Muhammad Rahim
Muhammad Rahim
Date of birth unknown; died in 1758. Emir of Bukhara.
Muhammad Rahim held a leading post in the court of the last member of the Ashtarkhanid dynasty, Abu-al-Faiz. He became the de facto ruler of the Bukhara Khanate in 1747. With the support of the clergy and the aristocracy, he ascended the throne in 1753 and took the title of emir, thus establishing the Mangyt dynasty. Muhammad Rakhim liberated Bukhara from Persian vassalage and created a strong, disciplined army. He curbed the opposition of local feudal lords, but the wars he waged caused enormous damage to the country’s economy.