Samanid
Samanid
(sämä`nĭd), Muslim Persian dynasty that ruled (819–1005) in KhorasanKhorasanor Khurasan
, region and former province (1991 pop. 6,013,200), c.125,000 sq mi (323,750 sq km), NE Iran. Mashhad is the chief city; other cities include Sabzevar, Bojnurd, and Neyshabur. It is mainly mountainous and arid.
..... Click the link for more information. and Transoxiana as vassals of the AbbasidsAbbasid
or Abbaside
, Arab family descended from Abbas, the uncle of Muhammad. The Abbasids held the caliphate from 749 to 1258, but they were recognized neither in Spain nor (after 787) W of Egypt.
..... Click the link for more information. ; founded by Saman-Khuda, of old Persian aristocracy. The Samanids were one of the first purely indigenous dynasties to rule in Persia following the Muslim Arab conquest. Not until the reign (892–907) of Saman-Khuda's great-grandson, Ismail I, did Samanid power become extensive. In 900, Ismail defeated the SaffaridsSaffarid
, a dynasty of Sistan that flourished in the 9th cent., ruling (867–1495) in E Persia. Its founder, Yaqub ibn Layth, d. 879?, was a coppersmith who raised an army during a time of unrest and instability, conquering his native province of Sistan by 867.
..... Click the link for more information. in Khorasan, while his brother was the governor of Transoxiana; thus, Samanid rule was acclaimed over the combined regions. Persian influence was felt immediately, and the cities of BukharaBukhara
, city (1991 pop. 231,000), capital of Bukhara region, Uzbekistan, in the Zeravshan River valley. On the Shkhrud irrigation canal system, it is the center of a large cotton district and has textile mills as well as cotton-ginning industries and a large karakul skin
..... Click the link for more information. (the Samanid capital) and SamarkandSamarkand
, city (1991 pop. 395,000), capital of Samarkand region, in Uzbekistan, on the Trans-Caspian RR. It is one of the oldest existing cities in the world and the oldest of Central Asia.
..... Click the link for more information. became centers of Persian art and literature; industries included pottery making and bronze casting. After 950, Samanid power weakened, but was briefly revitalized under Nuh II, who ruled from 976 to 997. However, with the oncoming encroachment of Muslim Turks into the Abbasid Empire, the Samanids were effectively defeated; in 999, Bukhara fell under a combined force of Ghaznavids and Qarakhanids. Ismail II, d. 1005, last ruler of the dynasty, briefly fought (1000–1005) to retain Samanid territory, until he was assassinated.