were succeeded by a new line of sovereigns, called
Astarkhanids, who maintained their rule for nearly
200 years. Driven from the khanate of Astrakhan
on the lower course of the Volga, the Astarkhanids
were welcomed in Transoxiana by the Sheibanids,
both being descendants of Jinghiz Khan. They helped
the ruling dynasty as Sheibani did before them, and
with similar results, for they also succeeded to the
throne, and retained it till 1737, when their power was
permanently broken by Nadir Shah. The material
prosperity of the country declined greatly under the
Astarkhanids. Old buildings were suffered to fall into
ruin for want of necessary repairs, whilst the buildings
of the Astarkhanids themselves were only the college
of Yelenktosh, built in 1611, opposite the already
ruined college of Ulug Beg ; a mosque and. a college
in Bokhara, raised by the wealthy Nezr Divanbeghi in
1620; and lastly, two reception saloons, which Baki
Mehemmed Khan had built in Bokhara and Samarkand
in 1605. It was under this dynasty that the Italian
Florio Benevini arrived at Bokhara on a mission
from Peter the G r e a t ; and with difficulty made his
escape four years afterwards.
T h e Astarkhanids, in 1784, were succeeded by the
family of Manghit; Uzbegs who came from the wooded
country on the left bank of the Lower Oxus, where they
helped the Khivans. Some of them were taken into
the pay o f the Sheibanids, and these settled later in
the neighbourhood o f Karshi. Here others of their
number afterwards rose to power under the later Astarkhanids,
with whom they intermarried, and the crown
was at length placed upon the head o f one Emir
Maasum, of the family of Manghit, who passed much
of his time in religious meditation, living in retirement
in the great mosque, and wearing the mantle of a
dervish. Later on, however, he .turned warrior, laid
waste Merv, and transferred its inhabitants that were
not killed to Bokhara. It was this prince who revived
the office of the Reis-i-Shariat, guardian of the law
of religion, whose office it was to pass through the
streets attended by police with a whip, to thrash those
who could not pass a proper examination in religious
matters, or who did not attend to their religious duties.
Drinkers of wine and smokers of tobacco were treated
in like manner. Emir Maasum was succeeded by his
son Emir Said, in 1803, who remained a mullah all
his life, and at his death, in 1826, passed on his throne
to his son Nasr-Ullah-Bahadur Khan.
I have thus rapidly outlined the history o f Bokhara,
so that in describing the capital and objects seen in
passing through the khanate, references to the past
may not seem quite a blank.* We now come to a
despot whose name, Nasr-Ullah, father of the present
Emir, was well known forty years ago in England in
connection with those o f Lieutenant Burnes, Colonel
Stoddart, Captain Conolly, and Dr. Wolff, and with
others who proceeded to Bokhara from Russia. T h e
mutual rivalries of the two nations at that time gave
the affairs of Bokhara a wider interest than had been
previously felt in Europe. T h e first English officer
who travelled into Bokhara was Lieutenant Burnes.
Leaving Peshawur, he passed through Cabul, Balkh,
and Karshi, in 1832, and thence continued to Bokhara
by the route described in the preceding chapter. He
* For fuller information see Howorth’s “ History of the Mongols,”
and Vambery’s “ History of Bokhara,” from which I have for the most
part derived my information ; but in connection with the latter should
be read the criticism thereon of Professor Grigorieff, translated in
Schuyler’ s work, Appendix II.