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The Saffarid dynasty was a Persianate dynasty of eastern Iranian origin that ruled over parts of Persia, Greater Khorasan, and eastern Makran from 861 to 1002. One of the first indigenous Persian dynasties to emerge after the Islamic conquest, the Saffarid dynasty was part of the Iranian Intermezzo. The dynasty's founder was Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar, who was born in 840 in a small town called Karnin (Qarnin), which was located east of Zaranj and west of Bost, in what is now Afghanistan. A native of Sistan and a local ayyār, Ya'qub worked as a coppersmith (ṣaffār) before becoming a warlord. He seized control of the Sistan region and began conquering most of Iran and Afghanistan, as well as parts of Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The Samanid Empire, also known as the Samanian Empire, Samanid dynasty, Samanid amirate, or simply as the Samanids, was a Persianate Sunni Muslim empire, of Iranian dehqan origin. The empire was centred in Khorasan and Transoxiana; at its greatest extent encompassing Persia and Central Asia, from 819 to 999.
Ya'qūb ibn al-Layth al-Saffār, was a coppersmith and the founder of the Saffarid dynasty of Sistan, with its capital at Zaranj. Under his military leadership, he conquered much of the eastern portions of Greater Iran consisting of modern-day Iran, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan as well as portions of western Pakistan and a small part of Iraq. He was succeeded by his brother, Amr ibn al-Layth.
Abd al-Malik I was amir of the Samanid Empire from 954 to 961. He was the son and successor of Nuh I. His reign was marked by internal strife, with the Turkic slave-soldiers increasing in power. He died after falling from his horse during a game of polo at Bukhara. He was succeeded by his brother Mansur I, who was put on the throne by a faction of ghulams led by the Turkic slave-commander, Fa'iq Khassa.
Nasr I was amir of the Samanids from 865 to 892. He was the son and successor of Ahmad ibn Asad.
Ahmad ibn Ismail was amir of the Samanids (907–914). He was the son of Ismail Samani. He was known as the "Martyred Amir".
Abu Salih Mansur, better known as Mansur I (منصور) was amir of the Samanids from 961 to 976. The son of Nuh I, his reign was characterized by weak rule and perpetual financial troubles. Mansur was notably the first Samanid ruler to the use title of King of Kings (Shahanshah), most likely as a response to his rival, the Buyid ruler Adud al-Dawla, who likewise used the title. He is also known by the sobriquet Amīr-i Sadid.
Abū Ibrāhīm Ismā'īl ibn-i Aḥmad-i Sāmāni, better known simply as Ismail-i Samani, and also known as Isma'il ibn-i Ahmad, was the Samanid amir of Transoxiana (892–907) and Khorasan (900–907). His reign saw the emergence of the Samanids as a powerful force. He was the son of Ahmad ibn-i Asad and a descendant of Saman Khuda, the eponymous ancestor of the Samanid dynasty who renounced Zoroastrianism and embraced Islam.
Alp-Tegin, or Alptekin, was a Turkic slave commander of the Samanid Empire, who would later become the semi-independent governor of Ghazna from 962 until his death in 963.
Abu Ja'far Ahmad ibn Muhammad was the amir of Sistan from 923 until his death in 963. He is responsible for restoring Saffarid rule over Sistan, and was a great patron of the arts.
Abu Ali Ahmad Chaghani was the Muhtajid ruler of Chaghaniyan (939–955) and governor of Samanid Khurasan. He was the son of Abu Bakr Muhammad.
Rāfi‘ ibn Harthama was a mercenary soldier who in the turmoils of the late 9th century became ruler of Khurasan from 882 to 892.
The Mikalid family, also known as the Mikalis, was a prominent Iranian aristocratic family of Khorasan from the 9th century to the 11th century. They were descended from the pre-Islamic nobility of Samarkand.
Abu Salih Mansur was a Samanid prince, who served as governor during the reign of his uncle Isma'il ibn Ahmad, his cousin Ahmad Samani, and Nasr II.
Abu'l-Fadl al-Bal'ami, also known as Bal'ami the Elder, was a Samanid statesman from the al-Bal'ami family, who served as the vizier of Nasr II from 922 to 938.
Ahmad ibn Farighun was the first Farighunid ruler of Guzgan (9th-century–10th-century). He was the son of a certain Farighun.
Ibrahim ibn Ahmad, was the amir of the Samanids briefly in 947. He was the son of Ahmad Samani.
Ahmad ibn Sahl ibn Hashim was an Iranian aristocrat who served the Saffarids and later the Samanids.
Abu Mansur Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Razzaq ibn 'Abdallah ibn Farrukh, also simply known as Abu Mansur Muhammad and Ibn 'Abd al-Razzaq, was an Iranian aristocrat who served the Samanids during the most of career, and briefly served as governor of Azerbaijan under the Buyids.
Ibrahim ibn Simjur was a Samanid military officer from the Simjurid family.