emirate · Central Asia and the Steppe

Emirate of Bukhara

1785 CE – 1920 CE · capital Bukhara

The Manghit state of Bukhara, a conservative Islamic emirate that survived as a Russian protectorate until the Red Army stormed its capital in 1920.

Origins

Muhammad Rahim of the Manghit tribe took real power in the Khanate of Bukhara in the 1740s under Nader Shah's protection. In 1785 Shah Murad, a pious ruler, set aside the Janid figurehead khans and took the title emir, founding the Emirate of Bukhara.

Rule and society

The emirs ruled through Uzbek tribal chiefs, a clerical elite and officials, enforcing Islamic law strictly. Bukhara had hundreds of mosques and madrasas and was a centre of trade in cotton, karakul and silk. Emir Nasrullah executed the British officers Stoddart and Conolly in 1842. Wars with the Khanate of Kokand and Khiva were frequent.

Decline and legacy

Russia defeated Emir Muzaffar in 1868, taking Samarkand and making Bukhara a protectorate. In 1920 the Red Army and the Young Bukharans stormed Bukhara, the last emir, Alim Khan, fled to Afghanistan, and the Bukharan People's Soviet Republic was founded.

Lineage

Khanate of Bukhara 1500 CE – 1785 CEEmirate of BukharaBukharan People's Soviet Republic 1920 CE – 1924 CE

Connections (3)

More states of Central Asia and the Steppe →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Emirate of Bukhara. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/emirate-of-bukhara
MLA
“Emirate of Bukhara.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/emirate-of-bukhara. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Emirate of Bukhara.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/emirate-of-bukhara.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Emirate of Bukhara’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/emirate-of-bukhara (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻