Abstract:

After the military invasions of the Russian Empire in 1839 and 1853 the ambassadorial relations between the three khanates increased in frequency. Even the Kokand khan, who always strived to maintain an alliance with the Khiva Kongrats against Bukhara, an attempt was made to stop these feuds. According to Shāhid ul-iqbāl from fear of attacks by the Russian army, the Kokand khan sent an ambassador to the Bukharan emir, presented submission and offered to take power into his own hands. In particular, the source notes that he "proceeded from the reflection that it is better to submit to him (Bukhara Emir) than to surrender to the Russians".

The dispatch of «Russian agents» also confirms these events, reporting that “the Kokand khan Khudayar-bek sent two embassies to the Emir of Bukhara with the offer of his allegiance and with a request to enter with an army into the country. There has never been an example of any ruler ceding his dominion to another voluntarily. I don't quite believe this suggestion. But in any case I don't think it is necessary to go with an army to Kokand”.

Kokand rulers' attempt to involve the Ottoman Sultan in these events also intensified. Historical chronicles and archival documents provide information that both earlier and in 1864, after the retreat of the Āvliya-Āta fortress to the hands of Russian troops, the Kokand ruler Sayid Muhammad-khan sent his high-ranking official Sayid Yaqub naqib to the Ottoman sultan's court to inform him about all political situations in the region, thus wishing to receive at least moral support.

It should be noted that in Anjum at-tawārikh there is information, which is not found in other sources, that in the early 19th century the Kokand ruler Ālim-khan (1798 - 1810), having realized the importance of uniting the three khanates, made an attempt to create an alliance. The source notes that, "...sometimes from the mouth of the shrinking pearl [khan] came such words: this small country, i.e. Fergana, Bukhara and Khorezm cannot accommodate several khans. [Therefore] the khans and emirs of these regions, having chosen one among them for greatness and leadership, should rule it with consent". The author of this historical work with regret emphasizes that Ālim-khan sent his ambassadors and called to the union, that the khan of Khorezm accepted his proposal, but not having received an answer from the Bukhara emir, left this world".