Silsilai Salotini Manghitiya

Before you is a dynastic chronicle of the Manghit emirs of Bukhara Silsilai Salotini Manghitiya, or “The Chain of Manghit Sultans.” Manuscripts of this kind served not only as historical works, but also as instruments of political legitimacy.
For the rulers of the Bukhara Emirate, genealogy held particular importance. Since the Manghits were not descendants of Genghis Khan, the continuity of their authority had to be justified through Islamic tradition, service to the Muslim community, and carefully constructed dynastic lineage.
The manuscript also reveals remarkable calligraphic artistry. Large lines written in red ink emphasize names, titles, and key semantic passages. Within the manuscript itself, the signature of the scribe has survived – Qari Abdurahim, a master of shikasta, the cursive form of nastaliq script.
The work was written in Persian, which in early nineteenth-century Bukhara remained the principal language of court historiography and elite intellectual culture.
This manuscript demonstrates how history, political authority, and Islamic scholarship were interwoven into a single cultural tradition in Central Asia.