Produced by Turgut Dincer, Charlie Howard, and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
file was produced from images generously made available
by The Internet Archive)
Transcriber’s notes, including explanations of how italic, boldface,
and accented text are represented, will be found after the Index.
[Illustration: GŪR AMĪR, THE MAUSOLEUM OF TAMERLANE]
THE HEART OF ASIA
A HISTORY OF RUSSIAN TURKESTAN
AND THE CENTRAL ASIAN KHANATES
FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES
BY
FRANCIS HENRY SKRINE
FORMERLY A MEMBER OF H.M. INDIAN CIVIL SERVICE
AND
EDWARD DENISON ROSS, PH.D.
PROFESSOR OF PERSIAN AT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, LONDON
WITH 19 ILLUSTRATIONS FROM SKETCHES BY VERESTCHAGIN
NUMEROUS PHOTOGRAPHS AND 2 MAPS
METHUEN & CO.
36 ESSEX STREET, W.C.
LONDON
1899
CONTENTS
PART I
FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE RUSSIAN OCCUPATION
CHAP. PAGE
I. EARLIEST TIMES TO THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER 3
II. BACTRIANS AND PARTHIANS 10
III. THE HUNS AND THE YUÉ-CHI 14
IV. THE SĀSĀNIDES, THE EPHTHALITES, AND THE TURKS 22
V. THE RISE OF ISLAM AND INVASIONS OF THE ARABS 34
VI. THE FIRST EASTERN CAMPAIGNS OF KUTAYBA IBN MUSLIM 45
VII. KUTAYBA’S LAST CAMPAIGNS 56
VIII. KUTAYBA’S FALL AND DEATH 63
IX. KUTAYBA’S SUCCESSORS 67
X. NASR IBN SAYYĀR AND ABŪ MUSLIM 77
XI. KHORĀSĀN UNDER THE FIRST ABBĀSIDS 84
XII. THE CALIPHATES OF EL-MANSŪR, EL-HĀDI, AND HĀRŪN ER-RASHĪD 90
XIII. DECLINE OF THE CALIPHS’ AUTHORITY IN KHORĀSĀN. THE
TĀHIRIDES 98
XIV. THE SAFFĀRIDES AND THE RISE OF THE SĀMĀNIDES 103
XV. THE SĀMĀNIDES 109
XVI. THE KARA-KHĀNIDES, OR UÏGHŪRS 114
XVII. THE GHAZNAVIDES AND THE RISE OF THE SELJŪKS 123
XVIII. THE SELJŪKS 129
XIX. SULTAN SANJAR AND THE KARA-KHITĀYS 136
XX. THE KHWĀRAZM-SHĀHS 144
XXI. CHINGIZ KHĀN 149
XXII. MONGOL INVASION OF CENTRAL ASIA 155
XXIII. THE LINE OF CHAGHATĀY 160
XXIV. TĪMŪR, THE GREAT AMĪR 165
XXV. THE SUCCESSORS OF TĪMŪR 173
XXVI. THE SHAYBĀNIDES 182
XXVII. THE HOUSE OF ASTRAKHAN 194
XXVIII. THE HOUSE OF MANGIT 204
XXIX. AMĪR NASRULLAH, A BOKHĀRAN NERO 211
PART II
RUSSIA IN CENTRAL ASIA
I. THE MAKING OF RUSSIA 225
II. CROSSING THE THRESHOLD OF ASIA 238
III. THE STRUGGLE WITH THE KHĀNATES 250
IV. TURKOMANIA AND THE TURKOMANS 262
V. THE LAST STEP IN ADVANCE 284
VI. THE CENTRAL ASIAN RAILWAYS 306
VII. TRANSCASPIA IN 1898 320
VIII. ASKABAD AND MERV 340
IX. BOKHĀRĀ, A PROTECTED NATIVE STATE 357
X. SAMARKAND 386
XI. FRIENDS OR FOES? 408
APPENDIX I 417
APPENDIX II 424
INDEX 429
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
GŪR AMĪR, THE MAUSOLEUM OF TAMERLANE (_VERESTCHAGIN_) _Frontispiece_
SO-CALLED SARCOPHAGUS OF ALEXANDER IN CONSTANTINOPLE
(_photograph_) 9
THE RAHLA, OR READING DESK, OUTSIDE THE MOSQUE OF BĪBĪ KHĀNŪM,
SAMARKAND (_photograph_) 38
CENTRAL ASIAN TYPES (_VERESTCHAGIN_) 47
GENERAL VIEW OF BOKHĀRĀ (_photograph_) 66
RELIGIOUS MENDICANT, BOKHĀRĀ (_VERESTCHAGIN_) 92
A JEWISH CHILD OF BOKHĀRĀ (_photograph_) 106
CENTRAL ASIAN TYPES (_VERESTCHAGIN_) 124
CENTRAL ASIAN TYPES ” 126
MAUSOLEUM OF SULTAN SANJAR, OLD MERV (_photograph_) 138
NOMADS CHANGING CAMP (_VERESTCHAGIN_) 151
DERVISHES OF THE NAKSHABANDI ORDER ” 170
INTERIOR OF TAMERLANE’S MAUSOLEUM (_photograph_) 172
THE TOMB OF TAMERLANE ” 172
INTERIOR OF A KIRGHIZ TENT (_VERESTCHAGIN_) 183
DECORATIONS IN THE SHĀH ZINDA, SAMARKAND (_photograph_) 192
COURTYARD OF A HOUSE IN SAMARKAND ” 212
ENTRANCE TO THE SHĀH ZINDA, SAMARKAND ” 235
THE SEA OF SAND IN THE KARA-KUM DESERT (1) ” 263
THE SEA OF SAND IN THE KARA-KUM DESERT (2) ” 263
TURKOMAN MUSICIANS ” 283
VIEW FROM THE INTERIOR OF THE FORT OF GEOK TEPPE (_photograph_) 292
DIVANIS, OR DERVISHES (_VERESTCHAGIN_) 307
GENERAL KURAPATKINE (_photograph_) 323
A GROUP OF TURKOMANS AT ASKABAD STATION ” 345
RUINS OF OLD MERV ” 353
HINDUS OF BOKHĀRĀ ” 367
THE MINĀR KALĀN AT BOKHĀRĀ ” 374
PRISONERS OF THE AMĪR OF BOKHĀRĀ ” 376
A BOKHĀRĀ BEAUTY AND HER TWO CHILDREN ” 382
SHĪR DĀR MADRASA, SAMARKAND ” 390
THE BĪBĪ KHĀNŪM ” 392
THE MARKET NEAR BĪBĪ KHĀNŪM, SAMARKAND ” 398
BAZAAR POLITICS (_VERESTCHAGIN_) 414
MAPS
THE ADVANCE OF RUSSIA IN CENTRAL ASIA 257
CENTRAL ASIA 428
INTRODUCTION
A time when Russia’s movements in the East are being watched by all
with such keen interest seems a fitting one for the appearance of a
work dealing with her Central Asian possessions. “That eternal struggle
between East and West,” to quote Sir William Hunter’s apt phrase, has
made Russia supreme in Central Asia, as it has made England mistress of
India: and thus it has come to pass that two of the greatest European
Powers find themselves face to face on the Asiatic Continent. On the
results of that contact depends the future of Asia.
Ten years have elapsed since Lord Curzon of Kedleston published his
work entitled _Russia in Central Asia_, and in the interval no book
on this subject has appeared in English. The intervening period has
been one of change--almost of transformation--in the countries so
brilliantly described by the present Viceroy of India.
The authors of the present work have visited independently the land
of which they write, and each may claim to have had exceptional
facilities for studying those questions in which they were most
interested.
Professor Ross is responsible for the greater part of the research
in the historical chapters. He has laid under contribution many
Persian, Arabic, and Russian authorities hitherto inaccessible to
persons unacquainted with those languages; and has aimed at offering,
for the first time in any language, a consecutive history of Central
Asian events from the earliest days. His task has been lightened by
the generous help of Sir Henry Howorth, M.P.; Mr. Percy Gardner, of
Oxford; M. Drouin, of Paris; and especially of Mr. E. G. Browne, of
Cambridge. The historical portion does not claim to be exhaustive,
but rather introductory, and, such being the case, certain omissions
were perhaps inevitable. Thus, for example, the engrossing subjects of
Mediæval travel and Christianity in Central Asia--which have already
been exhaustively dealt with by Colonel Yule and others--have been but
lightly touched on. If, again, such famous men as Chingiz Khān and
Tamerlane have been somewhat briefly dismissed, less known figures,
such as Kutayba ibn Muslim, have been brought from comparative oblivion
into a prominence more worthy the important parts they played in
Central Asian history.
It has been Mr. Skrine’s province to describe the mechanism of
government, the development of railways and commerce, and the social
life in the great cities. He owes much to the help of Monsieur P.
Lessar, Chancellor of the Russian Embassy; Colonel C. G. Stewart,
C.S.I., our Consul-General of Odessa; Monsieur de Klemm, of the
Turkestān Staff; Colonel Brunelli, Commandant of Transcaspian Railway
Rifles; and Colonel Arandarenko, District Officer of Merv. He is also
indebted to the proprietors of the _Standard_ and _Pioneer_ for the
permission to use literary matter which has already appeared in their
journals. In the important matter of illustrations the authors desire
to acknowledge the generous kindness which prompted M. Verestchagin to
consent to the reproduction of his admirable drawings. They have to
thank, too, Sir Archibald Buchan Hepburn, Bart. of Smeaton Hepburn,
and Mr. A. Adam of Steeton Hall, for lending them a series of most
interesting photographs of Central Asian scenes.
PART I
FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE RUSSIAN OCCUPATION
CHAPTER I
EARLIEST TIMES TO THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER
The history of Central Asia is that of the cradle of mankind. He who
seeks to evolve it from the mass of nebulous tradition is brought into
contact with the traces of widely diverse nationalities and religions,
and must consult in turn the annals of the Iranians, Greeks, Scythians,
Chinese, Turks, and Russians. We propose in the following chapters to
review the principal events enacted in that portion of Central Asia
which is vaguely styled Turkestān, and is bounded on the north and east
by the Sir Darya and the Hindu Kush, and on the west by the Caspian Sea.
The earliest references to Turkestān that have reached us are contained
in the Indian and Iranian epics, and give some colour to the theory
that the Pamirs were the birthplace of the Aryan race.[1]
The ancients gave the name of _Bactria_ to the tract lying between the
Oxus and the mountains of the Paropamisus.[2]
The earliest mention of Bactria[3] is preserved in the inscription
of Behistūn, dating back to the sixth century B.C., in which it
is included in the list of the satrapies belonging to the Persian
Empire of Darius II. Cyrus I. subdued this country, and, according to
Ctesias,[4] Bactria was the first of his conquests in Eastern Asia. The
founder of the Persian Empire carried his arms as far as the Jaxartes
(or Sīhūn), on the other side of which roamed the Massagetæ (B.C. 550),
and near it he built a city called Cyropolis.[5] The annexation of
Bactria involved that of Margiana, Khorazmia,[6] and Soghdiana. From
Greek sources we learn that under the rule of Darius Hystaspes (B.C.
521–492) these districts were reckoned among the Persian satrapies;
although the authority of the Achæmenians was probably but slight
there. It is not unlikely that all the eastern countries mentioned
in the oldest Darius inscriptions as “subdued,” or “rebellious,”
had already belonged to Cyrus, and that he ruled over Khorazmia and
Soghdiana.[7]
The Persian monarchy finally fell before the overwhelming might and
genius of Alexander of Macedon. In the space of four years (B.C.
334–331) he carried his victorious arms from the eastern shores of
the Mediterranean to Persepolis, overthrowing Darius II. at Issus in
B.C. 333, and again at Gaugamela[8] in B.C. 331. The latter defeat
was the deathblow of the Persian monarchy. Darius fled in an easterly
direction, accompanied by a still considerable army, determined if
possible to enter Bactria. Alexander took and plundered Persepolis
and Pasargadæ, the cradle of the Persian dynasty, and then set out in
pursuit of Darius, who had reached Ecbatana, the capital of Media. But
at this crisis Bessus, the governor of Bactria and commander of the
contingent of that province, in conjunction with other Persian nobles,
seized on the person of the king and laid him in chains. Their design
was to conciliate Alexander, should he overtake them, by giving up
Darius alive; while in the event of their escaping, they proposed to
murder the prisoner, usurp his crown, and begin a new war.
Bessus won over the whole army by intimidation and promises, placed
the fallen monarch in a covered chariot, and set out again from
Ecbatana, where Alexander arrived five days later. The conqueror
followed them with all possible despatch. On reaching the Caspian
Straits he halted to rest his troops; but when news was brought him of
the treachery of Bessus, he at once continued his march. The latter,
on hearing that Alexander was rapidly overtaking him, was filled with
terror, and entreated Darius to mount his horse and flee with him. The
fallen emperor refused to follow a band of traitors; whereupon the
conspirators, roused to fury, transfixed him with javelins, and left
him weltering in his blood.
Alexander came up only a few moments after he had expired. It is on
record that he lamented the “too severe a fate” of his illustrious foe,
and caused his body to be embalmed and buried with every demonstration
of respect. He then set out on a fresh career of conquest, overrunning
the whole country now occupied by Khorāsān, Sīstān, Belūchistān,
Kandahār, and Kābulistān.
Meanwhile Bessus hastened back to his satrapy of Bactria, and assumed
sovereignty under the name of Artaxerxes IV. That he was able for a
brief period to hold his own was due only to the fact that Alexander
wished to secure possession of other districts in Eastern Persia before
advancing against Bactria and Soghdiana.
In B.C. 329 the conqueror recrossed the Hindu Kush. The first town in
the Bactrian valley which he came upon was Drapsaca (corresponding with
modern Andarab), where he made a halt of a few days. Thence with an
army of 25,000 men he took Aornos (Gori or Khulum) and Bactria (Balkh).
Bessus, at the head of a small body of men who remained faithful,--for
on hearing of the approach of Alexander many thousands of his Bactrians
abandoned him,--crossed the Oxus, burning all the boats which he had
made use of, and withdrew to Nautaca.[9]
Alexander did not wait to replace the boats, but crossed the river with
his whole army on skins and sacks stuffed with straw.
The timidity of Bessus had probably disgusted his few remaining
followers, who now turned against him. His chief confidant Spitamenes
seized and led him bound before Alexander, who sent him to Ecbatana to
be judged and executed as a traitor by the Persians.
Alexander next turned towards Marcanda (Samarkand), the capital of
Soghdiana, which he took. Placing therein a considerable garrison, he
laid waste the surrounding country. Thence he advanced to the banks
of the river Jaxartes or Sīhūn, the Sir Darya of our days, which he
believed to be the Tanaïs, or Don.
The point at which he reached the Jaxartes is probably the site of the
modern Khojend: there he determined to build a town, but the execution
of his design was retarded by a rebellion of the Soghdians and the
Bactrians. The natives also overpowered the garrisons which he had
established in seven different towns on the banks of the Jaxartes, the
most important of which was Cyropolis. Alexander crushed the rebels and
re-established his authority on the Jaxartes in the course of a few
days.
At this juncture he received news of two serious events. The Sacæ, or
Scythians, had collected an army on the opposite bank of the river;
while Spitamenes, in whom, owing to his past conduct, he had placed
reliance, was besieging the Macedonian garrison left at Marcanda.
Alexander despatched a considerable force against Spitamenes, while
he himself turned towards the Jaxartes, on the left bank of which he
built a city in the space of seventeen days, calling it Alexandria
according to his custom. It was surrounded by a wall 60 stadia[10]
in circumference. Hemmed in as he now was by enemies on all sides,
and weakened by sickness, he stood in great need of that magnificent
self-confidence which is the birthright of conquerors. Moreover, his
army was becoming disheartened, and was disinclined to attempt the
passage of the river in the teeth of an enemy drawn up in battle array
on the opposite bank. But he was daunted by no difficulty or danger.
After completing his new capital he ordered the construction of a
multitude of rafts, on which he carried his whole army in safety,
fell on the Scythians, and put them to utter rout. They recognised the
uselessness of further resistance, and sent envoys to announce their
submission.
Meanwhile the division which had been sent to relieve the garrison
of Marcanda had been annihilated by Spitamenes in the valley of the
Polytimetus, or Zarafshan. On hearing of this disaster Alexander set
out in haste for Marcanda, which he reached in four days. Spitamenes on
the first news of his approach fled into Bactria. Alexander started in
pursuit, but, despairing of overtaking him, turned back and laid waste
the whole valley.
He took up his winter quarters in Zariaspa.[11] During this winter
(B.C. 329–328) he received reinforcements from Greece of 19,000 men,
which enabled him to overrun Margiana in the following spring. There
remained now but one stronghold unsubdued, namely, Petra Oxiana,[12]
which was provisioned for two years, and defended by a Soghdian named
Arimazes.[13] It finally capitulated, and its brave defender, together
with his relatives and the principal nobility, were crucified by the
exasperated conqueror.
[Illustration: SO-CALLED SARCOPHAGUS OF ALEXANDER
PRESERVED IN CONSTANTINOPLE]
Alexander established two fortresses south of the town of Margiana
or Merv, corresponding with the modern Sarakhs and Meruchak. He next
turned eastwards into Bactria, and on his way established four more
strongholds, on the sites of the modern Meimena, Andakūy, Shaburgān,
and Saripul. From Bactria he returned to Marcanda, whence he
probably made several expeditions into the surrounding country.[14]
His old enemy Spitamenes, after repeatedly attacking the Macedonian
garrisons in Soghdia and Bactria, was at length killed by a band of
nomads, and his head was sent to Alexander. Having now entirely subdued
Soghdiana, Alexander retired for the winter to Nautaca. It was at this
time that the tragic death of Cleitus occurred at the hands of the
master whom he had loved and served so well.
In B.C. 327 Alexander set out on the conquest of India, leaving
in Bactria a contingent of 10,000 foot and 3000 cavalry for the
maintenance of order.
His career has left an indelible impression on the Oriental mind,
which is slow to grasp new ideas, but extremely tenacious of them
when formed. He is associated throughout Islam with the “Two Horned”
(Zulkarnayn) of the Koran, and his exploits are the daily theme of
professional story-tellers in the market-places of Central Asia.