City of Bukhara

The historic center of Bukhara, situated on the Silk Roads, is more than two thousand years old. In 1500 BC, a drying climate, iron technology, and the arrival of Aryan nomads triggered a population shift to the Bukhara oasis from outlying areas.

Around 800 BC, the new culture, called Sogdian, flourished in city-states along the Zeravshan Valley. By 500 B.C.E., these settlements had grown together and were enclosed by a wall; thus Bukhara was born.

Bukhara was already a major trade and crafts center along the famous Silk Road when it was captured by Arab forces in 709 AD.

On the territory of the Bukhara region lived Zoroastrians, Christians, Jews, and Buddhists. At the end of the 9th century, Bukhara became one of the most significant Islamic and cultural centres in Central Asia.

In the 10th century, Bukhara was a cultural center that rivaled Baghdad, and was known as "the dome of learning in the East." It was a dynamic metropolis, capital of the semi-independent dynasty that ruled most of present-day Iran and Central Asia.

Bukhara’s history changed in 999 AD, when the Dynasty of Samanids was changed by the Karakhanid Dynasty. Late 13th was the time when Muhammad Khorezmshakh invaded the city.

Then, after Karakhanid and Khorezmshakh period, it was falling to Genghis Khan in 1220 and to Timur (Tamerlane) in 1370. During the reign of Temur and the Temurids, Bukhara prospered. In this era, the city became a paradise garden.

In 1506 Bukhara was conquered by the Uzbek Shaybānids, who from the mid-16th century made it the capital of their state, which became known as the khanate of Bukhara.
City of Bukhara