rebellion of his sons, who continued to quarrel with
each other after their father's death. Meanwhile the district of Khiva,
previously subject to Bokhara, was made an independent khanate by
Abdul-Gazi Bahadur Khan; and in the reign of Subhankuli, who ascended
the throne in 1680, the political power of Bokhara was still further
lessened, though it continued to enjoy the unbounded respect of the
Sunnite Mahommedans. Subhankuli died in 1702, and a war of succession
broke out between his two sons, who were supported by the rivalry of two
Uzbeg tribes. After five years the contest terminated in favour of
Obeidullah, who was little better than a puppet in the hands of Rehim Bi
Atalik, his vizier. The invasion of Nadir Shah of Persia came to
complete the degradation of the land; and in 1740 the feeble king, Abu
'l-Faiz, paid homage to the conqueror, and was soon after murdered and
supplanted by his vizier. The time of the Ashtarkhanides had been for
the most part a time of dissolution and decay; fanaticism and imbecility
went hand in hand. On its fall (1785) the throne was seized by the
Manghit family in the person of Mir Ma'sum, who pretended to the most
extravagant sanctity, and proved by his military career that he had no
small amount of ability. He turned his attention to the encroachments of
the Afghans, and in 1781 reconquered the greater part of what had been
lost to the south of the Oxus. Dying in 1802 he was succeeded by Said,
who in bigotry and fanaticism was a true son of his father. In 1826
Nasrullah mounted the throne, and began with the murder of his brother a
reign of continued oppression and cruelty. Meanwhile Bokhara became an
object of rivalry to Russia and England, and envoys were sent by both
nations to cultivate the favour of the emir, who treated the Russians
with arrogance and the English with contempt. Two emissaries of the
British government, Colonel C. Stoddart and Captain A. Conolly, were
thrown by Nasrullah into prison, where they were put to death in 1842.
In 1862-1864 Arminius Vambery made in the disguise of a dervish a
memorable journey through this fanatical state. At this time the Russian
armies were gradually advancing, and at last they appeared in Khokand;
but the new emir, Mozaffer-eddin, instead of attempting to expiate the
insults of his predecessor, sent a letter to General M.G. Chernayev
summoning him to evacuate the country, and threatening to raise all the
faithful against him. In 1866