The Vigilant Ruler's Criticized Policy

There is only one photograph of Muzaffar al-Din Bahadur Khan, who ruled the emirate from 1860 to 1885, made in the first half of the 1880s by F. Orde, but reproduced in various editions of that time.

The events that radically changed the external and internal position of the Bukhara Emirate occurred during his reign. In 1873, he was forced to sign an agreement according to which the emirate, although recognized as an independent state, would in fact fall under the protectorate of Russia. The local clergy accused Muzaffar of having become too “Russian,” that he sold the Bukhara nobility to the unfaithful, and the emir, fearing the persecution of fanatics, rarely left his palace. Part of the tribal aristocracy, including his eldest son Abdul-Malik who had risen in 1868, showed discontent with the policy of Muzaffar. In many respects, thanks to the military assistance of Russia, Muzaffar managed to maintain the relative stability of his power. The emir himself visited St. Petersburg only in 1881 on the occasion of the coronation of Alexander III, but regularly sent emissaries there.

Muzaffar al-Din Bahadur Khan died in 1885 and was buried in Ishan Imlo cemetery in Bukhara, near the graves of his ancestors. Contemporaries noted that he was “an obese man, with a well-preserved face, thick eyebrows and excellent, bright eyes …. The look, voice, whole posture and movements of the Emir make a pleasant impression,” and his face “was frank and emanated nobility.” This impression is left by his portrait photograph.

You can learn more about the topic in the book-album “Uzbekistan in historic photographs of the 19th - early 20th centuries in the collections of Russian archives” (Volume XXXVII) in the series “Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan”. 

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The Vigilant Ruler's Criticized Policy