Nasrullah Khan

Nasrullah was born in 1806 in Bukhara, the third son of Haydar, ruler of the Bukharan emirate from the Manghit dynasty. His father drew him into government early: in 1821 the young prince led the army sent to put down the revolt at Miyankal and took Katta-Kurgan, held by the rebels. The harsh reprisals that followed earned him the nickname “qassab” (“butcher”) among the people. From the autumn of that year he was governor of Karshi.

After Haydar died in 1826 his elder sons took the throne in turn: Mir Husayn (October–December 1826) and Mir Umar (December 1826 to April 1827). With the backing of the powerful qushbegi Hakim, Nasrullah seized power and became emir in April 1827.

At home he worked to strengthen central authority. In 1837–1838 he had the qushbegi Muhammad Hakim executed, abolished the post and appointed viziers who were not tied to the tribal nobility. Modelling it on the army of Qajar Iran, he created a standing force of sarbaz infantry, trained by an Iranian fugitive named Abdulsamad; it also included artillery.

Wars with neighbours fill much of his reign. In 1841–1842 he fought the Khanate of Kokand, taking Khojand and Ura-Tyube and occupying Kokand itself in 1842, when the poet Nodirabegim and members of the khan’s family were put to death. The struggle with the rulers of Shahrisabz dragged on for years and ended with the city’s subjugation in 1856.

The emirate kept up diplomatic and trade contacts with the Russian Empire: the missions of Butenev (1841–1842) and Ignatiev (1858) visited Bukhara. Relations with Britain suffered after the execution in 1842 of the British officers Charles Stoddart and Arthur Conolly, who had long been held prisoner; Joseph Wolff, who came in 1843 to learn their fate, was imprisoned but later released.

Nasrullah died in the autumn of 1860 and was succeeded by his son Muzaffar. According to one account, he was poisoned by his wife, the daughter of the ruler of Shahrisabz.