Siege of Samarkand (1868)

Siege of Samarkand
Part of the Russian conquest of Bukhara

Painting, titled "Let them enter!", of Russian soldiers defending a breach in the walls at the Siege of Samarkand. Vasily Vereshchagin—who was commended for his heroism during the siege—painted the work in 1871 and went on to become a famous War artist.
Date12–18 June 1868
Location
Result Russian victory[1]
Belligerents
 Russian Empire Bukhara Emirate
Kokand Khanate
Turkmen Tribes
Commanders and leaders
Baron of Stempel [ru]
Nikolai Nazarov [ru]
Jurabek [uz]
Strength
685[1] 25,000–55,000[1]
Casualties and losses
49 killed, 172 wounded[1] Heavy[1]

The siege of Samarkand was a military engagement fought in Samarkand (in modern day Uzbekistan) in 1868 between the Russian Empire and a combined army of forces from the Bokharan Emirate and its allies, which included the Kokand Khanate and tributary Turkmen-Uzbek tribes.[2] During the engagement, a Russian garrison successfully repelled multiple attempts by the besieging allied army to storm the city. The Russian victory solidified imperial control over the new state of Russian Turkestan, and caused the partial collapse of the Bukharan Emirate.

  1. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Malikov A.M. The Russian conquest of the Bukharan emirate: military and diplomatic aspects in Central Asian Survey, volume 33, issue 2, 2014,pp.180-198