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47 Tuhfat al-khani: The Inauguration of Muhammad Rahim Khan Manghït Introduction Tuhfat al-khani (The khan’s gift), also known as the Tarikh-i Muhammad Rahim Khani, describes the growing influence of the Manghïts on the Ashtarkhanid court and their official seizure of power in the year 1756. Under Muhammad Rahim Khan the Manghïts became the rulers of the khanate de jure and not only de facto. The work was written by Muhammad Vafa Karminagi (1685–1769), whereas a later addition (up to the year 1769 or 1782, depending on the manuscript) was added by ῾Alim Bek Ishan Nasafi. Although the work contains valuable information on the Manghïts, it has never been edited or published. This is perhaps one of the reasons why it has been so underutilized by scholars. Muhammad Rahim Atalïq, a Manghït tribal chieftain and the strong man in the khanate, assumed the title khan and became the first ruler of the Manghït dynasty in Bukhara, a dynasty that survived well into the Russian conquest. In the portion of the manuscript presented here, we learn how he asserted his authority and legitimation in an elaborate ceremony that followed a tradition that the Muslim authors attributed to Chinggis Khan but that had been practiced—with variations—since at least the fifth century ad. The Uzbek Tribal Dynasties B 266 Central Asia in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries Account of the Installation of His Blessed Majesty upon the Seat of the Caliphate and the Throne of Kingship by the Graces of the Lord When the secretary of fate inscribed upon the tablet of destiny with the pen of the divine decree the esteemed verse We have made you the ruler of the earth (Qur᾿an 38:26) . . . and [when] the blessing-laden divine essence made him worthy of the bejeweled crown and the diadem and the girdle and parasol and diadem, [then] the endless bounty of the divine made his star of felicity sit upon the royal throne, in order to attend to the needs of the people and provide sustenance for all mankind. . . . Upon the surface of the mighty empire, the victorious and triumphant armies of the khan of nobility and benevolence, growing bit by bit and gathering little by little, exceeded by all accounts 12,000 soldiers, and each of the soldiers was supported by a few men, and from morning to night they bound the belt of service to act for the glory and dignity of the state. In these times, the guardians of the shar῾ia and the community, and the men of instruction and legal opinions, whether in private or publicly, announced and explained to the court [sublime] as Saturn that whenever the Generous Lord shows approval (by means of such benevolence) to someone who has glory, the most correct traditions and the decisions based upon them [require] that he imitate the exemplar of mankind, the greatest leader (i.e., Muhammad) thus: [that] it is proper for the sovereignty of the kingdom and worthy governance to have the khutba of the world-monarch recited in the pulpits of Islam adorning his imperial titles, and [that] the face of dirhams and dinars will be engraved with his royal die . . . and according to the will of God, from the first days of the month of Rabi῾ al-awwal, which corresponds to the beginning of Qaws (Sagittarius) and the last parts of the month of Tir (of the old Iranian calendar), in the year 1170 (ah) [ad 1756], a binding decree, a decree which is to be obeyed, was issued to the state attendants and to the officials of the royal treasury of His Highness, that they prepare the sums of cash and abundant goods, and they make ready the implements of spreading justice and [everything] required for the royal rank. . . . On Saturday, the 21st of the aforementioned month, the elite of the amirs and the best of the nobles were granted an audience in the private assembly. In keeping with the verse And take counsel with them in the affairs (Qur᾿an 3:150), the sovereign, the patron of religion and state, brought [the inauguration procedure] before them, and explained the right-guided opinion of the people of guidance and prudence about attending to the royal accession and performing the affairs and royal decrees. And he made his eloquent tongue issue the sweet words of the following statement: The reins of the affairs of mankind in arranging the...

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