«Bukhara Is Like Algeria»: the Ottoman Political Elite on the Petition of the Bukhara Emir Khaidar to Sultan Mahmud II to Accept Bukhara into the Ottoman Empire.

Abstract

Relations between the Bukhara Emirate and the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century previously became the object of study more than once [Saray, 1994; 2003. Andican, 2003]. However, one curious episode of bilateral relations has not received the proper assessment of the researchers. We are talking about a very interesting message from the ruler of Bukhara, Mangyt Emir Haidar (1800-1826) to the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II (1808-1839) with a request to accept Bukhara into the Ottoman Empire. Difficult internal and external political situation around Bukhara in the 1810s - 1820s. forced Emir Haidar to look for ways to solve it, one of which was to receive external assistance from the state, which was considered the most powerful in the Muslim world. Also interesting are the motives of the Ottoman political elite, who discussed various aspects of this diplomatic incident and made a direct comparison of the situation with the potential entry of Bukhara into the empire with the range of problems experienced by Ottoman diplomacy around Algeria. The similarity of the conditions for the entry of Algeria in the XVI century into the Ottoman Empire and the situation around Bukhara in the 19th century was due to the similarity of the military-political threats they faced. However, Bukhara was a little-known region of the world, the annexation of which carried significant risks. In this article, the author will attempt to consider this episode, the motives and goals of the parties in more detail.