Abdullah Khan ( Chagatai and ; 1533/4–1598), known as "The Old

Khan Khan may refer to: * Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name * Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by various ethnicities Art and entertainment * Khan (band), an English progressiv ...

", was an Uzbek ruler of the

Khanate of Bukhara The Khanate of Bukhara was an Uzbek state in Central Asia from 1501 to 1785, founded by the Abu'l-Khayrid dynasty, a branch of the Shaybanids. From 1533 to 1540, Bukhara briefly became its capital during the reign of Ubaidullah Khan. The Khana ...

(1500–1785). He was the last uncontested Shaybanid Khan of Bukhara from 1583 until his death. Abdullah Khan initiated a war with

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

which lasted from 1587 to 1598. He was able to focus on this thanks to a non-aggression pact with the Mughal Emperor,

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

, through which Abdullah Khan recognized Akbar's right to rule in the territory of

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

. During the reign of Abdullah Khan, Bukhara was also diplomatically hostile to the Khan of Yarkent,

Abdul Karim Khan Ustad Abdul Karim Khan (Devanagari: उस्ताद अब्दुल करीम ख़ान, Persian: ) (11 November 1872 – 27 October 1937)

Biography

Abdullah Khan was born in 1533 or 1534 in Afarinkent, located on an island between the two arms of the

Zarafshan River The Zarafshon is a river in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in Central Asia. Its name, "spreader of gold" in Persian language, Persian, refers to the presence of gold-bearing sands in the upper reaches of the river. To the ancient Greeks it was known ...

The ascent to the throne

After the death of Abdulaziz Shaybanid there was a struggle for the throne. Khan Abdullatif, who ruled

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

, sought to rule Bukhara through his two grandchildren: Shaibani Khan Yar Muhammad Sultan and Burhan-Sultan. However, after the death of Abdullatif Khan in 1551, Barak Khan, who ruled

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

, took Samarkand and established himself as ruler there under the name of Newroz Ahmed Khan. He was declared the supreme khan of the Uzbeks. Shaybanid Abdullah Sultan, who was then governor of Kermine, led the resistance against Newroz Ahmed Khan. He was assisted by his uncle, the governor of

Balkh Balkh is a town in the Balkh Province of Afghanistan. It is located approximately to the northwest of the provincial capital city Mazar-i-Sharif and approximately to the south of the Amu Darya and the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border. In 2021 ...

, Pir Muhammad Khan. In 1556 Newroz Ahmad died. With his death, Pir Muhammad Khan was proclaimed the supreme ruler of the Uzbeks.

The struggle for the unification of the state

In 1557, Abdullah Sultan captured Bukhara with the support of

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

sheikhs and became its ruler. In 1561, he was bold enough to proclaim his father Iskander as supreme khan of the Uzbeks. He had previously ruled Kermine and Miankal. Abdullah's father was more interested in religious rites, so he entrusted the conduct of state affairs to his son Abdullah Sultan. Abdullah set out to combine all four of the Shaybanids: Bukhara, Samarkand, Tashkent and

in one single state. This took many years and it was only in 1582 that he was able to create a single state out of the four Shaybanids. To achieve unification, he had to fight a long war to take possession of Tashkent. He then took control of Fergana and in 1573 took Balkh after a long siege. In 1574, he attacked

Qarshi Qarshi ( ; ) is a city in southern Uzbekistan. It is the capital of Qashqadaryo Region. Administratively, Qarshi is a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlement Qashqadaryo. It has a population of 278,300 (2021 estimate). It ...

and

Hisar Hissar () means fort or castle in Arabic, with variants adopted into Persian (hesar, hessar) and Turkish (hisar). Hissar, Hisar and Hesar may refer to: Places Asia (South and Central) India *Hisar (city), a city in Haryana **Hisar Airport in Hi ...

, adding them to his possessions. In 1576, he fought off armies from Samarkand and took Tashkent. In the service of Abdullah Khan were Kazakh sultans Sheehan and his son Tauekel. In 1582, Abdullah Khan marched to

Dasht-i-Kipchak The name Cumania originated as the Latin exonym for the Cuman–Kipchak confederation, which was a tribal confederation in the western part of the Eurasian Steppe, between the 10th and 13th centuries. The confederation was dominated by two Turk ...

. Bobo Khan was killed and his fortresses at Shohruhiya Sairam and Ahangeran were captured. In 1583, his son Abd al-Mumin captured and plundered

Mashhad Mashhad ( ; ), historically also known as Mashad, Meshhed, or Meshed in English, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. ...

. In the same 1583, after the death of his father, Abdullah Khan was declared ruler of the Uzbeks and his state was called the Bukhara khanate.

Abdullah Khan's monetary reform

Abdullah Khan II managed, in several stages, monetary reform. To redress the lack of silver metal and silver coins, with his father he organised the regular production of gold coins and controlled their stamp in Bukhara, paying particular attention to maintaining a high standard. The reforms introduced by Abdullah Khan were primarily aimed at changing the content of silver coins in accordance with the rise in prices of silver. At a time when the formal head of the dynasty was still Iskandar Khan (1560-1583), the minting silver coins remained decentralized. However, coins with the name of Iskandar were issued in Bukhara, Samarkand, Balkh, Tashkent,

Andijan Andijan ( ), also spelt Andijon () and formerly romanized as Andizhan ( ), is a city in Uzbekistan. It is the administrative, economic, and cultural center of Andijan Region. Andijan is a district-level city with an area of . Andijan is the most ...

and Ahsi Yasse (

Turkestan Turkestan,; ; ; ; also spelled Turkistan, is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and East Turkestan (Xinjiang). The region is located in the northwest of modern day China and to the northwest of its ...

). In 1583, Abdullah Khan made another monetary reform. This reform was centred around the capital, Bukhara (which minted silver coins). For everyday urban trade of consumer goods, Abdullah Khan minted copper coins. The monetary reforms Abdullah Khan II initiated were successful. They brought to an end the monetary crisis and ceased the mass leakage of currency outside the state. This reform was part of Abdullah Khan II's aim of creating favourable conditions for all types of trade within and to areas outside his state's borders.

Expanding the boundaries of the state

Combining the Shaybanid state had opened up new opportunities to expand its territorial boundaries. In 1584, Abdullah Khan seized

Badakhshan Badakhshan is a historical region comprising the Wakhan Corridor in northeast Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic ...

. In 1588 he seized Khorasan. In the latter period of his reign Abdullah waged a war for the conquest of

Khorezm Khwarazm (; ; , ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the east by the Kyzylkum Desert, on the south by t ...

. In 1593-94 Khorezm was finally conquered by Abdullah's troops. Abdullah marched to

Khiva Khiva ( uz-Latn-Cyrl, Xiva, Хива, ; other names) is a district-level city of approximately 93,000 people in Khorazm Region, Uzbekistan. According to archaeological data, the city was established around 2,500 years ago. In 1997, Khiva celebr ...

and their sultans were captured and executed. Soon relations soured with the Kazakh khans, who learned about the uprising by Abdullah Khan's son Abdulmumin. Abdullah Khan was forced to go to war with his own son. He prepared an army for the battles ahead, but died before the battle with the Kazakh Chinggisid. The Kazakhs would take advantage of the situation and take

, Tashkent, Samarkand and

. However, they were unable to take Bukhara and retreated to the Steppe, abandoning all the newly taken territories.

Foreign policy

During the reign of Abdullah Khan the khanate maintained close diplomatic relations with the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

, the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

and the

Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia, also known as the Tsardom of Moscow, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of tsar by Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great in 1721. ...

. In a letter dated 1577

informed Abdullah Khan Uzbek about his intention to expel the Portuguese from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Russian ties with Bukhara soured in the early 1580s due to Abdullah Khan's support for the Siberian Khan

Kuchum Kuchum Khan ( Turki and , Siberian Tatar: ''Köçöm; Көцөм'', Russian: ''Кучум''; died c. 1601) was the last Khan of Siberia who ruled from 1563 to 1598. Kuchum Khan's attempt to spread Islam and his cross-border raids met with vig ...

Tribal composition of troops

Abdullah Khan's army consisted of detachments of soldiers from various Uzbek tribes including the: Shirins, Utarchs, Bishyuzs,

Jalairs Jalair (; ; ), also Djalair, Yyalair, Jalayir, is one of the Darliqin Mongol tribes according to Rashid-al-Din Hamadani's ''Jami' al-tawarikh''.They lived along the Orkhon River in modern day Central Mongolia.History of Mongolia, Volume II, 2003 ...

, Keralas, Katagans, Tan-Yaruks, Alchins, Hitays, Bahrin,

Naimans The Naiman (; ; Kazakh and , ), meaning The Eight, was a medieval tribe originating in the territory of modern Western Mongolia (possibly during the time of the Uyghur Khaganate), and is one of the 92 tribes of Uzbeks, modern Mongols and in the ...

Manghud The Manghud, or Manghit (, ''Mangud;'' ) were a Mongol tribe of the Urud-Manghud federation, and a sub-clan of Borjigin, Manghuds (Mangkits or Mangits) who moved to the Desht-i Qipchaq steppe were Turkified. They established the Nogai Horde ...

, Kushchis, Arguns, Mings,

Karluks The Karluks (also Qarluqs, Qarluks, Karluqs, , Qarluq, Para-Mongolic languages, Para-Mongol: Harluut, zh, s=葛逻禄, t=葛邏祿 ''Géluólù'' ; customary phonetic: ''Gelu, Khololo, Khorlo'', , ''Khallokh'', ''Qarluq'') were a prominent no ...

, Kungrats, and Tubais ( tuvas).

Cultural policies

Abdullah Khan was not only a talented warrior, but also an outstanding statesman. He cared about strengthening Bukhara's trade ties abroad (especially with Russia and India) and paid great attention to the construction of public buildings and structures -

madrassah Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary education or higher learning. ...

s and

khanqah A Sufi lodge is a building designed specifically for gatherings of a Sufi brotherhood or ''tariqa'' and is a place for spiritual practice and religious education. They include structures also known as ''khānaqāh'', ''zāwiya'', ''ribāṭ'' ...

s, shopping malls and

caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...

s, reservoirs and bridges. Abdullah Khan Uzbeg out hawking

During Abdullah Khan II's reign, the Kosh-Madrasah was erected in Bukhara. It consists of two madrassas. First, there was the

Modarikhan madrasah Modarikhan Madrasah is an architectural monument (1566-1567) located opposite the Abdullah Khan Madrasah in Bukhara. Both make up the Koshmadrasa complex. Abdullakhan Madrasah (Bukhara) is located opposite. Currently, it is included in the nation ...

, built around 1567 in honour of Abdullah Khan's mother. Then there was the Madrasahs named after Abdullah Khan, which was built between 1588 and 1590. Abdullah Khan was also a patron of education and a

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

. He surrounded himself with scholars, writers and chroniclers. Court poets and historians praised him. Among the poets was Abd al-Rahman Mushfiqi, author of laudatory odes, lyric poems and epigrams. He was also an able diplomat. On behalf of Abdullah Khan, Mushfiqi provided grandiloquent labels for buildings. Court historian

Hafiz Tanish Hafiz Tanish () was a 16th-century Central Asian court poet and historian in the Khanate of Bukhara. He is author of the ''Sharaf-nama-yi shahi'', a Persian history book authorized by his suzerain Abdullah Khan II Abdullah Khan (Chagatai langua ...

provided a rich chronicle of facts about Abdullah's rule. Literature continued to develop in Persian, Turkish and Arabic. According to the observations of Russian academic V V Bartold "historical literature produced by the Uzbeks was even higher in quality and quantity than in the previous century." Abdullah Khan II wrote poems and left his legacy under the pseudonym "'Avaz Gazi".

Death and Succession

Abdullah Khan died in 1598 and was buried at the mausoleum of Bahauddin Naqshbandi near

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

. After the death of Abdullah, the throne passed to his only son Abd al-Mumin, but he was soon killed by the rebels. As the son of Abd al-Mumin was only two years old, the first cousin of Abdullah Khan II, Pir Muhammad II, was chosen as new Khan. This appointment was contested by several other rulers, like Tauekel Khan of the Kazakhs, Kasim Sultan and Baqi Muhammad, son of Abdullah Khan's sister, and a prince from Astrakhan named Djani Beg. Baqi Muhammad was victorious and Pir Muhammad II was killed in battle. With his death, the

Shaybanid dynasty The Shibanids or Shaybanids, more accurately known as the Abul-Khayrid-Shibanids, were a dynasty of Uzbek ( Turko-Mongol) origin who ruled over the Khanate of Bukhara (from 1505 to 1598), the Khanate of Khwarezm (Khiva) (from 1511 to 1695), a ...

ended, and Baqi Muhammad became the first Khan of the Janid or Ashtarkhanid dynasty.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Abdulla People from the Khanate of Bukhara Uzbeks 1530s births 1598 deaths Khans Borjigin