Current Research Journal of History, Volume 01 Issue 01-2020 1 

 

  
 

Current Research Journal of History 
Published: December 05, 2020 | Pages: 1-5 

Doi: https://doi.org/10.37547/crjh/Volume01Issue01-1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ABSTRACT 

This article is devoted to the foreign trade activities of traders of the Emirate of Bukhara in the late 
19th and early 20th centuries ,as well as their trade with European countries ,Afghanistan, Iran, India 
.Over the years ,it was studied that Bukhara traders have played an important role in supplying 
Central Asia with the necessary products. 

 

 

 

KEYWORDS  

Bukhara, India, Iran,Central Asia, Russia, Krategin, Kulyab,the traditional trade,bekliks, 
timchi,merchants,goods,kosids,caravansaray. 
 
 
 
 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
It is known that the Emirate of Bukhara has a 

special place in the domestic and foreign trade 

relations of Central Asia. At the beginning of 

the XIX century, the traditional trade relations 

of the Emirate of Bukhara with Russia, 

Afghanistan, Iran, India and other countries 

further developed, which in turn had a certain 

impact on the development of socio-economic 

life of the emirate. The development of trade, 

in turn, has led to the development of 

commodity-money relations in the region, 

domestic trade and increased demand for 

The Role And Status Of The Merchants Of Bukhara In The Trade Relationships 

Of The Central Asia (The Beginning Of The 19-20 Centuries) 
 

B. Mamatov 
The sophomore student, 

Samarkand State University, Uzbekistan 

 

G. Normurodova 
Lecturer scientific supervisor, Uzbekistan 

 

 



Current Research Journal of History, Volume 01 Issue 01-2020 2 

 

  
 

Current Research Journal of History 
Published: December 05, 2020 | Pages: 1-5 

Doi: https://doi.org/10.37547/crjh/Volume01Issue01-1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

particular products. For example, during the 

reigns of Amir Shah Murad (1785-1800) and 

Amir Haydar (1800-1825) the development of 

domestic and foreign trade was not based on 

the development of trade relations with the 

above-mentioned countries, but on the 

security of the country in trade with 

foreigners. The main purpose of these above 

mentioned Amirs was provision of the security 

of not only aboriginal traders and the foreign 

merchants along with creation of conditions 

to deal. 

Traders were an important layer of the 

economy and social life in the development of 

trade relations. During this period, the 

position of traders was divided into certain 

stages according to the level of trade. In 

particular, wholesale and foreign trade was 

carried out jointly and mutually at the same 

time concentrated in the hands of large 

landowners. According to sources and written 

documents, the largest group of merchants 

were mainly the subjects of the emir and his 

relatives, representatives of the upper classes 

of scholars and officials. They controlled 

domestic and foreign trade accordingly. A 

largest parts of the income coming from trade 

processes went to the first of all to Emir, after 

that religious officials of the country1. 

The Main Part  

The Bukhara Emirate played an important role 

in Central Asian trade. The production of 

agricultural and industrial products in the 

region grew significantly. A researcher of the 

urban life of the Muslim countries I.P 

Petrushevsky classifies the city of Bukhara as 

“A special type of city located at the 

                                                             
1
 Ханыков Н. Описание Бухарского ханства. - СПб., 

1843. – С. 109. 

intersection of major trade routes, which 

serves as an association for export and transit 

trade. According to him, in Bukhara the goods 

and commodity came from four directions of 

the world and spread to four directions. In 

addition, Bukhara remained an important 

transit point for the entire region, from where 

goods were distributed to various regions and 

delivered to neighboring countries. An 

important role in this was played by the fact 

that Bukhara traders carried out large-scale 

trade and interregional trade2. 

          The position of traders in trade is 

explained by the fact that they played a 

leading role in the supply of goods to Central 

Asia. The importance and potential of the 

region in the production of goods has given a 

strong impetus to the development of trade 

relations. Bukhara traders were famous in 

Central Asia for the production and sale of 

their primary products. The bekliks 

(principalities) of Korategin, Gissar and Kulyab 

produced cotton, cocoons and livestock 

products, which were in great demand in the 

world market. Apples, grapes, pistachios and 

similar products  were the main exports in 

trade with other countries. It should be noted 

that the demand for these goods exported in 

the Emirate of Bukhara, in particular, cotton, 

wool, leather, dried fruits grew from year to 

year3. In particular, Bukhara has long been 

known as the largest center of karakul trade. 

Skins were brought to Bukhara by traders 

from all Karakul districts of Central Asia and 

high-quality karakul skin was delivered to the 

markets of Russia, Western Europe, America 

                                                             
2 Исроилов С.О.Социалной структуре торговцев 
бухарского эмирата (начало ХХ века).//Вестник 
института, Пенджикент, 2017. - С.135. 
3
 Исроилов С.О. Социалной структуре торговцев 

бухарского эмирата… - С.136. 



Current Research Journal of History, Volume 01 Issue 01-2020 3 

 

  
 

Current Research Journal of History 
Published: December 05, 2020 | Pages: 1-5 

Doi: https://doi.org/10.37547/crjh/Volume01Issue01-1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

and Asia Minor Through Bukhara. The main 

magnates of the Karakul trade were the 

people of Bukhara. M. S. Yusupova mentioned 

the names of about 30 large astrakhan 

traders. The arrival of Karakul to the market 

was seasonal, and during this season the 

importance of trade negotiations between 

Bukhara traders was great4.   

The goods brought to Bukhara were 

consumed in and around the city as well. The 

city's domestic market has had great potential 

since the mid-19th century. This is due to the 

fact that traders imported a lot of products 

from Central Asian countries, the city markets 

are crowded and Bukhara consumes more 

imported goods than other cities. This led to a 

high level of industrial development, as 

artisans needed a variety of raw materials, and 

the local population needed food and other 

goods. Bukhara was visited by many foreign 

traders. Most of them lived in caravansarays 

(hotels designed to traders). Most of the 

caravansarays were specialized in the 

packaging of products related to the 

development of trade in Bukhara5. 

The houses of Bukhara merchants were 

located mainly in the city center and near the 

markets. They also lived in almost all 

neighborhoods of the city on the basis of 

voting6. According to their social status, they 

were divided into large merchants and 

shopkeepers. Among them there was a layer 

of merchants called “Timchi”, a shopkeeper 

located in the most important shopping 

centers of the city. Bukhara merchants could 

                                                             
4 Сухарева О.А. Бухара XIX- начало XX в. – Москва 
1966. Наука. –С242 
5
 Cухарева О.А. К истории городов Бухарского 

ханства.-Ташкент-1958.- С96 
6
 Сухарева О.А. Бухара XIX- начало XX в. – Москва 

1966. Наука. –С236 

be found not only in the East, but also in 

Europe. This was important in the 

development of professional traders in the 

Central Asian region. They have contributed to 

the improvement of the economic life of the 

people, as well as to the solution of some 

cultural problems. For a long time a person 

called “Kosids” (Arabic mediator that went 

between sides) played an important role in 

trade with Bukhara7. He was a participant in 

credit agreements not only in Bukhara, but 

also in the whole Central Asian trade world. 

Trade relations on credit developed between 

the emirate's traders between the provinces 

and its capital. The largest traders of the 

Emirate of Bukhara established business 

relations with traders from other countries 

and supplied goods on credit. 

        It is important to note that traders often 

differed in the inherited trade specialization, 

in which professional ethics played an 

important role. By the beginning of the 

twentieth century, with the involvement of 

Bukhara trade in capitalist relations, the 

tradition of inheritance was disappearing. The 

growth of trade, the growing demand for 

various foreign goods led to a break of the 

traditional profession. The fact that the old 

merchants were forced to take over the 

lucrative trades with modern investors with 

new owners. This, in turn, led to the 

development of specific local forms of trade 

relations and a certain form of labor in 

Bukhara. 

          Especially, as a result of the development 

of commodity-money relations, a new national 

layer of upper social class (National 

bourgeoisie) was formed which later became 

                                                             
7
 Исроилов С.О. Социалной структуре торговцев 

бухарского эмирата... - С.137 



Current Research Journal of History, Volume 01 Issue 01-2020 4 

 

  
 

Current Research Journal of History 
Published: December 05, 2020 | Pages: 1-5 

Doi: https://doi.org/10.37547/crjh/Volume01Issue01-1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

the economic basis of the social structure of 

society. The stratum of property owners 

consisted of private mainly property owners 

of various shapes, and quantities. The 

development of market relations, the 

construction of industry and railways 

strengthened the position of landowners in 

society. Their ethnic composition consisted of 

mainly Uzbeks, Tadjiks, Jewish and others. The 

social base of the society consisted of 

merchants, industrialists, wealthy landowners, 

artisans, and others layers associated with 

industries such as agriculture, trade, and 

manufacturing (industry, handicrafts). The 

intensification of capitalist relations in the 

emirate, on the other hand, allowed the 

national bourgeoisie to find a small place in 

socio-economic life. 

It should be noted that the foundation of the 

national bourgeoisie in the emirate was first 

laid among the merchants. The banking and 

commercial capital of Russia, which entered 

the Emirate of Bukhara, developed through 

local commercial capital and profit-seeking 

owners.  F. Khodjaev said: "The number of 

large independent traders in the Emirate of 

Bukhara was small, and the rest of the main 

traders acted mainly as intermediaries and 

brokers (Go-betweens) of Russian companies 

and banks8. 

Since the end of the 19th century, cocoon 

trade also developed in Bukhara. The growth 

of cocoon exports led to its entry into the 

international market. As a result, the great 

cotton-growers of Bukhara also began to 

grow cocoons, and it merged with the cotton 

trade. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, 
                                                             
8
 Нормуродова Г. Бухоро амирлиги ижтимоий 

стратификацияси ва аҳоли катламларининг 
жамият хаётидаги ўрни. - Тошкент: Navro`z, 2019. 
– B.219-220. 

cocoons were exported from Bukhara to 

Russia, France, Italy and other countries. One 

of the merchants of Bukhara managed to sell 

ninety wagons of cocoons to Marcel. Forty 

wagons of cocoon product belonged to Mirzo 

Muhiddin9.  At that time, most of the silk was 

sent from Bukhara to India. They were mainly 

delivered to the city of Multon, from where 

the goods were shipped to other parts of 

India.The Bukhara merchants paid 250-300 

rupees for the cargo of one camel and got to 

India through Kandahar or Ghazna10.  As for 

trade relations between the Emirate of 

Bukhara and Russia, Russian traders tried to 

attract Central Asian traders to the fairs held 

in Orenburg. This is due to the fact that all the 

costs associated with the management of the 

Orenburg region were covered by taxes 

collected from the sale of products of Central 

Asian traders. In addition to various goods, 

Bukhara traders brought gold and silver in 

exchange for Russian goods11. They earned a 

lot of money from the sale of Astrakhan skins 

and cotton at the Irbid and Nidjny Novgorod 

fairs, and from the sale of silk, cotton and 

linen imported from Bukhara in Kazan and 

Siberia. 

             The emirs also played an important role 

in the economic relations of the Emirate of 

Bukhara. Because the development of trade 

relations of Bukhara with the world market 

stimulated the trade activity of the emirs. In 
                                                             
9 Сухарева О.А. Бухара XIX- начало XX в. – Москва 
1966. Наука. –С250 
10 Ochildiyev F.  Trade relations between Bukhara 
and India in the second half of the 19

th
 century and 

at the beginning of the 20th century .- Actual 
problems of applied sciences journal world -4(14) 
2019.-p14   
11

 Хужаева Ш.Х.  Особенности торговых 
взаимоотношений между Россией и Бухарским 
эмиратом ( конец XVIII- середина  XIX века). –
Казань-2015 .-С352 



Current Research Journal of History, Volume 01 Issue 01-2020 5 

 

  
 

Current Research Journal of History 
Published: December 05, 2020 | Pages: 1-5 

Doi: https://doi.org/10.37547/crjh/Volume01Issue01-1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

particular, Amir Abdullah Khan conducted 

large-scale trade in order to increase his low 

income. According to the Amir, he was the 

third largest trader in the world in the karakul 

trade (in the first place was his citizen J. 

Arabov). According to researchers, 

unfortunately, this information is confused 

with the name of Amir Alimkhan in some 

literatures12. 

CONCLUSION 

In short, as a result of the development of 

capitalist relations in the emirate in the late 

nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a 

new national bourgeoisie, the economic 

backbone of society, was formed. This new 

class of owners consisted mainly of private 

property owners of various shapes and 

quantities. Among them were traders who 

were active in commodity-money relations, 

who acted as both the main worker and the 

owner of the enterprise and the people who 

sold their products. The fact that Bukhara 

traders traded not only with neighboring 

countries, but also with Germany,  France,  

Italy and even the United States, is worthwhile 

in the foreign trade of Central Asia. 

 

REFERENCES 

1. Ханыков Н. Описание Бухарского 

ханства. - СПб., 1843. – С. 109. 

2. Исроилов С.О.Социалной структуре 

торговцев бухарского эмирата (начало 

ХХ века).//Вестник института, 

Пенджикент, 2017. - С.135. 

3. Сухарева О.А. Бухара XIX- начало XX в. – 

Москва 1966. Наука. –С242 

                                                             
12

 Нормуродова Г. Бухоро амирлиги ижтимоий 
стратификацияси ва аҳоли катламларининг 
жамият хаётидаги ўрни... – B.221. 

4. Cухарева О.А. К истории городов 

Бухарского ханства.-Ташкент-1958.- С96 

5. Нормуродова Г. Бухоро амирлиги 

ижтимоий стратификацияси ва аҳоли 

катламларининг жамият хаётидаги 

ўрни. - Тошкент: Navro`z, 2019. – B.219-

220. 

6. Ochildiyev F.  Trade relations between 

Bukhara and India in the second half of 

the 19th century and at the beginning of 

the 20th century .- Actual problems of 

applied sciences journal world -4(14) 

2019.-p14   

7. Хужаева Ш.Х.  Особенности торговых 

взаимоотношений между Россией и 

Бухарским эмиратом ( конец XVIII- 

середина  XIX века). –Казань-2015 .-С352. 

8. Oblomurodov Naim Khalimovich, 

Ismatullayeva Nargiza Rasuljanovna, 

Goyibnazarov Isobek Shakarovich. THE 

PURPOSE AND OUTCOME OF 

DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS IN THE II-I 

CENTURIES BETWEEN CENTRAL ASIA 

AND CHINA. JCR. 2020; 7(9): 126-128. 

doi:10.31838/jcr.07.09.23 

9. Rasuljanovna, Ismatullayeva Nargiza; 

Rakhmonqulovich, Karimov Nodir. Trade 

Relations Between Ancient Bacteria And 

China On The II-I BC. The American 

Journal of Social Science and Education 

Innovations, 2, 07, 47-51, 2020.