Bukhara (Uzbek: Buxoro; Russian: Бухара; Persian: بخارا; Tajik: Бухоро) is the capital of the Bukhara Province (viloyat) of Uzbekistan. Bukhara is a city-museum, with about 140 architectural monuments.[1] The nation's fifth-largest city, the population on April 24, 2014 was approximately 272,710. The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time. Located on the Silk Road, the city has long been a center of trade, scholarship, culture, and religion. The historic center of Bukhara, which contains numerousmosques and madrassas, has been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.[2]
Bukhara was known as Bukhoro in 19th- and early 20th-century English publications and as Buhe/Puhe（捕喝）in Tang Chinese.[3] According to the Encyclopædia Iranica the name Bukhara is possibly derived from the Soghdian βuxārak ("Place of Good Fortune").[4] It may also be related to Sanskrit vihara.
Muhammad ibn Jafar Narshakhi in his History of Bukhara (completed 943-44 CE) mentions:
Bukhara has many names. One of its name was Numijkat. It has also been called "Bumiskat". It has 2 names in Arabic. One is "Madinat al Sufriya" meaning - "the copper city" and another is "Madinat Al Tujjar" meaning - "The city of Merchants". But, the name Bukhara is more known than all the other names. In Khorasan, there is no other city with so many names[5]
Since the Middle Ages, the city has been known as Buḫārā / بخارا in Arabic and Persian sources. The modern Uzbek spelling is Buxoro.
History
Main article: History of Bukhara
The history of Bukhara stretches back millennia. It is now the capital of the Bukhara Province (viloyat) of Uzbekistan. Located on the Silk Road, the city has long been a center of trade, scholarship, culture, and religion. During the golden age of the Samanids,[6] Bukhara became the intellectual center of the Islamic world. The historic center of Bukhara, which contains numerous mosques and madrassas, has been listed by UNESCO as one of the World Heritage Sites.
Bukhara has been one of the main centres of world civilisation from its early days in 6th century BCE. From the 6th century CE, Turkic speakers gradually moved in. Its architecture and archaeological sites form one of the pillars of Central Asian history and art. The region of Bukhara was a part of the Persian Empire for a long time. The origin of many of its current inhabitants goes back to the period of Aryan immigration into the region.
According to the official statistics, the city's population is 82% Tajiks, 6% Russians, 4% Uzbeks, 3% Tatars, 1% Koreans, 1% Turkmens, 1% Ukrainians, 2% of other ethnicities.[11] However, official Uzbek numbers have for long been criticized and refuted by various observers and Western sources[12][13] and it is widely assumed that the population of the city consists mainly of Persian-speaking Tajiks, with ethnic Uzbeks forming a growing minority.[14] Exact figures are difficult to evaluate, since many people in Uzbekistan either identify as "Uzbek" even though they speak Tajik as their first language, or because they are registered as Uzbeks by the central government despite their Tajik language and identity. According to Soviet estimates in the early 20th century (based on numbers from 1913 and 1917), the Tajiks formed the overwhelming majority of city.[13] Until the 20th century, Bukhara was also home to the (also Persian-speaking) Bukharan Jews, whose ancestors settled in the city during Roman times. Most Bukharan Jews left the city between 1925 and 2000 and settled in Israel and theUnited States of America.
Poetry and literature
Uzbekistan, Bukhara, Spices and silk festival
Being a cultural magnet, Bukhara has long appeared in much local and Persian literature[citation needed]. Many examples can be given.
ای بخارا شاد باش و دیر زی
Oh Bukhara! Be joyous and live long!
شاه زی تو میهمان آید همی
Your King comes to you in ceremony.
---Rudaki
Dehkhoda defines the name Bukhara itself as meaning "full of knowledge", referring to the fact that in antiquity, Bukhara was a scientific and scholarship powerhouse. Rumi verifies this when he praises the city as such:
آن بخارا معدن دانش بود
"Bukhara is a mine of knowledge,
پس بخاراییست هرک آنش بود
Of Bukhara is he who possesses knowledge."
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bukhara
Bukhara was known as Bukhoro in 19th- and early 20th-century English publications and as Buhe/Puhe（捕喝）in Tang Chinese.[3] According to the Encyclopædia Iranica the name Bukhara is possibly derived from the Soghdian βuxārak ("Place of Good Fortune").[4] It may also be related to Sanskrit vihara.
Muhammad ibn Jafar Narshakhi in his History of Bukhara (completed 943-44 CE) mentions:
Bukhara has many names. One of its name was Numijkat. It has also been called "Bumiskat". It has 2 names in Arabic. One is "Madinat al Sufriya" meaning - "the copper city" and another is "Madinat Al Tujjar" meaning - "The city of Merchants". But, the name Bukhara is more known than all the other names. In Khorasan, there is no other city with so many names[5]
Since the Middle Ages, the city has been known as Buḫārā / بخارا in Arabic and Persian sources. The modern Uzbek spelling is Buxoro.
History
Main article: History of Bukhara
The history of Bukhara stretches back millennia. It is now the capital of the Bukhara Province (viloyat) of Uzbekistan. Located on the Silk Road, the city has long been a center of trade, scholarship, culture, and religion. During the golden age of the Samanids,[6] Bukhara became the intellectual center of the Islamic world. The historic center of Bukhara, which contains numerous mosques and madrassas, has been listed by UNESCO as one of the World Heritage Sites.
Bukhara has been one of the main centres of world civilisation from its early days in 6th century BCE. From the 6th century CE, Turkic speakers gradually moved in. Its architecture and archaeological sites form one of the pillars of Central Asian history and art. The region of Bukhara was a part of the Persian Empire for a long time. The origin of many of its current inhabitants goes back to the period of Aryan immigration into the region.
According to the official statistics, the city's population is 82% Tajiks, 6% Russians, 4% Uzbeks, 3% Tatars, 1% Koreans, 1% Turkmens, 1% Ukrainians, 2% of other ethnicities.[11] However, official Uzbek numbers have for long been criticized and refuted by various observers and Western sources[12][13] and it is widely assumed that the population of the city consists mainly of Persian-speaking Tajiks, with ethnic Uzbeks forming a growing minority.[14] Exact figures are difficult to evaluate, since many people in Uzbekistan either identify as "Uzbek" even though they speak Tajik as their first language, or because they are registered as Uzbeks by the central government despite their Tajik language and identity. According to Soviet estimates in the early 20th century (based on numbers from 1913 and 1917), the Tajiks formed the overwhelming majority of city.[13] Until the 20th century, Bukhara was also home to the (also Persian-speaking) Bukharan Jews, whose ancestors settled in the city during Roman times. Most Bukharan Jews left the city between 1925 and 2000 and settled in Israel and theUnited States of America.
Poetry and literature
Uzbekistan, Bukhara, Spices and silk festival
Being a cultural magnet, Bukhara has long appeared in much local and Persian literature[citation needed]. Many examples can be given.
ای بخارا شاد باش و دیر زی
Oh Bukhara! Be joyous and live long!
شاه زی تو میهمان آید همی
Your King comes to you in ceremony.
---Rudaki
Dehkhoda defines the name Bukhara itself as meaning "full of knowledge", referring to the fact that in antiquity, Bukhara was a scientific and scholarship powerhouse. Rumi verifies this when he praises the city as such:
آن بخارا معدن دانش بود
"Bukhara is a mine of knowledge,
پس بخاراییست هرک آنش بود
Of Bukhara is he who possesses knowledge."
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bukhara
