Samanids

Native name	سامانیان
Conventional long name	Samani
Common name	Samani
Continent	Asia
Country	Iran
Era	Medieval
Government type	Emirate
Year start	819
Year end	999
P1	Saffarid dynasty
Flag p1	Saffarid dynasty 861-1003.png
S1	Ghaznavid dynasty
Flag s1	Ghaznavid Empire 975 - 1187 (AD).PNG
S2	Karakhanids
Image map caption	The Samani Empire.
Capital	Balkh, Bukhara
Common languages	Persian
Religion	Sunni Islam
Leader1	Yahya ibn Asad
Leader2	'Abd al-Malik II
Year leader1	819-855
Year leader2	999
Title leader	Emir
Stat year1	928 est.
Stat area1	2850000

The Samani dynasty ( Sāmāniyān), also known as the Samanid Empire, or simply Samanids (819–999) was a Persian state and empire in Central Asia and Greater Iran, named after its founder Saman Khuda, who converted to Sunni Islam despite being from Zoroastrian theocratic nobility. It was a native Persian dynasty in Greater Iran and Central Asia after the collapse of the Sassanid Persian empire caused by the Arab conquest.

Domination

The Samanids were a Persian state that reigned for 180 years, encompassing a territory which included Khorasan (including Kabul), Ray, Transoxiania, Tabaristan, Kerman, Gorgan, and west of these provinces up to Isfahan. At the peak of their power, the Samanids controlled territory extending as far south as the Sulaiman Mountains, Ghazni and Kandahar. The Samanids were descendants of Bahram Chobin, and thus descended from the House of Mihrān, one of the Seven Great Houses of Iran. In governing their territory, the Samanids modeled their state organization after the Abbasids, mirroring the caliph's court and organization. They were rewarded for supporting the Abbasids in Transoxania and Khorasan, and with their established capitals located in Bukhara, Balkh, Samarkand, and Herat, they carved their kingdom after defeating the Saffarids. the Samanids promoted the arts, giving rise to the advancement of science and literature, and thus attracted scholars such as Rudaki and Avicenna. While under Samanid control, Bukhara was a rival to Baghdad in its glory. The letter had a profound effect on Ismail, as he was determined to oppose the Saffarids.

The two sides fought in Balkh, northern Afghanistan during the spring of 900. During battle, Ismail was significantly outnumbered as he came out with 20,000 horsemen against Amr's 70,000 strong cavalry. Ismail's horsemen were ill-equipped with most having wooden stirrups while some had no shields or lances. Amr-i Laith's cavalry on the other hand, were fully equipped with weapons and armor. Despite fierce fighting, Amr was captured as some of his troops switched sides and joined Ismail.

Isma'il thereafter sent an army to Tabaristan in accordance with the caliph's directive. The area at that time was then controlled by the Zaydids. The Samanid army defeated the Zaydid ruler and the Samanids gained control of the region.

Cultural and religious efforts

The Samanids not only revived Persian culture but they also determinedly propagated Sunni Islam. In doing so, the Samanids repressed Ismaili Shiism but remained tolerant of Twelver Shiism.

Another lasting contribution of the Samanids to the history of Islamic art is the pottery known as Samanid Epigraphic Ware: plates, bowls, and pitchers fired in a white slip and decorated only with calligraphy, often elegantly and rhythmically written. The Arabic phrases used in this calligraphy are generally more or less generic well wishes, or Islamic admonitions to good table manners.

Decline

In 999, the Kara-Khanid leader Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan, grandson of the paramount tribal chief of the Karluk confederation, occupied Bukhara, the Samanid capital. The Samanid domains were split up between the Ghaznavids, who gained Khorasan and Afghanistan, and the Karakhanids, who received Transoxania; the Oxus River thus became the boundary between the two rival empires. During this period the Kara-Khanids converted to Islam.

Legacy

in combat in the Tajikistani dirham]] In commending the Samanids, the epic Persian poet Ferdowsi says of them:

کجا آن بزرگان ساسانیان زبهرامیان تا بسامانیان

"Where have all the great Sassanids gone? From the Bahrāmids to the Samanids what has come upon?"

According to a Bukharian historian writing in 943 stated that Ismail Samani:

"was indeed worthy and right for padishahship. He was intelligent, just, compassionate person, one possessing reason and prescience...he conducted affairs with justice and good ethics. Whoever tyrannized people he would punish...In affairs of state he was always impartial."

The celebrated scholar Nizam al-Mulk, in his famous work, Siyasatnama, stated that Ismail Samani:

"was extremely just, and his good qualities were many. He had pure faith in God (to Him be power and glory) and he was generous to the poor - to name only one of his notable virtues.

The Somoni currency of Tajikistan is named after the Samanids. A notable airline based in Dushanbe is also named Somon Air. Also, the highest mountain in Tajikistan and in the former Soviet Union is named after Ismail Samani. The mountain was formerly known as "Stalin Peak" and "Communism Peak" but was subsequently changed to the Ismoil Somoni Peak.

Samanid Amirs

Saman Khuda

Asad ibn Saman

Yahya ibn Asad (819-855)

Nasr I (864 - 892) (Effectively independent 875)

Ismail (892 - 907)

Ahmad (907 - 914)

Nasr II (914 - 943)

Nuh I (943 - 954)

'Abd al-Malik I (954 - 961)

Mansur I (961 - 976)

Nuh II (976 - 997)

Mansur II (997 - 999)

'Abd al-Malik II (999)

See also

Persian empire

History of Iran

Greater Khorasan

Full list of Iranian Kingdoms

List of Sunni Muslim dynasties

Notes

Bibliography

Daniel, Elton. (2001) The History of Iran (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations) Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0313307318, ISBN 9780313307317

Category:States and territories established in 819 Category:875 establishments Category:999 disestablishments Category:History of Iran Category:History of Afghanistan Category:History of Tajikistan Category:Dynasties of Afghanistan Category:History of Uzbekistan Category:Muslim dynasties Category:Islamic history