Bukharan Jews - Background

Background

According to some ancient texts, there were Israelities that began traveling to Central Asia to work as traders during the reign of King David of Jerusalem as far back as the 10th century B.C.E. There is a tradition among the Bukharan Jews tracing their ancestry to the Tribe of Napthali and to the Tribe of Issachar of the Lost Tribes of Israel who may have been exiled during the Assyrian captivity of Israel in 7th century BCE. A third wave of Jews into Central Asia are said to have been descendants of the Israelites who never returned from the Babylonian captivity after exile in the 6th-5th century BCE.

The Bukharan Jews of Central Asia were essentially cut off from the rest of the Jewish world for more than 2,500 years but somehow managed to survive and preserve their Israelite identity and heritage in the face of tremendous odds. They are considered one of the oldest ethno-religious groups of Central Asia and over the years they have developed their own distinct culture. Throughout the years, Jews from other Eastern countries such as Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Syria, and Morocco migrated into Central Asia (usually by taking the Silk Road), as did Jews who were exiled from Spain during the Spanish Inquisition; all these joined the Central Asian Jewish community and were later collectively known as Bukharan Jews. In Central Asia, the Bukharan Jewish community survived for centuries, despite being subject to many conquering influences and much persecution.

Most Bukharan Jews lived in the Emirate of Bukhara (currently Uzbekistan and Tajikistan), while a small number lived in Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan and some other parts of the former Soviet Union. In the Emirate of Bukhara, the largest concentrations were in Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khokand. In Tajikistan, they similarly were mainly concentrated in the capital, Dushanbe.

Prior to the Partition of India, some Bukharan Jews could be found among the Afghan population of Peshawar, a city in what is now Pakistan. After partition and the creation of Israel, nearly all of these Jews left for Israel and other countries. One synagogue still exists in Peshawar, though it is non-functioning.