Bukhar Khudahs

Bukhar Khudahs
βuxārak Xwaday
before 681–890s
Map showing Bukhara in Sogdia including other regions and cities
Capital		Bukhara
Languages		Sogdian
Religion		Zoroastrianism (also Manichaeism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam)
Government		Monarchy
Bukhar Khudah
•	???-681	Bindu (first mentioned ruler)
•	???-890s	Abu Ishaq Ibrahim (last)
Historical era		Middle Ages
•	Established	before 681
•	Samanid conquest	890s
Succeeded by Samanid Empire

The Bukhar Khudahs or Bukhar Khudats (Sogdian: βuxārak Xwaday) were a local Sogdian dynasty, which ruled the city of Bukhara from an unknown date to the reign of the Samanid ruler Isma'il ibn Ahmad, who incorporated Bukhara into the Samanid state.

The word “Bukhar” means Bukhara, while “khuda” means “lord”. Thus the word means “the lord of Bukhara”.

The founding date of the Bukhar Khudahs remains unknown; the 10th-century Iranian historian Narshakhi is known to have mentioned several names of rulers of Bukhara, but it is not known if they were all from the same dynasty. The first ruler mentioned by Narshakhi is Abru'i (also spelled Abarzi). According to Narshakhi, he was a cruel ruler, who was overthrown by a certain Turkic king named Qara Jurjin. The next ruler is named Kana, who is said to have introduced the minting of coins in Bukhara, which is, however, doubted by modern scholars. The next ruler is given as Makh, who was credited with the building of a bazaar that was named after him. The first ruler mentioned with the title of Bukhar Khudah is named Bindu, who was killed in 681 by the Umayyad general Salm ibn Ziyad during the first Arab attempts to conquer Transoxiana. He was succeeded by his few months-old son Tughshada. However, the kingdom was in reality controlled by Tughshada's mother, who is only known by her title of Khatun, and is celebrated in the local historical tradition for her wisdom and capable management. She is reported to have held court daily, "inquired into the affairs of state and issued orders and prohibitions," while at a distance stood "two hundred youths from the landowners and the princes ready for service, girded with gold belts and bearing swords." In 676 she dispatched a contingent to aid an Arab assault on Samarqand.