Samanid dynasty
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The Samani dynasty (Persian: سامانیان Sāmāniyān), also called the Samanid Empire, or simply Samanids (819–999)[1][2][3] was an Iranian state and empire in Central Asia and Greater Iran. It is named after its founder Saman Khuda, who converted to Sunni Islam after being born into the Zoroastrian nobility.[4] The Samanids were the first Persian dynasty to re-establish Iranian rule in the region after the fall of the Sassanid Empire following the Arab conquest.[5]
The dynasty was founded in 819 when the Abbasid caliphs appointed Saman Khuda’s descendants as governors in Transoxiana and Khurasan. The most famous ruler was Ismail Samani (r. 892–907), who expanded the empire and made Bukhara his capital. Under his rule, the Samanid state became a major center of Persian culture, literature, and Islamic learning. The Samanids encouraged the use of Persian language alongside Arabic, and poets such as Rudaki and Daqiqi flourished at their court.[6]
The Samanid Empire controlled large parts of modern Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. Their armies defended the eastern frontier against Turkic nomads, while their administration promoted trade along the Silk Road. The Samanids also played an important role in spreading Islam among Turkic peoples of Central Asia, laying the foundation for later Islamic states in the region.[7]
The dynasty declined in the late 10th century as internal struggles and attacks from the Karakhanid dynasty and Ghaznavid dynasty weakened their power. In 999, the Karakhanids captured Bukhara, ending the Samanid state. Despite their fall, the Samanids left a lasting legacy as patrons of Persian culture and as a bridge between the Arab Islamic world and the Turkic peoples of Central Asia.[8]
Samanid Dynasty Media
Map of Khorasan and Transoxiana.
Picture of the Samanid Mausoleum, the burial site of Ismail Samani.
Iran in the mid-10th century.
The Samanids in 998 shortly before its fall in 999 AD.
Early 14th century copy of the Samanid-period Tarikhnama of Bal'ami, with Persian miniature depicting the arrow of old Wahraz killing Masruq, the Ethiopian king of Yemen.
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References
- ↑ Ahmed Rashid, The Resurgence of Central Asia: Islam or Nationalism?, Oxford University Press, 1994, p. 166.
- ↑ Bernard Lewis, Historians of the Middle East, Oxford University Press, 1962, p. 372.
- ↑ Adeeb Khalid, Islam After Communism: Religion and Politics in Central Asia, University of California Press, 2007, p. 148.
- ↑ Elton L. Daniel, The History of Iran, Greenwood Press, 2000, p. 74.
- ↑ Richard N. Frye, The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 4, Cambridge University Press, 1975, p. 164.
- ↑ Sheila Blair, The Monumental Inscriptions from Early Islamic Iran and Transoxiana, BRILL, 1992, p. 27.
- ↑ John Andrew Boyle, The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 5, Cambridge University Press, 1968, pp. 164–170.
- ↑ Chase F. Robinson, Islamic Historiography, Cambridge University Press, 2003, pp. 45–47.