Muhammad Alim Khan was the last Emir of Bukhara, and these bronzes were struck during the final, desperate years of his rule as Bolshevik forces tightened their grip on Central Asia. The Russian Civil War had effectively severed Bukhara from reliable silver supplies, forcing the emirate into bronze coinage for denominations that would previously have been struck in silver.
The Red Army overthrew Alim Khan in September 1920, ending over three centuries of Shaybanid-descended rule. He fled to Dushanbe, then into Afghan exile, where he died in 1944.
Muhammad Alim Khan was the last Emir of Bukhara, and these bronzes were struck during the final, desperate years of his rule as Bolshevik forces tightened their grip on Central Asia. The Russian Civil War had effectively severed Bukhara from reliable silver supplies, forcing the emirate into bronze coinage for denominations that would previously have been struck in silver.
The Red Army overthrew Alim Khan in September 1920, ending over three centuries of Shaybanid-descended rule. He fled to Dushanbe, then into Afghan exile, where he died in 1944.