Emirate of Bukhara (1983: Doomsday)

The Emirate of Bukhara (Uzbek: Buxoro Amirligi) is a nation in the former central-eastern Uzbek SSR of the Soviet Union. Although it is officially independent, the Emirate of Bukhara is truly a puppet of the nearby Muslim Liberation Army, which uses it as a fighting front against nearby Siberia and it's puppets. However, pro-Soviet citizens and soldiers, as well as citizens and soldiers who wish that the true heir of Bukhara Shukria Raad Alimi returns to the country, are starting civil unrests in Bukhara, weakening the MLA rule in the country.

Pre-Doomsday
The Emirate of Bukhara was officially created on 1785, when the Manghit emirs, which had gained power from their position of "ataliq". By the time of the Persian invasion on 1740, it was clear that the Manghit holded the true power. In 1747, a Manghit ataliq killed the heir to the throne, and during the fourty-year period, the Khanate of Bukhara had puppet rulers controlled by the Manghit, until 1785, where the Manghit were proclaimed Emirs. In 1868, the Emirate lost a war with Russia, and Russia annexed much of the emirate's territory, including Samarkand, and made the Emirate a protectorate.

Reformists in the Emirate had found that the emir didn't want to loose his grip on power of Bukhara, and they asked for the Russian Bolshevik to help. The Bolsheviks were able to defeat the Emirate, and they replaced it with the Bukharan People's Soviet Republic, which later became part of the Uzbek, Tajik and Turkmeni SSRs.

During the Soviet era, the eastern part of the Emirate became prosperous, as the city of Tashkent became the fourth largest on the USSR.

Doomsday
The Uzbek SSR was hit more lightly than other SSR's such as the Kazakh or the Turkmeni. Uzbekistan recieved nuclear strikes over the cities of Termez, Tashkent (four separate nuclear strikes), Andijon, Qarshi, Navoiy and Uchquduq. The radiation was a problem too, but most of it quickly escaped onto the lowlands into west Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

First Years
As soon as contact with Tashkent (and Moscow) was broken, much of Uzbekistan fell into chaos. The city-states of Bukhara and Samarkand quickly declared independence. However, Samarkand was soon plagued with civil and political unrest.

Being the strongest city on Uzbekistan, Bukhara made it's move. It attacked much of Uzbekistan's east, quickly conquering Samarkand. The Emirate of Bukhara was proclaimed on 1987, four years after Doomsday.

Many immigrants of Uzbek ethnicity escaped from the south and east of Uzbekistan, which were hit with more force. Many Uzbeks also came from the lawless Afghanistan in the south, too. These Uzbeks replaced the historical Tajik majority for that of Uzbek in Bukhara and Samarkand.

Although, as said before, the area of Bukhara escaped much of the radiation because it quickly escaped to Karalparak lands, during this time period (1984-1990) the attacks upon Nawoiy and Qarshi proved to be devastating to trade and communication, as the electro-magnetic pulses (abbreviated EMP) destroyed all the electronic devices which were not shielded. Radiation remainders also blocked economic and transport routes. Most important was the atomic bombing of Nawoiy, which blocked a major route between Bukhara and Samarkand. Thousands of people died, reducing the population of Uzbekistan from about 16 million inhabitants to about 8 million.

The MLA
The MLA (Muslim Liberation Army) was the first organized nation that the Emirate of Bukhara found, in 1990. As they expanded further north, they occupied large areas (about a third of Bukhara's official territory) from the Emirate and forced many Uzbeks to join the army. Finally, the Emirate of Bukhara was forced to sign a treaty with the MLA that placed a puppet regime that claimed ancestry from the early Manghit Dynasty, the one which dominated the Emirate during it's pre-doomsday period until 1920, although nobody actually believed it. From that moment on, the MLA used the Emirate as a northern outpost and recruiting ground.

As the Soviet Union was more well known, when the Kazakh SSR recuperated and stopped being the ransacked region it was until then, the MLA started using the Emirate of Bukhara against Soviet-friendly Khanate of Kokand and the Soviet Union proper. On 2009-early 2010, the Khanate of Bukhara started going through internal turmoil. The Soviet Union made nearby Khanate of Aralia into a puppet, and the MLA started getting more involved into the Bukharan affairs.

At the same time, Shukria Raad Alimi, heir to the Emirate of Bukhara, arrived into the Emirate (by unknown means). However, she almost instantly had to go into hiding, as the leaders of the MLA wanted to kill her, and the newly-created Soviet faction was hostile to her and her followers. She hid in a small town close to Samarkand, and started converging several pro-Shukria (Royalist) militias into a great army. Escaping into a slightly larger town near the city of Guliston, Shukria's followers have stationed there. Most of the Bukharan army composes of Russians, Atheists, Jews, Christians and non-religious Sunni Muslims.

The Bukharan Civil War
On October 17, Royalists take over Guliston confirming the vague Bukharan reports that said an army was heading for the city. The royalist army, led by Shukria Raad Alimi, the historical heir to the throne, takes over Guliston with hardly a fight. Later in the day, the Emir of Bukhara proclaims the Bukharan Civil War to have started, and that the current Emirate's government "will not resign until the last drop of blood has been shed", on a speech told within the city of Samarkand.

On October 22, the Royalists advance over Jizzakh, while the pro-Soviets make their first move and attack Shakhrisyabz. However, the attack was defeated by a MLA army, and the pro-Socialists are disbanded.

On October 26, the Royalists siege Samarkand. This is the first siege to a city in the Bukharan Civil War, as the soldiers of Guliston and Jizzakh surrendered peacefully.

On October 30, the Russian Confederacy declared its support for the Royalist cause in the Emirate of Bukhara. Andrey Tretyak, current Durma leader stated that "The Russian Confederacy has long supported the cause of the moderate royalists in Bukhara and we hope that their example will inspire other oppressed majorities to rise up against their oppressors, socialist or otherwise"

On November 4, 2010, the Siege of Samarkand ends. Shukria Raad Alimi is proclaimed Emir of Bukhara, although the pro-MLA Emir hasn't yet abdicated.

Actuality
The Emirate of Bukhara is in a weak and unstable position. A civil war is likely to break out as the MLA, Soviet and royal (those who follow Shukria) factions grow both in strength and hostility towards each other. Recent news on Bukhara show that the royal and Soviet anti-MLA protests are becoming more violent that they were before, and many people across the Emirate fear for their security.

Administrative Divisions
Bukhara is divided into 7 administrative regions, called "Wiloyat": Bukhara, Samarkand, Nawoyi, Qashqadyro, Surkhondaryo (occupied by the MLA), Jizzakh, and Guliston. It also has the Capital District, Bukhara, which is the capital district of the Emirate.

Religion
Most of the population of the Emirate of Bukhara follows Sunni Islam. However, due to the effects of Doomsday and the MLA upon credibility, most Muslim Bukharans are divided into two: The fundamentalist rulers and the non-religious majority. Shukria Raad Alimi is part of the later, while most of the Sunni politicians and rulers of the Emirate are of the former.

The next most important religions in the Emirate are Sufi and Shi'a Islam. Although both this sects are officially a minority, they get greater benefits from the MLA, due to the Iranian origins of it. The Shi'a Bukharans form the majority of politicians and rulers of the Emirate, and are mostly fundamentalist.

Atheists are fourth in the Emirate, due to Doomsday and the former Soviet occupation.

Jews are extremely important on the Bukharan religious scene. The Bukharan Jews, although the next great religious group, they are a shadow of their former selves, as many had emigrated to Israel. Bukhori is a recognized language in Bukharan politics. However, unofficial groups of MLA members in Bukhara persecute and kill Jews. The Jews that remain are usually completely opposing to the government, and most of them are members of the royalist faction.

Last on the Bukharan religious scene is Christianity. Brought by the Soviets and earlier the Russians, the Christians from the Emirate had a boom in the early 1990's, but are being persecuted by the MLA, and as the Jews on Bukhara, most are members of the royalist faction and are anti-government.

Demographics
Bukhara's ethnic majority was officially Tajik, a Perso-Iranian group, being, along with Samarkand, the only cities in the Uzbek SSR with a Tajik culture. However, following the census of 1990 (the first Bukharan census), it was clear that the Turkic Uzbeks had replaced the Tajik as a majority, thanks to great emigration from survivors from Afghanistan, East Uzbekistan and the Karalparak zone. A great majority of Bukharans, Tajik and Uzbek alike, are mostly Muslim. The Muslims in Bukhara are mostly Sunni, although the minorities (mostly Sufi, but a large minority is Shi'a) are important, and are one of the greatest religious minorities on Bukhara. Great Jewish minorities exist as well, and Christians and atheists are, although uncommon, existing.

Culture
Samarkand and Bukhara were somewhat famous as cultural strongholds, and as strong melting pot of the cultures around the cities. As some people call it, Samarkand, "Crossroad of Cultures", has a characteristic Central Asian/Turkic culture and architecture. However, the Chinese, Slavic and Persian cultures make great influences upon both Samarkand and Bukhara are great.

Both Samarkand and Bukhara are candidates for the LoNESCO (League of Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Sites program. more to come...