| Bokhara | 1,000 |
| Samarcand | 1,000 |
| Kurshee | 200 |
| Jizzak | 500 |
| Kermina | 200 |
| Kut Koorghan | 100 |
| Punjshumbu | 100 |
| Khojar | 100 |
| Sherabul | 100 |
| Karabul | 100 |
| Narazun | 100 |
| Oostee | 100 |
| Charjooee | 300 |
| Grand total | 3,900 |
That portion of the troops south of the Oxus is only nominally dependent on Bokhara; there the Uzbeks are not numerous; a great proportion of the population, however, are Arabs, who have the same reputation for soldiers as in other countries. They are not at the disposal of the government. Except the territories of Balkh, from which a force of 2000 or 3000 men might be assembled, these people cannot be viewed as available troops, for they are at enmity with one another, and the King takes no pains to reconcile them.
Foreign policy of Bokhara.
Bokhara possesses a much higher influence, both physical and moral, than any of the states around it; but its affairs were left in a most embarrassed state by the late King, who bestowed more attention on religion than politics. The Khan of Orgunje or Khiva waged a continual war with him. The Khan of Kokan was also his declared enemy. The chiefs of Shuhr Subz and Hissar acknowledged no allegiance, and the Meer of Koondooz plundered and even seized Balkh. The affairs of the kingdom are at present more prosperous, and the designs and power of the reigning King bid fair to keep pace with one another. He has this year chastised the chief of Shuhr Subz, and seized upon six of his villages. That town, which is famed as the birth-place of Timour, is considered the strongest in Toorkistan, from the marshy nature of the country which surrounds it. The power of Kokan has been also broken, and one of its frontier districts, that of Jizzak, which formed one half of Uratippa, has been annexed to Bokhara within these four years. Hissar might be also overcome, though it is mountainous, since the chief is dead, and his country has been divided among four brothers. The most powerful enemy of the kingdom is the chief of Koondooz; and if the city of Balkh has been wrested from him, he has conceded it to policy, and not to fear. He retains the name of that ancient city on his coin, and there is little amity between the states. The King of Bokhara entertains designs on Koondooz; but the country is distant, and it is very doubtful if he could make an impression upon it, though his formidable title of Commander of the Faithful would secure to Bokhara the aid of the Moollahs and a large army. The enmity of the Khan of Khiva terminated with the death of Mahommed Ruheem Khan, the late chief, who sent an ambassador on his death-bed to ask forgiveness. The sons of the two parents, who were ever at war with one another, are now united. The injuries which Khiva inflicted on the kingdom, determines its influence over the destinies of Bokhara. With an inferior power, the chief of that state plundered its caravans, robbed its subjects, obstructed its commerce, and laid waste its territories. The intervening deserts protected him from reprisal, though a vigorous monarch might successfully invade his territories from the Oxus. If the Khan of Khiva continues friendly, the King will be able to extend his power to the eastward, where he has long meditated an expedition.
With China, Cabool, and Turkey.
The connexion of Bokhara with China, Cabool, and Turkey, is friendly; and all of them have sent ambassadors. Last year an envoy from China was deputed to solicit the assistance of the King, in maintaining the peace of the western frontier of China, from the inroads of the Khan of Kokan. His majesty wisely declined all interference, but the chastisement which the Chinese inflicted on the inhabitants of that state some years ago, may relieve the emperor at Pekin from any alarm regarding his frontiers. The commercial relations between Bokhara and China are on a footing favourable to both states; but the Uzbeks are not permitted, more than other nations, to pass beyond Yarkund, Cashgar, and their tributary towns. While the monarchy existed in Cabool, the intercourse between that kingdom and Toorkistan was friendly and frequent, for the Afghans possessed the province of Balkh. The number of Afghans in Bokhara is considerable, and the whole Indian trade is carried on by their intervention. There is, however, no intercourse between the King of Bokhara and the chiefs who have risen on the ruins of the Cabool monarchy: the Uzbeks despise the friendship of Persia, from the hatred which they have for the heretical doctrines entertained by that people. Their only intercourse is commercial, and but few of them engage in trade, which is left to the Persians or Mervees, who are of the Shiah creed. The liberality of the present minister of Bokhara has contributed to soften the asperity of feeling between the Persians and Uzbeks, but it is difficult to say on which side the greatest animosity subsists. The Persians have far the greatest cause, since they are constantly seized and sold into slavery. The fame of the Ottoman empire has extended to Bokhara, but the people have very imperfect notions of the weakness of the Porte. They believe the sultan to be the most potent monarch of the globe, and I have been frequently interrogated as to the extent of tribute which the different European nations rendered to him. We can comprehend the reasons for this assiduous attention of Bokhara, even on religious grounds; but the countries are far apart, and their intercourse is limited to empty expressions of devotion and attachment to one another.
Connexion with Russia.
From the time of Peter the Great, there has subsisted a continued communication between Bokhara and Russia, and it has been based on the reciprocal advantages of commerce. The land route between the countries was first opened in the reign of that monarch, and, during the last seventy years, the transit has been uninterrupted. In the reign of Alexander, and about the year 1820, the Russians endeavoured to cultivate a closer connexion, and despatched an embassy to Bokhara. They had failed in the preceding year to open the road between the Caspian and Khiva. It is but fair to believe, that some of the views of this mission were commercial, but they were likewise connected with political ends. The embassy was well received at the capital. A mission was sent in return to St. Petersburgh, and several others have since followed it. From that period, the subjects of Russia have ceased to be sold into slavery in Bokhara; it is supposed that these missions have had reference to the affairs of Khiva, but Russia will require no foreign aid to coerce that chiefship. The Russians have also established a friendly feeling with the chief of Kokan: they have impressed the whole of the Uzbeks with high notions of their power, to the detriment of all other European nations; but they have yet to eradicate, by their future conduct, other opinions, which have been as universally adopted, that they want truth and honour in their diplomacy. Setting aside the physical obstacles which present themselves to the Russians making a conquest of Bokhara, the people are generally inimical to them. It is even probable that Bokhara, with all her pretended amity, would succour Khiva, if attacked by the Czar. Should these countries ever be subdued from that quarter, it would be found most difficult to retain them, or control the wandering tribes around. Regular troops would be useless, and irregulars could not subdue a race who had no fixed places of abode. It is not, however, to be concealed, that the court of St. Petersburgh have long cherished designs in this quarter of Asia.