Samanid state

The Samanid state was formed during the collapse of the Abbasid caliphate . Ismail Samani ( 849 - 907 ) is considered the founder of the Samanid state, although the lands of Khorezm and Fararud were deposited from the Caliphate several decades earlier - in 819 AD. uh ..

In the 1st half of the 10th century , during the period of economic and cultural prosperity, the Samanid state included Maverannahr , Khorasan, Northern and Eastern Iran. A number of state entities - Khorezm, Kontsov, Ghazni and others - were in vassal dependence on the Samanids.

The domestic policy of the state is aimed at strengthening the central government, creating a strong army. State ownership of land and the irrigation system prevailed. The most important cities of the Samanid state were Bukhara , Samarkand , Merv, Ghazni and others. Crafts , as well as trade with Kievan Rus , Syria , Byzantium , China and other countries, developed significantly. In many cities there were Muslim schools - madrassas . Bukhara became famous for its library. At the court of the Samanids Rudaki , Avicenna , Firdousi , Farabi created . Architecture and construction developed.

Feudal oppression in the State of the Samanids was the cause of a number of popular uprisings - 913 , 930 , 944 and others.

The growth of feudal fragmentation led to the collapse at the end of the X century . The Samanid state ceased to exist under Mansur II ( 997 - 999 ), after receiving ( 999 ) Bukhara by the Karakhanids

Background

As part of the Samanid state

Like other kingdoms within the Sassanid Empire, the eastern provinces enjoyed sufficient independence: they had their own tribal aristocracy, army and domestic politics. With the beginning of the Iran-Byzantine war (602-628), the attention of the Shahinshah rarely turned to the eastern provinces, as a result of which the latter enjoyed greater independence. After the death of Khosrov II Parviz and the beginning of the “imperial leapfrog”, some representatives of the local aristocracy tried to take part in the struggle for the throne of the Shahinshah (for example, the head of Khorasan Farrukh-Khormizd tried to persuade Azarmedoht to a dynastic marriage). The last Shahinshah of the Sassanids, Yazdegerd III , sought shelter in the eastern provinces (in Merv ), where he was killed. The next half century (before the Arabs conquered 705–720), the regions that formed the core of the future Samanid state retained independence.

As part of the Caliphate

The regions that formed the core of the Samanid state were annexed to the Caliphate during the Arab conquest of Central Asia . Due to its remoteness from administrative centers, the caliph’s power was never strong here; it was undermined by the rebellions of high-handed military leaders (the rebellion of Kuteiba ibn Muslim ), the uprising of the local population (falling away from Islam in the 720s, the Mukanna uprising, the uprising of Rafi ibn Leys ), the civil wars (the rustak uprising in the 720s, the civil war of the 730s, the third fitna ) and the invasion of neighboring states ( Turkic Kaganate in the 720s, Turgesh Kaganate in the 730s and 740s). Thus, more than 2/3 of the entire time that the land was east of Iran as part of the Caliphate was in a state of a war. ^[7] .

The Abbasids , who replaced the Umayyad during the Third Fitna, could not keep the country within their former borders - the fall of the provinces began already in the second year of the reign of Abu al-Abbas al-Saffah . Under these conditions, the first caliphs attempted to rely on the clan aristocracy of the eastern provinces; thus began the rise of a number of large families, the most famous of which are the Barmakids . By the time of Harun al-Rashid, the influence of the non-Arab aristocracy became a burden rather than a support for the caliphs, and a number of clans fell out of favor. The civil war that followed Harun ar-Rashid's death, known in Muslim historiography as the Fourth Fitna , led the caliphs to become even more reliant on the clan aristocracy of the eastern provinces, thereby allowing its representatives to act more independently. ^[8]

The most influential clans ( Tahirids , Saffarids , Samanids , etc.) remained formally dependent on the Caliphate, however, they maintained an independent domestic policy and, thus, actually ruled the vassal Caliphate states. The Caliphs, for their part, recognized the head of the most powerful aristocratic family, the Vali Fararud and Khorasan, but did not allow its excessive strengthening and contributed to intrigues between the clans. Thus, before Ismail Samani, the Samanids did not rule the state in the full sense of the word (even the vassal Caliphate), but only the province of Maverannahr and Khorasan. ^[8]

Samanid rule in Herat (819–857)

Samanid rule in Vararud (819–892)

The Final Unification and the Beginning of Dawn (892–907)

In 893, the city ​​of Isfijab (now Sairam) was included in the Samanid state ^[9] . The oldest ispijab Muslim coin - was issued in 919-20 with the name of the local dynasty Ahmad b. Matta. ^{[10] The} Samanids in 995–96 had a mint in Isfijab and issued their coins, and in 998-99 two types of dirhams were issued - first with the mention of the local ruler from the Mattid dynasty, then the Samanid, and later Mattid dirhams were knocked out. ^[eleven]

Interim (907–961)

Decline (961–999)

The Turkic commander who served the Samanids Sinan ad- dada Begtuzun was governor in Khorasan , Samarkand , Keshe and Khujand from 976 to 1024. The Samanid emir Mansur appointed him governor of Khorasan. The successor and son of Sebuk-tegin Mahmoud Ghaznavi ousted Begtuzun from Nishapur, after which Begtuzun, in alliance with another dignitary, Faik, deposed Samanid Mansur and in the beginning of 999 enthroned his brother Abd al-Malik to the throne in Bukhara. The overthrow of the sovereigns of the sovereign spoke of a decline in the power of the Samanids. ^[12]

Attempts by Ismail Al Muntasir to Resurrect the Samanid Empire (1000-1005)

Under the centralized state of the Samanids, their lands flourished, especially handicraft production and trade, as evidenced by the use of Samanid silver coins throughout Central Asia. The literary centers in the Samanid state were Samarkand, Balkh, Merv, Nishapur and others. But Bukhara was the trendsetter in the poetic world - the Bukhara rulers invited the best poets to the court. Samarkand and Bukhara became recognized cultural centers where Persian literature flourished. Under the Samanids, science, art and culture of the Tajik people reached a high level. The Samanid state lasted more than 100 years with a peaceful life, which contributed to the flourishing of cities, crafts, the development of agriculture and trade, and mining. It was a genuine Renaissance, which gave the world great humanists, such as the founder of the Persian poetry Rudaki , the creator of the immortal poem “Shahname” A. Firdousi , the great scientist, encyclopedist and thinker, geographer, astronomer and mathematician Al-Biruni and the world famous Persian ^{[13 ]} Encyclopedic scientist Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and others. Philosophy and history have blossomed. It was the time of the founding of Iranian Islamic culture. One of the most important contributions of this time to Islamic culture was a new technique for processing ceramics from Nishapur and Samarkand , which allows you to save the painting after firing and cover it with glaze. The main ceramic products were vases and plates, decorated with stylized Sasanian motifs: horsemen, birds, lions and Arabic calligraphy . Bronze casting and other metalwork flourished. Few buildings of this period have survived, however, the mausoleum of Ismail Samani (907) still stands in Bukhara, showing the original architecture of this period.

Cultural and Religious Situation

The Samanids contributed to the revival of Persian culture, patronizing Rudaki , ^[14] Balami and Dakiki . etc. ^{[15] The} Samanids promoted Sunni Islam and repressed Ismaili Shiism ^[16] , but, unlike other rulers of the East, were more tolerant of Shiite Islam. ^[17] Islamic architecture and Islamic-Persian culture were spread by the Samanids throughout Central Asia. After the first complete translation of the Koran into Persian in the 9th century, the population began to accept Islam in large quantities in significant quantities. ^[eighteen]

Introducing tough missionary activity, the Samanids spread Islam deeply in Central Asia. ^[18] After several successful trips to the north against the Turkic nomads, more than 30,000 Turks converted to Islam, and then another 55,000 during the Ghaznavids. The massive conversion of Turks to Islam ultimately led to the growing influence of the Ghaznavids, who subsequently rule the region. ^[fifteen]

The economic basis of the Samanids was agriculture and trade. The Samanids actively participated in trade - even with Europe, as evidenced by the thousands of coins of the Samanid period found in the Baltic countries and Scandinavia. ^[19]

Another strong contribution of the Samanids to the history of Islamic art is ceramics, known as the "Samanid Epigraphic Ceramics": plates, bowls and jugs, issued in a white slip and decorated with calligraphy, often elegantly and rhythmically written.

Scientists

Literature

Music

Population

Together with the Persian-speaking population, the Turkic settled and nomadic population lived in the Samanid state. Among the Turkic clans there were Karluks, who in the 7th century formed a possession in Tokharistan. The Karluk tribal union originally consisted of three large tribes. In the years 808–809 Karluks participated in hostilities near Samarkand. ^[twenty]

Language

Classical Arabic in the period of dependence on the Caliphate was not propagated by the people of Fararud and Khorasan ; already under Umar II , an attempt was made to conduct the Islamization of the region using the local, Middle Persian language. Originally unsuccessful, this attempt turned into an adaptation of Arabic writing (instead of Aramaic ) under Persian phonetics. This circumstance was the impetus for the change of the Middle Persian language to the New Persian language, stretching for more than a century - that is, in the Samanid state there was actually a transition from the Middle Persian language to the New Persian ..

Intellectual life

The Samanid state included two large areas: Fararud and Khorasan . Fararud (Maverannahru) included all the territories located north of the Amu Darya River. Among them, the leaders in economic, cultural, religious and political terms were Bukhara , Samarkand , Khorezm , Ustrushana , Chach , Fergana , Kesh , Nasaf . To one degree or another, the Samanid state also included regions in the upper reaches and tributaries of the Amu Darya - Chaganian , Huttal , Kubadiyan , Akharun , Shuman , Vashgird , Rasht , Kumed , Badakhshan , Kurran , Shikinan , Vakhan , Rushan , that is, areas in the territory modern central, southern and eastern Tajikistan and northeastern Afghanistan . Wilojats ( Persian ولایت - region ) were divided into rustaks ( Persian روستاق - district ), those in turn were divided into cities and villages ^[21] .

Structure

The nature of political power under the Samanids

• Samanids

• Frye, RN The Sāmānids // The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 4: From the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs. - Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1975. - P. 136–161. - ISBN 978-0-521-20093-6 .