Bukhara and Sarmaqand
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| Flag of Bukhara and Sarmaqand | |
| Motto: محمد رسول الله | |
| [Map URL], or No Map Available | |
| Region | The Pacific |
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| Capital | Samarqand |
| Official Language(s) | Uzbek |
| Leader | Suleyman Khan |
| Population | 160 million (as of 09/29/07) |
| Currency | Lira |
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The Khanate of Bukhara and Samarkand is a landlocked nation in Central Asia, occupying Transoxania.
History
Samarkand is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, prospering from its location on the trade route between China and Europe (Silk Road). At times Samarkand has been the greatest city of Central Asia.
During 8th century BC, the Arabs invaded Transoxania and brought Islam to the region.
As the Mongol empire in Central Asia began crumbling, Ali Khan, a Turko-Mongol nobleman who claims to be descended from Ghengis Khan, proclaimed himself the ruler of Samarkand. Although Samarkand was a rich city, the Khan and his sons were incompetant and corrupt and did little to expand the borders of their realm.
Ibrahim Shah, the Ruler of Kabulistan, who had recently conquered Ghazni, Herat and Mashhad set his eyes Samarkand. Ibrahim crossed Amu Darya with an army some 30,000 strong, consisting of war elephants, cavalry and artillery, and laid seige to Samarkand. The garrison surrendered after two weeks but Abdullah Khan, then ruler, managed to flee across the Syr Darya to Tashkent where he was welcomed by the local ruler and was offered the hand of his daughter.
It came to pass that Shahrukh, the ambitious young ruler of Tashkent and descendant of Abdullah Khan, desired that he shall avenge the defeat of his ancestors and claim his rightful possesion, swore to take the fight against the crumbling Kabulites. It was said that Shahrukh sold off nearly all his possesions for a fund large enough to field an army large enough to fight the Kabulites.
In 1483, Shahrukh crossed the Syr Darya river. He spent time campaigning against the Kabulites forces around Samarkand for a short while before taking on the city itself. Samarkand fell after a long seige. Shahrukh then expanded into eastern Transoxania. He died after falling off the horseback, before he could cross the Amu Darya and invade Kabulistan as he had planned.
