3. Figurations of Power in Eighteenth-Century Transoxania The political order established by the Chingizid dynasties and their Uzbek supporters underwent an incremental change. As has been discussed in the previous chapter, this process gained speed after the takeover by the Tuqay- Timurids around 1600, and accelerated in the time of Subḥān Qulī Khān (r. 1680–1702) and his successor ʿUbaidullah Khān. By 1711, the appanages had dissolved into a setting not unlike other Turko-Mongol empires. This chapter tells the (hi-)story of eighteenth-century Mā Warāʾ al-Nahr and the various shifts of power, the ups and downs of an ongoing political game. It starts with the events under the late Tuqay-Timurids and continues through the conquest by Nādir Shāh and its consequences up to the establishment of Muḥammad Raḥīm Khān as new king. Since we still know very little about Central Asian history beneath the level of the rulers, I endeavor to write a local history, or rather, local histories of Bukhara and its dependencies. In doing so, I adhere to Beisembiev’s dictum that eighteenth- century Central Asian history should be explored “as the interrelations of different Uzbek and other tribal groups and clans controlling definite sedentary economic zones.”1 To overcome the dynastic focus of the sources, I will read them against the grain. The emphasis will be on the relationship between the kings and the tribal groups they sought to control and balance. Further attention will be paid to the relations among the amirid elite and the typical forging and breaking of alliances. By capturing the careers of individual chieftains, I hope to create an understanding of the interdependencies between the various actors and groups involved. Given the fact that most of the tribal groupings tried to attach themselves to the court or to form larger alliances, which often cut across the established groups and affiliations, the following narrative will shift between summary analyses of career paths and conceptual reflection. Detailed passages from the sources revealing fine- grained structures shaping events, situations and particular patterns of behavior will be interlaced with the text to substantiate my argumentation. To this end, I will take a look at power negotiations and negotiation 1 Beisembiev, “Unknown Dynasty,” 20. 216 Andreas Wilde interfaces, tribal councils and assemblies, as well as patterns of conflict and distribution of resources. THE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER THE LAST TUQAY-TIMURIDS In the time of ʿUbaidullah Khān II, centrifugal dynamics gave rise to a number of amīrs who strove for more independence. These processes speeded up in the time of Abū’l-Faiż Khān. The following list gives an overview of the protagonists in the first three decades of the eighteenth century: x ʿUbaidullah Khān b. Subḥān Qulī Khān (r. 1702–11); king of Transoxania, who led a major campaign to Balkh in 1707 and was assassinated at the climax of an amirid conspiracy in 1711. Throughout his short reign, he faced severe challenges by several ambitious amīrs for more independence at home and against his attempts to reconquer Balkh. In the end, this ruler lost the support of the urban population and the influential Jūybārī khwājas. x Abū’l-Faiż Khān b. Subḥān Qulī Khān (r. 1711–47); younger brother of ʿUbaidullah Khān and last active Tuqay-Timurid ruler. From 1721 onward, he was confronted with a rebellion by Rajab Khān in Samarqand. Afterward, he became increasingly dependent on the Manghit amīrs and a court faction called the ahl-i maḥram. x Rajab Khān (d. 1727–28); also known as khān of Samarqand, was a relative of the famous Khiwan ruler Abū’l-Ghāzī Khān and himself lived in Miyānkāl. In 1722–23 he was installed as new Chingizid king by a coalition of Uzbek tribes from Miyānkāl and eastern Transoxania. x Muḥammad Raḥīm Bī b. Ghāzī Bī Yūz; first governor of Ūrā Tippa and later of Samarqand. In 1702 he was appointed to the rank of atālīq and also accompanied the king on his campaign to Balkh in 1707. He was one of the most important amīrs in the time of ʿUbaidullah Khān but later disappears from the historical accounts. x Maʿṣūm Ḥājī b. Ādīna Muḥammad Ḥājī Sarāy (d. 1714); began his career in the time of Subḥān Qulī Khān and acted first as parwānachī. In 1117/1705–06 he was appointed dīwānbēgī. From 1707 onward, he held the prestigious post of atālīq but fell from royal grace and was dismissed immediately prior to his death. x Ibrāhīm Bī b. Rustam Bī Kīnakās (d. 1730–31?); appears first as mīrākhūr and one of the leaders of the powerful ūng wa sūl tribes. In 1711 he was promoted to the post of dīwānbēgī but was dismissed in 1714. Two years later, he was appointed to the rank of atālīq and again dismissed in 1719. Afterward, he enthroned Rajab Khān as independent ruler in Samarqand and joined forces with other tribes. x Farhād Bī Ūtārchī (d. 1721–22); was an influential chief of the Khiṭāʾī-Qipchāq with a stronghold first in Charkhīn near Samarqand, and later in Qarshī and Figurations of Power in Eighteenth-Century Transoxania 217 Samarqand. Since 1711 he had shifted his loyalty to and from the court several times. In 1719 he was appointed to the rank of atālīq but fell victim to a conspiracy two years later. x Khudāyār Bī b. Khudāy Qulī Bī Manghit (d. 1716); was first governor of Shahr-i Sabz and appointed parwānachī in 1706. In 1711 he again became governor of Shahr-i Sabz but was continuously opposed by some of the ūng wa sūl tribes, especially the Kīnakās, so that he soon retired to Chirāghchī. In 1714 he received the post of atālīq but was dismissed about two years later. x Muḥammad Ḥakīm Bī b. Khudāyār Bī Manghit (d. 1744 or 1745); made a career under Abū’l-Faiż Khān and acted first as qurchībāshī. In 1716–17 he was promoted to the post of parwānachī. After demonstrating his loyalty to Abū’l-Faiż Khān during a rebellion in 1719, he received the post of dīwānbēgī. After 1721–22, he consolidated his position as atālīq and protector of the king. x Khwāja Bāltū Sarāyi (d. 1711); chief eunuch of ʿUbaidullah Khān’s mother and in charge of the royal treasury. In 1709 he initiated a currency depreciation together with Mihtar Shafīʿ, triggering riots in the capital. Two years later he was beheaded in the course of the plot against ʿUbaidullah Khān. x Khwāja Ulfat Sarāyi (d. 1747); chief eunuch of the royal harem after 1715. He was an influential leader of the ahl-i maḥramīya (“the Confidants”) of Abū’l-Faiż Khān and de facto in charge of the government of Bukhara. These actors were all part of the dramatic power struggle unfolding toward the end of Subḥān Qulī Khān’s long reign. The late Tuqay-Timurids ruled in an eventful time. Their realm was often shaken by rebellion. Unruly nomads like the Qazāq and the Qalmāq posed periodic threats at the fringes of Mā Warāʾ al-Nahr.2 ʿUbaidullah Khān’s reign was dominated by constant efforts to reconquer Balkh south of the Oxus. But these intentions were frustrated by the Uzbek chiefs and a number of rebellions in the provinces. Especially the ūng wa sūl tribes of Shahr-i Sabz often revolted against the king and impeded his military enterprises.3 In 1709, a revolt of several Uzbek tribes in Samarqand and riots shaking the capital after a depreciation of the Bukharan currency, the tanga, caused further cracks in the king’s authority.4 His court chronicler also criticizes the growing influence of ʿUbaidullah Khān’s 2 Amīn Bukhārī, ʿUbaidullah Nāma, fols. 144a–b, 147b; Semenov trans., 163, 166; Balkhī, Tārīkh, fol. 285b; Qāżī Wafā, Tuḥfat, fols. 16b–17a; Mullā Sharīf, Tāj, fols. 183b–189b; Yaʿqūb, Tārīkh, fols. 2b–3a. 3 Amīn Bukhārī, ʿUbaidullah Nāma, fols. 33b, 35b, 73b, 76a–b, 81a, 90a, 134a passim; Semenov trans., 49, 51, 87, 89, 94,103, 152 passim. 4 Ibid., fols. 139b–141a; Russian text, 158–59. 218 Andreas Wilde mother and his chief wife, Bībī Pādishāh.5 Having lost the support of his amīrs and the influential Jūybārī khwājas, ʿUbaidullah Khān was assassinated on Muḥarram 28, 1123/March 18, 1711.6 Just before the king’s death, the amīrs placed his brother Abū’l-Faiż Sulṭān on the throne.7 THE MAJOR POWER SHIFTS UNDER ABŪ’L-FAIŻ KHĀN Under Abū’l-Faiż Khān, the dissolution of the Tuqay-Timurid realm continued. Simultaneously, the offices of atālīq and dīwānbēgī became subject to an intense rivalry similar to the development in Balkh in the past decades. The following sequence illustrates the quick change in the figurations of power in Transoxania between 1711 and 1722: 1 After the enthronement of Abū’l-Faiż Khān in 1123/1711, Maʿṣūm Bī Sarāy remained atālīq. Coming from Shahr-i Sabz, his son-in-law Ibrāhīm Bī Kīnakās became dīwānbēgī, while Khudāyār Bī Manghit was granted the post of new governor of Shahr-i Sabz. 2 In 1126/1714–15, Maʿṣūm Bī and his Kīnakās in-law were deprived of their posts and retired to Qarshī and Shahr-i Sabz. Khudāyār Bī Manghit was appointed to the rank of atālīq. In 1127/1715, Niʿmatullah Bī Naymān was awarded the post of dīwānbēgī. 5 In its description of the influence of women at the Bukharan court, Amīn Bukhārī’s account is strongly colored. Criticizing these tendencies, he states that the king and his wife were inseparable. He even took her on hunting expeditions (shikār) and visits to holy shrines. On the occasion of public holidays, the queen mother allegedly demanded that the amīrs pay their respects to her, and she even arrogated to herself regulation of the government and interrogations (Amīn Bukhārī, ʿUbaidullah Nāma, fols.