ABSTRACT
The history of the establishment of Bukhara as capital of Ma wara al-nahr is inextricably bound up with the name of the greatest of the Janibegids, Abu 'l-Ghazi 'Abdallah Bahadur Khan, generally known as 'Abdallah Khan or 'Abdallah b. Iskandar. In 956/1549 the appanage holder of Bukhara, 'Abd al-'Aziz, son of the great khan 'Ubaidallah, died, leaving no clear successor, for there was some doubt as to the legitimacy of his closest relative, his nephew Burhan Sultan. Five years after his first appointment as governor, 'Abdallah was once more in control of Bukhara. 'Abdallah gave himself up to his favourite pastime, the hunt, in the rich hunting country around Qarshi, much to the anger of Khwajah Isiam, who felt that the young man should show himself worthy of the rich prize of Bukhara by devoting his time to administering the area.
