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, Persian |
| Leader | Suleyman Khan |
| Population | 160 million (as of 09/29/07) |
| Currency | Lira |
| NS Sunset XML | |
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.
Persian Invasion and Unification
The Samarkandi Khans ruled in relative peace following the death of Shahrukh. But as 17th century draws to a close, the Persian Shah eyed Transoxania as a target for his expansion. The news of the Persian arrival on the banks of Amu Darya reached Sarmakand fast and the Khan ordered an envoy to be sent to Bukhara, another major power in Transoxania, to forge the alliance between the two cities. However, even with the alliance, the Transoxanians' chances of victory were still slim against the numerically superior and better equipped Persians, the combined Samarkandi-Bukharan forces under Hussein, the emir of Bukhara was annihilated near Türkmenabat. The road to Bukhara laid bare before the Persians Hussein, who had only two daughters, left no heir to the throne of Bukhara. Arslan, then Khan of Samarkand, saw the golden chance to his posession of Bukhara, ordered the evacuation of Bukhara before the arrival of the Persians and took the hand of the elder daughter of the late emir.
Arslan Khan knew that the Persian, having captured Bukhara would then strike at Samarkand to quickly root out the last power centre in Transoxania, and that they were approaching from Qarshi, gathered all the remnant of his forces and made a stand at Shakhrisabz. Upon the arrival, the Persian army, some 40,000 strong laid seige to the city. The Persian general, Mahmoud Pasha, then ordered the assault. The Persian assaults were repelled time and again. The seige ended after three weeks with heavy Persian casualty, over 10,000 wounded and 2,000 taken prisoners. The Uzbeks lost no less than 1,000.
With some 5,000 men remaining, Arslan marched back to Samarkand and sent a letter to Mahmoud Pasha in Bukhara that if he would execute the prisoners if the Pasha attempts to attack. The Uzbek Khan was able to buy time to reequip and reorganize his forces. He also introduced conscription. But Mahmoud Pasha could no longer wait, after four months he decided to march on Samarkand.
Arslan Khan when knew that the Persians were attacking, he marched out to meet the Persians, taking with him the Persian prisoners. When the Persians decided not to withdraw, Arslan had the prisoners executed. The high ranking officers were impaled before the Persian army while the rest were beheaded. A legend said that later on, during the battle, their heads were loaded into cannons and fired at the Persians. The Uzbeks once again won the battle and managed to push the Persian back to Karmana. Karmana fell within a weeks time.
The Transoxanians then marched on Bukhara. The Persian defenders surrendered after their failed attempt to sally forth and break the Samarkandi seige ended with heavy loss. Arslan Khan found himself with four understrength regiments but decided to march on for the Persians will regroup and attack if he allows them time. But by the time the Khan reached Qarshi, the Persians had already abandoned the town and were retreating toward the Amu Darya. The war had ended with Transoxania secured and Arslan had become the Khan of both Bukhaa and Samarkand, but he wasn't satisfied. The Khan took a handful of cavalry and light infantry and went on pursuit. He caught up with the remnant of the Persian army a few miles north of the crossing and went into battle. Ironically, Arslan was shot in the neck by a Persian musketeer. He died soon after the battle.
