The Khan's Engineer: Mirza Abdul Azim's Canals of Bukhara

Before the Soviets drained the Aral Sea, another water story shaped Uzbekistan. This episode follows Mirza Abdul Azim, the 16th-century engineer who built Bukhara's great irrigation canals under Abdullah Khan II. We trace how his qanats and channels turned the Zeravshan River into a lifeline, feeding the city's cotton fields and making the Shaybanid Khanate a regional power. Along the way, we uncover the legacy of these waterworks in the 20th century, when Soviet planners expanded them to feed the cotton monoculture that ultimately doomed the Aral Sea. From Abdullah Khan's ambitious building program to the 1916 revolt sparked by cotton labor conscription, this is the story of how water—and control of it—has defined Central Asia for centuries. With a light touch, Lucas and Luna also reflect on what sustains their own work, inviting listener support to keep the show ad-free.

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