BOKHARA, the capital of the khanate of the same name, in lat. 39° 48' N.; long. 64° 26' E. It is eight or nine' miles in circuit and is surrounded by a mud-wall. It is poorly built, consisting of extremely narrow streets and paltry houses. The principal edifices are the palace of the Khan, crowning a height near the centre of the town and surrounded by a brick wall 70 feet high; and numerous mosques, the largest of which is enameled with tiles of azure blue, and has a tower 210 feet high. A canal crosses the city in many directions. It is spanned at intervals by bridges. Bokhara is a centre of Islam culture and con tains about 60 high madrasahs and a great num ber of lesser ones. The trade was formerly large with India, but has now been almost com pletely absorbed by Russia. There are several manufacturing establishments producing blades, various metal articles, silks and cloth. The pop. (estimated) 70,000.
BOL, bol, Ferdinand, Dutch painter: b. Dordrecht 1611; d. Amsterdam 1681. He was the pupil of Rembrandt, and is best known by his admirable portraits, in the style of that mu ter, though he likewise executed several histori cal paintings of merit. Many of his works are still to be seen at Amsterdam. He also prac tised etching with success. His best known portrait is that of Saskia, the wife of Rem brandt, now in the Brussels Museum. As a por trait painter he was in great vogue at Amster dam. His portraits include 'Regents of the Leper Hospital' (1649), now in the town-hall, Amsterdam; 'Regents of the Poor House' (1657), in the Rijks Museum; 'Portrait of Ad miral de Ruyter' (1699), also in the Rijks Museum; his religious pictures of note include 'Repose on the Flight into Egypt' (1644) ; 'Joseph Interpreting his Dream' ; 'Women of the Sepulchre.'