Uzbeks from the northwest had conquered large…

Uzbeks from the northwest had conquered large sections of Central Asia in the early sixteenth century, but the unified Uzbek state began to break apart soon after the conquest.

By the early nineteenth century, the lands of the future Tajikistan are divided among three states: the Uzbek-ruled Bukhoro Khanate, the Quqon (Kokand) Khanate, centered on the Fergana Valley, and the kingdom of Afghanistan.

These three principalities subsequently fight each other for control of key areas of the new territory.

Although some regions are under the nominal control of Bukhoro, or Quqon, local rulers are virtually independent.