page_title: Uzbeks
section_title: Uzbek period
hierarchical_section_title: Uzbeks / History / Uzbek period
caption_attribution_description: Oosbegs of Mooraud Bev This lithograph was taken from plate 20 of 'Afghaunistan' by Lietenant James Rattray. Rattray was introduced to the subjects of this sketch, Mirza Abdulhuq and Rustom Beg, at a conference in the fort of Lughmani in Kohistan in August 1841. They were part of the powerful Uzbeg tribe of Qataghan in Turkestan, whose chief, Murad Beg, was the Mir of Kunduz. His dominion lay north of the Hindu Kush and south of the River Amu, between Bukhara and Kabul. Their national headdress of these Turcomen was made of white muslin, wound around a high pointed skullcap of coloured silk and tied in a fold under the left ear. They were known to trade in slaves, and the Afghans called them 'adam-farosh' (man-sellers). Their favourite mode of warfare was surprise attacks called 'chuppao', when "a body of horse is sent forth to pounce upon a passing caravan, or village, or an encampment, sweeping away into miserable bondage their unfortunate prey". Rattray admired their skills as horsemen, and the complementary hardiness and agility of their steeds, which they cherished and loved as their constant and faithful companions.
context_page_description: The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group native to wider Central Asia, being the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan but are also found as a minority group in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Russia and China. Uzbek diaspora communities also exist in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan.
context_section_description: By 1510 the Uzbeks had completed their conquest of Central Asia, including the territory of the present-day Uzbekistan. Of the states they established, the most powerful, the Khanate of Bukhara, centered on the city of Bukhara. The khanate controlled Mawarannahr, especially the region of Tashkent, the Fergana Valley in the east, and northern Afghanistan. A second Uzbek state, the Khanate of Khiva was established in the oasis of Khorazm at the mouth of the Amu Darya. The Khanate of Bukhara was initially led by the energetic Shaybanid Dynasty, the successors of Muhammad Shaybani. The Shaybanids initially competed against Iran for a few years, which was led by the Safavid Dynasty, for the rich far-eastern territory of present-day Iran. The struggle with the Safavids also had a religious aspect because the Uzbeks were Sunni Muslims, and Iran was Shia.
  Near the end of the 16th century, the Uzbek states of Bukhara and Khorazm began to weaken because of their endless wars against each other and the Persians and because of strong competition for the throne among the khans in power and their heirs. At the beginning of the 17th century, the Shaybanid Dynasty was replaced by the Janid Dynasty.
  Another factor contributing to the weakness of the Uzbek khanates in this period was the general decline of trade moving through the region. This change had begun in the previous century when ocean trade routes were established from Europe to India and China, circumventing the Silk Route. As European-dominated ocean transport expanded and some trading centers were destroyed, cities such as Bukhara, Merv, and Samarkand in the Khanate of Bukhora and Khiva and Urganch (Urgench) in Khorazm began to steadily decline.
  The Uzbeks' struggle with Iran also led to the cultural isolation of Central Asia from the rest of the Islamic world. In addition to these problems, the struggle with the nomads from the northern steppe continued. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Kazakh nomads and Mongols continually raided the Uzbek khanates, causing widespread damage and disruption. In the beginning of the 18th century, the Khanate of Bukhara lost the fertile Fergana region, and a new Uzbek khanate was formed in Quqon.
caption: A lithograph of two Uzbek Khans from Afghanistan in 1841.
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