a general name for all that vast tract of land lying between Karazm and the great Kobi, or sandy desert bordering on China. It derives its name of Bukharia from the Mogul word Bukhar, which signifies a learned man; it being formerly the custom for those who wanted instruction in the languages and sciences to go into Bukharia. Hence this name appears to have been given to it by the Moguls who under Jenghiz Khan conquered the country. It is nearly the same with that called by the Arabs Mawaralnahr, which is little other than a translation of the word Transoxiana, the name formerly given to those provinces.

This region is divided into Great and Little Bukharia.

Great Bukharia (which seems to comprehend the Sogdiana and Bactriana of the ancient Greeks and Romans, with their dependencies) is situated between the 34th and 46th degrees of north latitude, and between the 76th and 92d degrees of east longitude. It is bounded on the north by the river Sir, which separates it from the dominions of the Eluths or Kalmucs; the kingdom of Kafgar in Little Bukharia, on the east; by the dominions of the great Mogul and Persia on the south; and by the country of Karazm on the west: being about 770 miles long from west to east, and 730 miles broad from south to north. It is an exceeding rich and fertile country; the mountains abound with the richest mines; the valleys are of an astonishing fertility in all sorts of fruit and pulse; the fields are covered with grass the height of a man; the rivers abound with excellent fish; and wood, which is scarce over all Grand Tartary, is here in great plenty. But all these benefits are of little use to the Tartar inhabitants, who are naturally so lazy, that they would rather go rob and kill their neighbours than apply themselves to improve the benefits which nature so liberally offers them. This country is divided into three large provinces, viz. Bukharia proper, Samarcan, and Balk; each of which generally has its proper khan. The province of Bukharia proper is the most western of the three; having on the west Karazm, on the north a desert called by the Arabs Guznah, on the east the province of Samarcan, and on the south the river Amu. It may be about 390 miles long, and 320 broad. The towns are Bukhara, Zam, Wardanfi, Karakul, Siunjbaia, Karhi, Zaruiji, Nerfem, Karmina, &c.

Little Bukharia is so called, not because it is less in dimensions than the other, for in reality it is larger; but because it is inferior to it as to the number and beauty of its cities, goodness of the soil, &c. It is surrounded by deserts: it has on the west, Great Bukharia; on the north, the country of the Kalmucs; on the east, that of the Moguls subject to China; on the south, the Thibet, and the north-west corner of China. It is situated between the 93d and 118th degrees of east longitude, and between 35° 30' and 45° of north latitude; being in length from east to west about 850 miles, and in breadth from north to south 580: but if its dimensions be taken according to its semicircular course from the south to the north-east, its length will be 1200 miles. It is sufficiently populous and fertile: but the great elevation of its land, joined to the height of the mountains which bound it in several parts, particularly towards the south, renders it much colder than from its situation might naturally be expected. It is very rich in mines of gold and silver; but the inhabitants reap little benefit from them, because neither the Eluths nor Kalmucs, who are masters of the country, nor the Bukhars, care to work in them. Nevertheless, they gather abundance of gold from the beds of the torrents formed by the melting of the snow in the spring; and from hence comes all that gold dust which the Bukhars carry into India, China, and Siberia. Much musk is likewise found in this country; and all sorts of precious stones, even diamonds; but the inhabitants have not the art of either cutting or polishing them.

The inhabitants both of Great and Little Bukharia, are generally those people called Bukhars. They are commonly sun-burnt and black-haired; although some of them are very fair, handsome, and well made. They do not want politeness, and are addicted to commerce; Bukharia. merce; which they carry on with China, the Indies, Persia, and Russia: but those who deal with them will be sure of being overreached, if they do not take great care. The habits of the men differ very little from those of the Tartars. Their girdles are like those of the Poles. The garments of the women differ in nothing from those of the men, and are commonly quilted with cotton. They wear bobs in their ears 12 inches long; part and twist their hair in tresses, which they lengthen with black ribbands embroidered with gold or silver, and with great tassels of silk and silver, which hang down to their heels; three other tufts of a smaller size cover their breasts. Both sexes carry about with them prayers written by their priests, which they keep in a small leathern purse by way of relics. The girls, and some of the women, tinge their nails red with the juice of an herb called by them kena: they dry and pulverize it; then mixing it with powdered alum, expose it in the air for 24 hours before they use it, and the colour lasts a long time. Both sexes wear clofe breeches, and boots of Russia leather, very light, and without heels, or leather soles; putting on galoches, or high-headed slippers like the Turks, when they go abroad. They wear also the same sort of bonnets and coverings for the head; only the women set off theirs with trinkets, small pieces of money, and Chinese pearls. Wives are distinguished from maids by a long piece of linen worn under their bonnets; which, folding round the neck, they tie in a knot behind, so that one end of it hangs down to the waist.

The Bukhar houses are of stone, and pretty good; but their moveables consist mostly of some China trunks plated with iron. Upon these, in the daytime, they spread the quilts they have made use of at night, and cover them with a cotton carpet of various colours. They have likewise a curtain sprigged with flowers and various figures; also a sort of bedstead half a yard high, and four yards long, which is hidden in the daytime with a carpet. They are very neat about their victuals; which are dressed in the master's chamber by his slaves, whom the Bukhars either take or buy from the Russians, Kalmucks, or other neighbours. For this purpose there are in the chamber, according to the largeness of the family, several iron pots, set in a kind of range near a chimney. Some have little ovens, made, like the rest of the walls, with a stiff clay or bricks. Their utensils consist of some plates and porringers made of cagua wood or of china, and some copper vessels. A piece of coloured calico serves them instead of a table-cloth and napkins. They use neither chairs nor tables, knives nor forks; but sit crofs-legged on the ground; and the meat being served up, they pull it to pieces with their fingers. Their spoons resemble our wooden ladles. Their usual food is minced meats, of which they make pies of the form of a half moon: these serve for provisions when the Bukhars go long journeys, especially in winter. They carry them in a bag, having first exposed them to the frost; and when boiled in water, they make very good broth. Tea is their common drink, of which they have a black sort prepared with milk, salt, and butter; eating bread with it, when they have any.

As the Bukhars buy their wives, paying for them more or less according to their handsomeness; so the surest way to be rich is to have many daughters. The persons to be married must not see or speak to each other from the time of their contract to the day of marriage. This is celebrated with three days feasting, as they do great annual festivals. The evening before the wedding, a company of young girls meet at the bride's house and divert themselves till midnight, playing, dancing, and singing. Next morning the guests assemble, and help her to prepare for the ceremony. Then, notice being given to the bridegroom, he arrives soon after, accompanied by ten or twelve of his relations and friends. These are followed by some playing on flutes, and by an Abus (a kind of priest), who sings, while he beats two little timbrels. The bridegroom then makes a horse race; which being ended, he distributes the prizes, six, eight, or twelve, in number, according to his ability. They consist of damasks, fables, fox-skins, calico, or the like. The parties do not see each other while the marriage ceremony is performing, but answer at a distance to the questions asked by the priest. As soon as it is over, the bridegroom returns home with his company; and after dinner carries them to the bride's house, and obtains leave to speak to her. This done, he goes back, and returns again in the evening, when he finds her in bed; and in presence of all the women, lays himself down by her in clothes, but only for a moment. The same farce is acted for three days successively; but the third night he passes with her entirely, and the next day carries her home.

Although the prevailing religion throughout all Little Bukharia is the Mahometan, yet all others enjoy a perfect toleration. The Bukhars say, that God first communicated the Koran to mankind by Moses and the prophets; that afterwards Mahomet explained, and drew a moral from it, which they are obliged to receive and practice. They hold Christ to be a prophet, but have no notion of his sufferings. Yet they believe in the resurrection, but cannot be persuaded that any mortal shall be eternally damned: on the contrary, they believe, that as the devils led them into sin, so the punishment will fall on them. They believe moreover, that at the last day every thing but God will be annihilated; and, consequently, that all creatures, the devil, angels, and Christ himself, will die. Likewise, that, after the resurrection, all men, excepting a few of the elect, will be purified or chastified by fire, every one according to his sins, which, will be weighed in the balance. They say there will be eight different paradises for the good; and seven hells, where sinners are to be purified by fire: that those who will suffer most, are liars, cheats, and others of that kind: that the elect who do not feel the fire will be chosen from the good; viz. one out of 100 men, and one out of 1000 women; which little troop will be carried into one of the paradises, where they shall enjoy all manner of felicity, till it shall please God to create a new world. It is a sin, according to them, to say, that God is in heaven. God, say they, is everywhere; and therefore it derogates from his omnipresence to say that he is confined to any particular place. They keep an annual fast of 30 days, from the middle of July to the middle of August, during which time they taste nothing all day; but eat twice in the night, at sunset and midnight; Bukharia nor do they drink any thing but tea, all strong liquors being forbidden. Whoever transgresses these ordinances is obliged to emancipate his most valuable slave, or to give an entertainment to 60 people: he is likewise to receive 85 strokes on the back with a leathern strap called dura. The common people, however, do not observe this fast exactly, and workmen are allowed to eat in the day time. The Bukhars say prayers five times a day; before morning, towards noon, after noon, at sunset, and in the third hour of the night.

Jenghis Khan, who conquered both the Bukharias from the Arabs, left the empire of them to his son Jagatay Khan. He died in the year 1240, and left the government to his son Kara Kulaku, and of Little Bukharia to another called Amul Khoja Khan. A long succession of khans is enumerated in each of these families, but their history contains no interesting particulars. They are long since extinct, and the Kalmyk Tartars are masters of the country.