Creation of a Military Administration During the Reign of Amir

Shahmurad in the Bukhara Emirate

Kutlugjon Inoyatov

, Gairat Abdullahodzhaev

, Nodir Alimov

and Muhayyo Umarova

The National Institute of Fine Arts and Design named after Kamoliddin Bekhzod, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Keywords: Amir Shakhmurad, Kazi Soldier, Nakib, Kokaldosh, Atalik, Kushbegi, Shigavul, Swiss, Mirokhur, Munshi,

Bakovul, Stolyar, Kaznachey, "Holy War", Akhmad Danish, Bukhara Historiography, Sharia Law, The

Military System, Military Training.

Abstract: The article is based on the military reforms under the management of Emir Shakhmurad ibn

Danialbiya in Bukhara, the formation of the army, the

gathering

of soldiers and the time of war, the

modernization of the military system and the efforts of the thinkers, the shortcomings and

achievements of the military system and military duties.

1 INTRODUCTION

The history of the Bukhara Emirate is very interesting

and varied. Many historians of the emirate Khumuliy,

Sadiq Mirza Munshi, Muhammad Yakub, Khusain

Miri, Mirzo Salim Somi, Mirza Badiy, Ahmad

Danish, Sadriddin Aini, as well as historians S.

Semyonov, V. Vyatkin, L. N. Sobolev, H. Ziyaev,

Azamat Ziya, Z. Mukimov, A. Mukhamedzhanov, K.

Radjabov, Y. Saidzhanova, Y.S. Ashurova, A.

Dzhumanazarova, and others. They paid great

attention to the state system of the Bukhara Emirate

and the military and social life of the population.

Since the Emirate of Bukhara has always carried out

hostilities, they were at enmity with neighboring

countries, they suppressed uprisings. The army of the

Emirate of Bukhara has always been in action.

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

When Amir Shahmurad came to power in the Emirate

of Bukhara, the country was also engulfed in

uprisings. That is why his main task was to gather and

strengthen the army of the state. In the

implementation of public administration, much

attention is paid to the income of the army and its

improvement. After the suppression of the uprisings,

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Emir Shahmurad, several times a year arranged "holy

wars" between the Shiites of Iran and the Kokand

Khanate.

According to the historian Abdalazim Sami,

administrative activities in the military sphere were

carried out based on the fatwas of religious scholars,

and in his time they largely followed the source of

Sunnah law.

The son of Amir Shahmurad, Mir Husseini, in his

work "Makhazin at Taqwa," gives information about

his participation in the "Holy Wars", military

information, his father's advice to his children, and his

courage in wars, calls his father "smart mangit" in

poetic form. In his work, he wrote that in his youth he

was brought up in various fields (including the

military sphere), and from the age of 13 he was

appointed governor of Miyankala, near Samarkand,

and under his command there were 5,000 navkars,

and also the world of Karmanani, Yernazar bey, the

world of Khatyrchi and Nurota with their 8,000-

strong army. He provided valuable information about

the army of the Emirate of Bukhara based on the

number of troops in the local government.

The American orientalist G. Hambley touched

upon the art of governing the state of Amir

Shahmurad and believes that his ability to lead his

troops into battle with the help of his simple and short

horse is an excellent organizational ability of a

military leader. He assesses the political and legal

Inoyatov, K., Abdullahodzhaev, G., Alimov, N. and Umarova, M.

Creation of a Military Administration During the Reign of Amir Shahmurad in the Bukhara Emirate.

DOI: 10.5220/0012664200003882

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 2nd Pamir Transboundary Conference for Sustainable Societies (PAMIR-2 2023), pages 56-59

ISBN: 978-989-758-723-8

activities of Amir Shahmurad as follows: “He did not

take Balkh from the Durrani rulers of Afghanistan,

but year after year he successfully crossed the Amu

Darya against Iran. His main goal was to capture

Merv, which is considered the center of Iranian

culture. That is why the Bukharians respected the

strict requirements of Sharia thanks to the military

victories of Emir Shahmurad.

During the period of Amir Shahmurad, as in

previous periods (during the time of the Mongols and

Timurids), military positions retained their power.

Only changes and additions to their duties have been

made.

The names of military leaders were translated into

the honorary name of the person with their position or

military rank. That is, according to the rules of

Muslim anthropotoponymy, the position, rank,

personal qualities or nickname of a person became an

integral part of his name. This is evidenced by the

presence in the sources of such well-known names as

Ahmad Tavachi, Ikim mirokhur, Mirak Yasavul,

Mustafa Tupchiboshi, Tursunbabo Suvchi, Ahmad

Kasym Jibachi. This situation is also often found in

gravestone inscriptions, where the name of the

person, and the composition of terms specific to the

position occur.

Military activity affects everyone in the office, at

least partially, and we can see this in the example of

such services as naqib, kokaldosh, atalik, kushbegi,

shigovul, porter, mirokhur, munshi, bakovul, khanchi

(hansolor), treasurer. According to the rules

characteristic of that time, public service bodies and

their employees during the war, in addition to their

direct duties, were engaged in military activities.

The fact is that the holders of administrative and

military positions were engaged in the military sphere

during the war and were engaged in their activities,

and peacetime they were engaged in their

administrative duties, that is, they did not fully

specialize in military affairs. This, of course, had a

negative impact on the growth of professional

military skills.

There are dewans (ministries) in the emirate that

exercise executive power, and among them, there is

no separate dewan dealing with the military and

defense sphere, as was the case in former times.

As with all fields, military appointments were

made with great emphasis on ancestry, social origins,

wealth, tribalism, and local traditions. A backward

military system prevailed due to the lack of a military

system based on knowledge and training, and military

scientific schools.

According to information about the amount of

material assistance provided to military officials,

commanders and officials above commanders were

given 6 tithes of land each, officers and lower

officials - 4 tithes each, lieutenants - 3 tithes each,

artillerymen - 2 tithes each, and generals 1 acre.

Another type of gift is aluf, which is mainly given

to military and administrative officials. Aluf was

based on wheat and barley products in kind. Officials

were also given a sarupo (shirt, robe, turban) made of

clothing, the quality of which depended on the status

of the official. A. According to Sukhareva, according

to another tradition in the administration of the

emirate, when everyone was appointed to a public

position, he also got a government house (a house

from the padishah). There were many such houses in

Bukhara, and they differed in quality and size. Some

of them were built of magnificent bricks, while others

consisted of a sinch (a beam stuck between the plinth

(tagsinch) and the top tree (sarr) of the walls of

buildings and structures, the "frame" of the house).

The Sipokh class, which made up the majority of

officials, had broad social rights and privileges,

enshrined in law or custom, depending on their

occupation and position. Firstly, the appointment of a

person to a certain business and title gave him the

original legal rank and rank. The military or

administrative merits of a person before the state, his

abilities, and his class are important. Along with

letters of commendation, titles, and epithets also

legally fixed the social status of an official.

The army consisted mainly of cavalry and

infantry. Almost all captains were made up of

Mongols. In the Middle Ages, warriors from

Movarounnahr became famous for their skill and

courage, so the saying appeared “Make an army from

Movarounnahr, take a wife from Rum, settle in

Balkh”.

In the emirate, the apparatus of local self-

government played an important role in the collection

of troops. In this matter, the heads of local estates

have a great responsibility. As soon as the news of the

campaign was announced, local governors began to

gather troops. ("Tavochi" and "herald" have powers

and duties in the 16th-18th centuries. 11 powers of

Tavochi are explained, and during the time of the

Mongols, only the call to assemble troops was

determined, while during the period of study, he had

10 duties in the military sphere.)

The number of soldiers was calculated before

being called up for a military campaign and gathering

troops, that is, it was calculated in advance how many

troops would arrive from each administrative unit.

Sometimes you may notice that the number of

warriors has increased to an uncountable number, or

that the number of troops below the set number has

been collected due to the disobedience of a certain

province.

Amir Shahmurad was able to win the respect of

the warriors with his Sufi way of life in battles. In

addition, he was respected for the fact that the money

Creation of a Military Administration During the Reign of Amir Shahmurad in the Bukhara Emirate

taken from the conquered territory was equally

distributed among the soldiers. This increased the

possibility of going to war with more troops than was

prescribed in his time.

According to sources, combat units designed to

perform the most critical combat missions in

emergency situations consist of selected Uzbek

fighters. The emir's bodyguards also consisted of

Uzbek soldiers selected from the army. Their social

composition was diverse, even some large

landowners were accepted into the service. The career

level of employees is determined by their property

status.

Troops were inspected in the spring. When

examining the army before the battle, the same line

was formed, and the emir personally examined the

soldiers of each unit. The composition of the

inspection was as follows: the commander of the

military unit approached the ruler, showed him his

unit, demonstrated the courage and dexterity of the

soldiers, then bowed, read a prayer in honor of the

ruler, applauded his victories and expressed readiness

to give his life for him.

Under contract with the Ottoman Turks, they

were engaged in training the army in the handling of

firearms. This may indicate that at one time the army

was modernized and reformed. In addition, Emir

Shahmurad sought to cooperate with Russia to

improve weapons and develop weapons, but the

Bukhara convoy loaded with iron was robbed by E.

Pugachev. Because the iron did not reach the emirate,

he could not establish the production of firearms on

his territory.

New positions and ranks (topchiboshi, tofangdoz,

rehtagar) also appeared in the military administration

with the expansion of reforms in the field of weapons.

Due to the weapons used and the high importance of

efficiency in combat, these positions rose in prestige

and rank. Tupchibashi becomes the commander-in-

chief of the emir's army.

Religious scholars issued a fatwa on the

compliance of the military operations of the emir's

army with Sharia law, often calling the enemy army a

"gang of bandits", "infidels" and other names

condemned in the Sunni Hanafi. They could justify

the ongoing war and even looting by Sharia.

Appearing before major and decisive battles, they

convinced ordinary soldiers that those who died in

battle would enter paradise as a martyr. In addition,

the clergy assessed certain wars as a "holy war", and

"a good deed on the path of religion" and issued

fatwas to the rulers about the beginning of such wars.

Almost all truces between rulers were concluded

with the participation of religious scholars. Even

when the rulers were full of anger, they had great

power to deliver the guilty from punishment.

The army also had special doctors responsible for

the health of soldiers. They constantly marched with

the army under the supervision of a healer. In addition

to cities, in large villages, and at important stations,

medical services were established for soldiers who

stopped for a certain period. The soldiers themselves

were provided with the necessary medicines, various

medicines, qualified to provide first aid to themselves

and their partners.

There were also musicians in the army of Emir

Shahmurad, and they used musical instruments that

were not prohibited by Sharia. Army music was

distinguished by sonority and hoarseness, high tone.

The roles of musicians at the beginning, during,

and at the end of the battle are determined. For

example, army musicians, consisting of trumpeters,

drummers, pipers, etc., signaled the beginning of

military campaigns of the rulers, and served to

solemnly inform the population about the actions of

the army and victories. In particular, the musicians

urged the army to gather during the fighting with the

sounds of trumpets. They were accompanied by

trumpeters and drummers. Parts of the army had their

own musicians, and such tasks as starting a battle,

bringing a military unit into battle, and withdrawing

the army from battle were performed by drummers

and trumpeters.

Water - a military officer who organizes the

passage of troops along the rivers. The merman group

was responsible for the passage of the army through

the water and for the transfer of weapons or objects

that water could not touch - cannons, weapons, and

some types of food - to the other side, building

bridges built from ships (pontoons). Goods that did

not lose their qualities when in contact with water,

such as shawls, were wrapped in felt, tied to horses'

tails, and transported from the river.

Gajarchi (ayuzchi) - chief of guides in the army

during military campaigns. They sent troops to the

appointed place, before the march of the troops they

studied the area. It was their duty to effortlessly bring

the troops to their place of position.

Nakbchi - digging under the castle wall and

destroying the walls. Their tasks are described in the

sources as follows: during the siege of the

Ihtiyoriddin castle, “after the ambassadors came and

went without result, a decree was issued that everyone

must follow, and diggers with iron claws began to dig

on it.

In addition, there was a group called kokhbur

(stone-cutters), who were engaged in preparing stones

for throwing at the walls of castles.

Shotichi - carrying ladders designed to occupy the

walls of the fortress, or quickly make ladders for the

passage of troops to the castle.

Shotirs (chopar) - a group that transmits

information and news about the accession of an army

PAMIR-2 2023 - The Second Pamir Transboundary Conference for Sustainable Societies- | PAMIR

with allies or a specific point. They accompanied the

allies to the camp as a guide.

Yurtchi - a detachment that prepares and chooses

a place for setting up a camp by an army. They went

to the places and chose convenient villages and

steppes for army recreation, hunting, and military

inspection in accordance with the combat program of

the commander.

Ugruk (oboz) - the rear part of the army, where

tents, wagons, and reserves are located. The women

and children who usually accompanied the army were

also in a secluded area that was considered relatively

safe.

Soldiers in the army ranged in age from young

teenagers to old men capable of carrying weapons.

Although the elders were physically the weakest

soldiers in the army, their experience in siege and

defensive battles gave them an advantage.

During this period, the great commanders and

heads of troops played an important role in the

political life of the country and public administration.

The size of the army, its military conquest, and the

military skills of army commanders were of great

importance in conquest campaigns organized to

conquer new lands and in the elimination of internal

and external threats.

There was no separate program and fixed rules for

appointment to positions. Also, the prestige and

functional tasks of the post-holder increased

depending on the degree of proximity to the ruler and

the high level of personal abilities of each post-

holder.

3 CONCLUSION

During the time of Amir Shahmurad, among the

divans (ministries) exercising executive power, there

was no separate devan dealing with military defense,

as it was before. In addition, the system that existed

during the period of the Mongols and Timurids has

been preserved in the emirate. Some changes were

made only out of necessity. In connection with the

improvement of weapons, new positions have been

introduced.

It can also be noted that in the Emirate of

Bukhara, the highest military administrative officials

were appointed from persons belonging to the Mangit

clan. As in all spheres, in the military sphere, the main

emphasis in appointments to affairs and positions is

not on the talent and abilities of the individual, but on

pedigree and social origin. However, during this

period it is clear that the Mangyts and people who do

not belong to other Uzbek clans, with their knowledge

and skills, also occupied high positions in

government.

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