Samanid Empire

Tajikistan, 819 CE–999 CE. Draft, not yet reviewed

The Samanid Empire was a Persianate Sunni Muslim empire, ruled by a dynasty of Iranian dehqan origin, from 819 to 999. The empire was centred in Khorasan and Transoxiana, and at its greatest extent included northeastern Iran and Central Asia. In 892, Ismail Samani, son of Ahmad, united the Samanids under his rule. However, by 945, the government had fallen under the de facto control of the Turkic military slave faction, and the Samanid family's authority had become purely symbolic.

Seat of power: Samarkand

No rulers documented for this era yet.

Culture

• The Samanids were patrons of the arts, leading to advancements in science and literature, and as a result attracted scholars such as Rudaki, Ferdowsi, and Avicenna.
• Under Samanid rule Bukhara was said to rival Baghdad in its glory.
• In a famous edict, the Samanids declare that "here, in this region, the language is Persian, and the kings of this realm are Persian kings."
• The mausoleum is considered one of the iconic examples of early Islamic architecture and is known as the oldest funerary building of Central Asian architecture.

Picture

The Samanid Mausoleum is a mausoleum located in the northwestern part of Bukhara, Uzbekistan, just outside its historic center.

Image: Apfel51, Public domain, file

Sources

• Samanid Empire (Wikipedia)
• Samanid Empire (Wikidata)
• About the picture (Wikipedia)

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.