim Khan (1880-1944). The Trans-Caspian railway was built through the city in the late 19th century. The historic center of Bukhara has been listed by UNESCO as one of the World Heritage Sites. It contains numerous mosques and madrassas.

Legends

According to the Iranian epic poem Shahnameh the city was founded by King Siavush son of Shah Kavakhous, one of the mythical Iranian Shahs of the Pishdak Dynasty. As the legend goes Siavush was accused by the Vizers of seducing his mother. To test his innocence he underwent trial by fire. After emerging unscathed from the flames he crossed the Oxus into Turan. The king of Samarkand Afrosiab, gave Siavash his daughter Ferganiza and a vassal kingdom in the Bukhara Oasis. There he built the Ark, and surrounding city. Some years later Siavash was again accused of seducing his father-in-law's wife. Afrasiab killed Siavash, and buried his head under the Haysellers Gate. In retaliation Shah Kavakhous attacked Turan killed Afrasiab, and took his son and daughter-in-law back to Persia.

Origin

Officially the city was founded in 500 BC in the area now called the Arq. However, the Bukhara oasis had been inhabitated long before, since 3000 BC an advanced Bronze Age culture called the Sapalli Culture thrived at such sites as Varakhsha, Vardan, Paykend, and Ramitan. In 1500 BC a combination of factors; climatic drying, iron technology, and a the arrival of Indo-Iraninan nomads triggered a population shift to the oasis from outlying areas. Together both the Sapalli and Aryan people lived in villages along the shores of a dense lake and wetland area in the Zervashan Fan (the Zervanshan River had ceased draining to the Oxus). By 1000 BC both groups had merged into a distinctive culture. Around 800 BC this new culture called Soghdian flourished in city-states along the Zaravshan Valley. By this time the lake had silted up and small three fortified settlements had been built. By 500 BC these settlements had grown together and were enclosed by a wall, thus Bukhara was born.

Pre-Islamic era

Bukhara entered history in 500 BC as vassal state in the Persian Empire. Later it passed into the hands of the Alexander the Great, the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, the Greco-Bactrians, and the Kushan Empire. During this time Bukhara functioned as a cult center for the worship of Anahita, and her associated temple economy. Approximately once a lunar cycle, the inhabitants of the Zeravshan Fan exchanged their old idols of the goddess for new ones. The trade festival took place in front of the Mokh Temple. This festival was important in assuring the fertility of land on which all inhabitants of the delta depended. As a result of the trade festivals Bukhara became a center of commerce. As trade picked up along the silk road the already prosperous city of Bukhara then became the logical choice for a market. The silk trade itself created a growth boom in the city which ended around 350 BC. After the fall of the Kushan Empire Bukhara passed into the hands of Hua tribes from Mongolia and entered a steep decline.
Prior to the Arabic Invasion Bukhara was a stronghold for followers of Zurvanite Zoroastrianism, as well as the two other persecuted religious movements within the theocratic Sassanian Empire, Manicheanism and Chaldean Christianity. When the Islamic armies arrived in 650 AD, they found a multiethnic, multireligious and decentralized collection of petty feudal principalities. The lack of any central power meant that while the Arabs could gain an easy victory in battle or raiding they could never hold territory in central Asia. In fact Bukhara along with other cities in the Sogdian federation played the Caliphate against the Tang Empire. The Arabs did not truly conquer Bukhara until after the Battle of Talas in 751 AD. Islam became the dominant religion at this time and remains the dominant religion to the present day.

Islamic era

Many prominent people lived in Bukhara during the Islamic era. For a century after the Battle of Talas, Islam slowly took root in Bukhara. In 850 AD Bukhrara became the capital of the Persian Muslim Samanid Empire. During the golden age of the Samanids, Bukhara became the intellectual center of the Islamic world and therefore, at that time, of the world itself. Many illustrious scholars penned their treaties here. The most prominent Islamic scholar known as Imam al-Bukhari, who gathered most authentic sayings (''hadithes'') of Prophet Muhammad was born in this city. The city was also a center of Sufi Islam, most notably the Naqshbandi Order. In 999 AD the Samanids were toppled by the Karakhanid Uyghurs. Later Bukhara became part of the kingdom of Khorezmshakhs, who fueled anger of Monghols by killing their ambassador, and in 1220 the city was leveled by Genghis Khan. The city slowly recovered and was part of first the Chaghatay Khanate, then the Timurid Empire. It next became the capital of the Khanate of Bukhara and later the Emirate of Bukhara which lasted until 1920, though it was a Russian protectorate for much of this time.

Bukhara – the center of enlightenment in the East

Many prominent people lived in Bukhara in the past. Most famous of them are: Muhammad Ibn Ismail Ibn Ibrahim Ibn al-Mughirah Ibn Bardiziyeh al-Bukhari (810-870); Abu Ali ibn Sina (980-1037) - physician and person of encyclopedic knowledge; Balyami and Narshakhi (10th century) - the outstanding historians; al-Utobi (11th century); Ismatallah Bukhari (1365-1426) - the illustrious poet; Mualan Abd al-Khakim (16 century) - the renowned physician; Karri Rakhmatallah Bukhari (died in 1893) - the specialist in study of literature; Mirza Abd al-Aziz Bukhari (the end the 18th century - the beginning of the 19th century) - the calligrapher.
At the third decade of 16-th century Bukhara became a capital of the Bukhara khanate, under the government of Shaybanid dynasty. The whole period when this dynasty was in power is about one century since the beginning of 16-th century. The Shaybanid carried out many reforms during this time. In particular they instituted a number of measures to better system of the public education. Each neighborhood - "mahalla" unit of local self-government - of Bukhara had a hedge-school. Prosperous families provided home education to their children. Children started elementary education from six years. After two years they could be taken to madrasah. The course of education in madrasah consisted of three steps in sevens years. Hence, whole course of education in madrasah lasted 21 years. The pupils studied theological sciences, arithmetic, jurisprudence, logic, music and poetry. Such way of education had a positive influence upon development and wide circulation of the Persian and Uzbek languages, and also on development of literature, science, art and skills.
To that period of Bukhara history belong the new books on history and geography - such as "Haft iqlīm" - "Seven Climates" by Amin Akhmed Razi, a native of Iran. Bukhara of 16-th century was the centre of attraction for skilled craftsman of calligraphy and miniature-paintings, such experts were Sultan Ah Maskhadi, Makhmud ibn Iskhak ash-Shakhibi, the theoretician in calligraphy dervish Mukhammad Buklian, Maulyan Makhmud Muzakhkhib, Jelaleddin Yusuf. Among famous poets and theologians who worked in Bukara of that time were Mushfiki, Nizami Muamaya, Muhammad Amin Zakhid. Maulan Abd-al Khakim was the most famous of many physicians who practiced in Bikhara and Khanate in 16-th century.
At the time of government of Abd al-Aziz-khan (1533-1550) he established the library "having no equal" the world over. The prominent scholar Sultan Mirak Munshi worked there since 1540. The gifted calligrapher, Mir Abid Khusaini, well-wielded mast-a liq and raikham handwritings, who was also brilliant miniature-painter and master of encrustation was the librarian (kitabdar) of Bukhara library. This information is contained in the anthology "Muzakhir al-Akhbab" of Khasan Nisari.
In 19th century, Bukhara still played a significant part in regional cultural and religious life, as Demezon testified in 1833-34. He wrote, "The madrasahs in Bukhara are famed throughout Turkestan. Students come here from Khiva, Kokand, Gissar and even from Samarkand and also from many Tatar regions ... There are about 60 madrasahs in Bukhara that are more or less successful."

Modern era

Bukhara entered the modern period as a colonial acquisition of the Russian Empire. It became a chess piece in the Great Game between Russia and Britain. It was briefly independent during the communist revolution before finally being folded into the Soviet Union. Following the formation of the Soviet Union, the Tajiks, who were then part of the Uzbekistan province, pushed for independence. The Russians, who supported the Uzbeks over Tajiks, gave the traditionally and linguistically Iranic cities of Bukhara and Samarkand to Uzbekistan.

Major sights

Po-i Kalyan Complex'

The title 'Po-i-Kalyan' (also 'Poi Kalyan'), which means "The foot of the Great", belongs to the architectural complex located at the foot of the great minaret Kalyan.

★ 'Kalyan minaret'. The minaret made in the form of a circular-pillar brick tower, narrowing upwards, of 9 meters (29.53 feet) diameter at the bottom, 6 meters (19.69 feet) overhead and 45.6 meters (149.61 feet) high.

★ 'Kalyan Mosque' (Maedjid-i kalyan), arguably completed in 1514, is equal with Bibi-Khanym Mosque in Samarkand in size. Although they are of the same type of building, they are absolutely different in terms of art of building.

★ 'Mir-i Arab Madrassah'. There is little known about the Mir-i Arab Madrasah origin. The construction of Mir-i-Arab Madrasah is ascribed to Sheikh Abdullah Yamani of Yemen, the spiritual mentor of early Shaybanids. He was in charge of donations of UbaidUllah-khan (gov. 1533-1539), devoted to construction of madrasah.

Ismail Samani mausoleum

The Ismail Samani mausoleum (9th-10th century), one of the most esteemed sights of Central Asian architecture, was built in the 9th century (between 892 and 943) as the resting-place of Ismail Samani - the founder of the Samanid dynasty, the last Persian dynasty to rule in Central Asia, which held the city in the 9th and 10th centuries. Although in the first instance the Samanids were Governors of Khorasan and ''Ma wara'u'n-nahr'' under the suzerainty of the Abbasid Caliphate, the dynasty soon established virtual independence from Baghdad.

Chashma-Ayub

Chashma-Ayub is located near the Samani mausoleum. Its name means ''Job's well'' due to the legend according to which Job (Ayub) visited this place and made a well by the blow of his staff. The water of this well is still pure and is considered healing. The current building was constructed during the reign of Timur and features a Khwarezm-style conical dome uncommon in Bukhara.

Lyab-i Hauz

The 'Lyab-i Khauz Ensemble (1568-1622)' is the title given to the area surrounding one of the few remaining ''Hauz'' or ponds surviving in the city of Bukhara. Until the Soviet period there were many such ponds, which were the city's principal source of water, but they were notorious for spreading disease and were mostly filled in during the 1920s and 30s. The Lyab-i Hauz survived because it is the centrepiece of a magnificent architectural ensemble, created during the 16th and 17th centuries, which has not been significantly changed since. The Lyab-i Hauz ensemble consists of the 'Kukeldash' madrasah (1568-1569) (see picture), the largest in the city, and of two religious edifices built by Nadir Divan-Begi: A 'Khanaka' (1620) (see picture) - a Khanaka is a lodging-house for itinerant Sufis - and a 'Madrasah' (1622) (see picture) that stand at right angles to each other.
See also a total list of Bukhara sights.

Transportation

Bukhara Airport

Bukhara in poetry and literature

Being a cultural magnet, Bukhara has long appeared in much local and Persian literature. Many examples can be sought.
ای بخارا شاد باش و دیر زی

Oh Bukhara! Joy to you and live long!

شاه زی تو میهمان آید همی

Your King comes to you in ceremony.

''---Rudaki''
Dehkhoda defines the name Bukhara itself as meaning "full of knowledge", referring to the fact that in antiquity, Bukhara was a scientific and scholarship powerhouse. Rumi verifies this when he praises the city as such:
آن بخارا معدن دانش بود

"Bukhara was a mine of knowledge,

پس بخاراییست هرک آنش بود

Of Bukhara is he who possesses knowledge."

Notable people born in Bukhara

★ Ibn Sina

★ Zamakhshari

★ Bukhari

★ Kiromi Bukhoroi

★ An Lushan

★ Oksana Chusovitina

Sister cities

These cities were major cities of Greater Khorasan:

★ Balkh, Afghanistan

★ Merv, Turkmenistan

★ Neyshabur, Iran

★ Samarqand, Uzbekistan
Other cities:

★ Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

★ Rueil-Malmaison, France

★ Cordoba, Spain

★ Malatya, Turkey

References

1. Richard N Frye, 'Bukhara i. In pre-Islamic times', Encyclopedia Iranica, 512.
2. Shamsiddin Kamoliddin, 'On the origin of the place-name Buxārā', ''Transoxiana'' 12 (August 2007).


★ Moorcroft, William and Trebeck, George. 1841. Travels in the Himalayan Provinces of Hindustan and the Panjab; in Ladakh and Kashmir, in Peshawar, Kabul, Kunduz, and Bokhara... from 1819 to 1825, Vol. II. Reprint: New Delhi, Sagar Publications, 1971.

★ Dmitriy Page. Bukhara - the center of enlightenment in the East

★ Hyperboloid Tower in Bukhara by Vladimir Shukhov

Views of Bukhara