The Ark ("citadel") sits on a mound in Bukhara's north-west, its earliest walls dating to the 5th century BCE. Occupied continuously as a royal residence for over 2,500 years, it was one of the longest-inhabited fortifications in Central Asia.
Chief occupants included: - Samanids (9th–10th c.) — under whom Bukhara was Islam's cultural capital. - Emirs of the Manghit dynasty (1785–1920) — the last of the ruling Bukharan lineage.
In 1868 the Russian general Kaufman took Bukhara in a bloodless entrance, imposing a protectorate but leaving the Emirs on the throne. The 1868–1920 period is the best-documented and included the notorious "Bug Pit" — the deep cell where the emir Nasrullah Khan held British envoys Charles Stoddart and Arthur Conolly before beheading them in 1842. The pit is still open to visitors.
In September 1920 the Red Army under Mikhail Frunze shelled the Ark. Most palace buildings were destroyed; the reception halls, mosque, and mint remain. Emir Alim Khan fled to Afghanistan.
The Ark now houses several small museums covering Bukharan coinage, calligraphy, and the history of the emirate.
Bukhara in photos
A short visual companion to this entry — photographs of Bukhara from our travel archive.
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