Bukhara

Bukhara, Uzbek Bukhoro or Buxoro, also spelled Buchara or Bokhara, city, south-central Uzbekistan, located about 140 miles (225 km) west of Samarkand. The city lies on the Shakhrud Canal in the delta of the Zeravshan River, at the centre of Bukhara oasis. Founded not later than the 1st century CE (and possibly as early as the 3rd or 4th century BCE), Bukhara was already a major trade and crafts centre along the famous Silk Road when it was captured by Arab forces in 709. It was the capital of the Samanid dynasty in the 9th and 10th centuries. Later it was seized by the Qarakhanids and Karakitais before falling to Genghis Khan in 1220 and to Timur (Tamerlane) in 1370. In 1506 Bukhara was conquered by the Uzbek Shaybanids, who from the mid-16th century made it the capital of their state, which became known as the khanate of Bukhara.

The historic centre of Bukhara, designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993, still retains much of its former aspect, with its mosques, madrasas (Muslim theological schools), flat-roofed houses of sun-dried bricks, and remains of covered bazaars. Among important buildings are the Ismail Samani Mausoleum (9th–10th century); the Kalyan minaret (1127) and mosque (early 14th century); the Ulugh Beg (1417), Kukeldash (16th century), Abd al-ʿAziz Khan (1652), and Mir-e ʿArab (1536) madrasas; and the Ark, the city fortress, which is the oldest structure in Bukhara.