The etymology of the place name "Bukhara"
In order to fully appreciate the
history of Bukhara, it is important to analyze the
different ancient names of the city. Specifically,
what is the etymology of the place name "Bukhara"?
Comparatively accurate data on the names of Bukhara
and the surrounding region and its rulers can be found
from early medieval Chinese sources. About ten names
are described in these sources: An, Ansi, Ango, Myumi,
Bukho, Bukhe, Bukhaer, Buhola, Fuho, and Puhala. Some
of these names are certainly of Chinese origin. The
rest of them were derived from various Chinese pronunciations
of the name "Bukhara." It is interesting
to note that these names refer not only to the central
city of the region, but also to the region itself,
as well as its rulers. For instance, the An, or Bukho
domain was known as Myumi in the Early Middle Ages,
as was the capital of the region. The Eastern An was
located 100 M (forty-five km) northeast of Myumi and
Bi (Paikend) the same distance northeast of Myumi.
The rulers' residence was in Alanmi (Ram-itan). The
western border of this state was adjacent to the Ukhu
River (the Amudarya). In this region there were forty
large cities and over 100 small fortresses; only brave
and able-bodied young men were enlisted to serve in
the army.
The capital of the Myumi state was situated west of
Siwan Tsin (Samarkand), on the southern reaches of
the Mami (Zarafshan) River. The city was enclosed
by five walls, as well as moats filled with water.
Palaces and other buildings were covered with flat
roofs.18 Thus, according to the data from Chinese
sources, the Zarafshan River was named Mami in the
fifth to seventh centuries A.D., while the state located
on the lower reaches of the river was called Myumi.
Bukhara and Mamijikat were neighboring, but independent
cities. The History of Bukhara contains data on Mukhanna's
uprising. It is known that in 775 A.D. rebels wearing
"white clothes" broke into Mumijikat and
seized the city. Some time later, the size of both
cities increased, so that the cities merged with one
another. Of all the names, only the most commonly
adopted one, Bukhara, remained in use.
What did the ancient names used for Bukhara mean?
If we would speak of etymology, then, first and foremost,
we should notice that the names used by Arabian authors
are divided into two categories: the first category
is for indigenous names, the second one is for loan
names. Thus, "Madaniyat as-sufriya" or "Copper
City," "Madinat at-tujar" or "The
City of Merchants", and "Fakhira" or
"The Honourable City" were names given to
Bukhara by the Arabs.
Bukhara was called "Madinat as-sufriya"
(meaning "The Copper City," or "The
Copper Fortress") because of its strongly fortified
walls. Moreover, Bukhara was situated on the Great
Silk Road that linked the city to the Middle East,
India, and China. The majority of the well-off population
were kashkashans (traders) and so it was known as
"Madinat at-tujar" or "The Traders'
City". According to Mukhammad Narshakhi, the
city was named "Fakhira" after shahids (religious
warriors), who fell in action for Islam.
Numijkat, Bumiskat and Bukhara are the local names
of the city. The first name actually sounds like "Nawmichkat"
and is combined from three words: the Tajik-Persian
word naw (new) and the Soghdian words mich (fortress)
and kat (settlement).Together they mean "Mew
fortified settlement." As for the name "Nyu-mi"
found in Chinese sources, it is a distorted version
of "Nawmich".
As we know from the place names of Bukhara, one of
the old fortresses within the city was named "Farqwis".
This name has survived until now as "Farowis
us-Suflo", which is the name of a small canal
that flows into the Shakhrud canal. It is also the
name of the patron of weavers in Bukhara, Boboi Paraduz.
Actually, the name of this ancient fortress was originally
"Farabdiz". In Soghdian, ????? means "quay",
and diz means "fortress". So, joined together,
these words mean "The Fortress Near the Water",
or "The City on the Quay".
Mukhammad Narshakhi writes that "of the different
names of the city, Bukhoro was the most well-known".
Therefore, both the region and the city had the same
name. Academician V.V. Bartold explains the origin
of the word "Bukhara" from the Sanskrit
word vi-hara or "temple". However, we think
that this name is derived from the Soghdian word Bugoro
which means "God's fascination". This interpretation,
undoubtedly, is congenial to the nature of the ancient
Bukhara that Narshakhi describes. The essence of this
name is reflected in the remains of material culture
discovered during archaeological excavations.
Thus, Bukhara originated from three fortresses, situated
on the bank of the Zarirud River on the lower reaches
of the Zarafshan River. The most ancient of these
fortresses is the Farabdiz Fortress, followed by Bukhara
and Nawmichkat respectively. Eventually, these three
fortress merged together. As the population grew,
the city area too increased. To provide for security,
in the ninth century A.D. a wall enclosing all parts
of the older settlements was erected around Bukhara.
In the fifteenth to sixteenth centuries A.D., the
wall was extended to enclose the new suburbs. The
city had eleven gates and roads in that period. The
roads led to Samarkand, Khorezm, Khorasan and Iran,
Karshi and Termez. The rest of the roads linked Bukhara
to settlements in the localities of the city.
Along with archaeological research in Bukhara itself,
large-scale excavations have also been conducted in
the old settlements of Varahsha, Paikend, and Ramitan,
mentioned by Mukhammad Narshakhi as "settlements
older than Bukhara". Although archaeological
finds, unearthed from the lower layers of these settlements
are dated from the fifth to the fourth centuries B.C.
(for Varahsha), the fourth to the second centuries
B.C. (for Ramush and Paikend), and the third to the
fourth centuries A.D. (for Ramitan), it has not been
proven that these settlements are older than Bukhara.
Thus, different artifacts, unearthed during archaeological
excavations in Bukhara and its localities, provide
proof from the point of view of scientific analysis
that Bukhara is 2,500 years old.
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