Abstract:

The survey analyzes various archive documents and historical sources related to the social-religious situation of people of different religions, particularly the Jews in the Bukhara Emirate during the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries.

The Bukhara Emirate (known as "Bukhara Khanate" in international historical literature and locally as the "Bukhara Emirate") is considered from 1756 to 1920 according to some sources. The Bukhara Emirate, a multi-religious and multi-national state, hosted diverse communities, including Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and Christians. The term "Bukhara Jews" began to be used in the 20th century by foreign travelers arriving in Central Asia to refer to Jews across the entire Turkestan region.

The Bukhara Emirate, with its Islamic Sunni Hanafi legal system, managed affairs based on Shari'a laws. Different religious representatives faced various taxes and exemptions compared to other Islamic states. For instance, Jews adhered to specific restrictions such as avoiding certain clothing, refraining from building new synagogues, repairing existing ones, abstaining from riding horses. To distinguish themselves from Muslims, Jewish men tied by a rope their waist, while women had noticeable veils in their paranjas.

Bukhara had three Jewish neighborhoods, known as "guzar" (quarter): Mahallai Kohna (XVI), Mahallai Nav (XVII), and Mahallai Amirobod (XIX). The total number of Jews in the Emirate exceeded four thousand. Jewish education, including religious teachings in synagogues, was common, and boys typically received education, while girls were married off around the ages of 12-13. Polygamy was prevalent in Jewish families, and many women married early.

In the late 19th century, when the Bukhara Emirate became the protectorate of the Russian Empire and the ruler Emir Said Abdulahad Khan (1885-1910) proclaimed a law (1885) about the abolition of slavery were significantly influenced the Jewish community and its socio-religious life. Many archive documents illustrate their transition to Russian citizenship.

Consequently, during the late 19th century – the early 20th century, socio-religious changes among the Jews in the Bukhara Emirate were influenced significantly by the stratification processes under the influence of the Russian Empire. The Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Bukhara Jews lived together, maintaining their distinct ethnic identities. All their religious ceremonies continued to be performed in eight synagogues in their neighborhoods.