XXVI. THE SHAYBĀNIDES 182 XXVII. THE HOUSE OF ASTRAKHAN 194 XXVIII. THE HOUSE OF MANGIT 204 XXIX. AMĪR NASRULLAH, A BOKHĀRAN NERO 211 PART II RUSSIA IN CENTRAL ASIA I. THE MAKING OF RUSSIA 225 II. CROSSING THE THRESHOLD OF ASIA 238 III. THE STRUGGLE WITH THE KHĀNATES 250 IV. TURKOMANIA AND THE TURKOMANS 262 V. THE LAST STEP IN ADVANCE 284 VI. THE CENTRAL ASIAN RAILWAYS 306 VII. TRANSCASPIA IN 1898 320 VIII. ASKABAD AND MERV 340 IX. BOKHĀRĀ, A PROTECTED NATIVE STATE 357 X. SAMARKAND 386 XI. FRIENDS OR FOES? 408 APPENDIX I 417 APPENDIX II 424 INDEX 429 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE GŪR AMĪR, THE MAUSOLEUM OF TAMERLANE (_VERESTCHAGIN_) _Frontispiece_ SO-CALLED SARCOPHAGUS OF ALEXANDER IN CONSTANTINOPLE (_photograph_) 9 THE RAHLA, OR READING DESK, OUTSIDE THE MOSQUE OF BĪBĪ KHĀNŪM, SAMARKAND (_photograph_) 38 CENTRAL ASIAN TYPES (_VERESTCHAGIN_) 47 GENERAL VIEW OF BOKHĀRĀ (_photograph_) 66 RELIGIOUS MENDICANT, BOKHĀRĀ (_VERESTCHAGIN_) 92 A JEWISH CHILD OF BOKHĀRĀ (_photograph_) 106 CENTRAL ASIAN TYPES (_VERESTCHAGIN_) 124 CENTRAL ASIAN TYPES ” 126 MAUSOLEUM OF SULTAN SANJAR, OLD MERV (_photograph_) 138 NOMADS CHANGING CAMP (_VERESTCHAGIN_) 151 DERVISHES OF THE NAKSHABANDI ORDER ” 170 INTERIOR OF TAMERLANE’S MAUSOLEUM (_photograph_) 172 THE TOMB OF TAMERLANE ” 172 INTERIOR OF A KIRGHIZ TENT (_VERESTCHAGIN_) 183 DECORATIONS IN THE SHĀH ZINDA, SAMARKAND (_photograph_) 192 COURTYARD OF A HOUSE IN SAMARKAND ” 212 ENTRANCE TO THE SHĀH ZINDA, SAMARKAND ” 235