Saffarid dynasty صفاریان | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 861–1002 | |||||||||||||||
.svg) Saffarid dynasty at its greatest extent underYa'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar | |||||||||||||||
| Capital | Zaranj | ||||||||||||||
| Common languages | Persian (administration, mother tongue)[1][2][3] Arabic (numismatics)[4] | ||||||||||||||
| Government | Hereditary monarchy | ||||||||||||||
| Amir (Emir) | |||||||||||||||
• 861–879 | Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar | ||||||||||||||
• 963–1002 | Khalaf I | ||||||||||||||
| Historical era | Medieval | ||||||||||||||
• Established | 861 | ||||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1002 | ||||||||||||||
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TheSaffarid dynasty (Persian:صفاریان,romanized: Safāryān) was aPersianate dynasty of easternIranian origin that ruled over parts ofPersia,Greater Khorasan, and easternMakran from 861 to 1002. One of the first indigenousPersian dynasties to emerge after theIslamic conquest, the Saffarid dynasty was part of theIranian Intermezzo. The dynasty's founder wasYa'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 nowAfghanistan. A native of Sistan and a localayyār, Ya'qub worked as a coppersmith (ṣaffār) before becoming awarlord. He seized control of the Sistan region and began conquering most of Iran and Afghanistan, as well as parts ofPakistan,Tajikistan andUzbekistan.
The Saffarids used their capital Zaranj as a base for an aggressive expansion eastward and westward. They first invaded the areas south of theHindu Kush, and then overthrew theTahirid dynasty, annexingKhorasan in 873. By the time of Ya'qub's death, he had conquered theKabul Valley,Sindh,Tocharistan,Makran (Balochistan),Kerman,Fars, Khorasan, and nearly reachedBaghdad but then suffered a defeat by theAbbasids.[5]
The Saffarid dynasty did not last long after Ya'qub's death. His brother and successor,Amr bin Laith, was defeated at theBattle of Balkh againstIsmail Samani in 900. Amr bin Laith was forced to surrender most of his territories to the new rulers. The Saffarids were confined to their heartland of Sistan, and with time, their role was reduced to that ofvassals of theSamanids and their successors.
The dynasty began withYa'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar (Ya'qub, son of Layth, the Coppersmith), a coppersmith of eastern Iranian origins,[a][13] who moved to the city of Zaranj. He left work to become anAyyar and eventually got the power to act as an independent ruler.[5] From his capital Zaranj he moved east into al-Rukhkhadj (Arachosia),Zamindawar and ultimatelyKabul, vanquishing theZunbils and theHindu Shahis by 865. He then invadedBamyan,Balkh,Badghis, andGhor. In the name ofIslam, he conquered these territories which were predominantly ruled byBuddhisttribal chiefs. He took vast amounts of plunder and slaves from this campaign.[14][15]
_on_the_obverse._Nagari_%2522Sri_Kudarayaka%2522_on_the_reverse_(%25E2%2580%259CKhudarayaka%25E2%2580%259D)_Circa_895-921_CE.jpg)
(Śrī Khūdarayakah, "The fortunate smallRaja"),trisula mark on the hump of the bull.Reverse: horseman with
(ma) inNagari to left,عدل ('adl, "Justice") in Arabic to right.[4]The Tahirid city of Herat was captured in 870,[15] and Ya'qub's campaign in theBadghis region led to the capture of Kharidjites which later formed theDjash al-Shurat contingent in his army. Ya'qub then turned his focus to the west and began attacks on Khorasan,Khuzestan,Kerman (Southeastern Iran) andFars (southwestern Iran).[15] The Saffarids then seizedKhuzestan (southwestern Iran) and parts of southern Iraq, and in 876 came close to overthrowing the Abbasids, whose army was able to turn them back only within a few days' march from Baghdad. From silver mines in thePanjshir Valley, the Saffarids were able to mint silver coins.[16]
These incursions, however, forced theAbbasid caliphate to recognize Ya'qub as governor of Sistan, Fars andKerman, and Saffarids were even offered key posts in Baghdad.[17] Despite Ya'qub's military successes, he was not an empire builder since he had no concept of a centralized government.[18]
In 901,Amr Saffari was defeated at thebattle of Balkh by theSamanids, and they lost Khorasan to them. The Saffarids were reduced to the provinces of Fars, Kerman and Sistan. UnderTahir ibn Muhammad ibn Amr (901–908), the dynasty fought the Abbasids for the possession of Fars to maintain its control over the province. However, in 908, a civil war erupted between Tahir and the pretenderal-Laith b. 'Ali in Sistan. In the next years, the governor of Fars, Sebük-eri defected to the Abbasids. In 912, the Samanids finally expelled the Saffarids from Sistan. Sistan passed briefly to Abbasid control, but became independent again under the SaffaridAbu Ja'far Ahmad ibn Muhammad; but now the dynasty was a minor power isolated in Sistan.[14]
In 1002,Mahmud of Ghazni invaded Sistan, dethronedKhalaf I and finally ended the Saffarid dynasty.[19]
The Saffarids patronized the Persian language in the form of court poetry and established Persianate culture.[20] Under their rule, the eastern Islamic world witnessed the emergence of prominent Persian poets such as Fayrouz Mashriqi, Abu Salik al-Jirjani, andMuhammad ibn Wasif, who was a court poet.[21]
In the later 9th century, the Saffarids gave impetus to a renaissance of New Persian literature and culture. Following Ya'qub's conquest of Herat, some poets chose to celebrate his victory in Arabic, whereupon Ya'qub requested his secretary, Muhammad bin Wasif al-Sistani, to compose those verses in Persian.[22]
The religion of the Saffarid's founder, Ya'qub, has been a topic of debate.[23] Most of the primary sources were written during or after the fall of the Samanid dynasty and view the Saffarids through Samanid eyes.[b] These primary sources depict Ya'qub either as a religious rascal or a volunteer Sunni warrior – amutatawwi.[24] The Seljuk vizierNizam al-Mulk, obsessed with the integrity of the Seljuk Empire, depicts Ya'qub as an Ismaili convert.[25]
According toC.E. Bosworth, early Saffarid emirs did not appear to have significant religious beliefs.[18] Since Kharijism prospered in Sistan longer than anywhere else in eastern Iran, it was believed the Saffarids heldKharijite sympathies.[26] Archeologist Barry Cunliffe, states the Saffarids wereShia Muslim.[27]
| Titular Name | Personal Name | Reign | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independence from theAbbasid Caliphate. | |||
| Amir أمیر al-Saffar coppersmith الصفار | Ya'qub ibn Layth یعقوب بن اللیث | 861–879 CE | |
| Amir أمیر | Amr ibn al-Layth عمرو بن اللیث | 879–901 CE | |
| Amir أمیر Abul-Hasan أبو الحسن | Tahir ibn Muhammad ibn Amr طاھر بن محمد بن عمرو co-ruler Ya'qub ibn Muhammad ibn Amr | 901–908 CE | |
| Amir أمیر | al-Layth ibn 'Ali اللیث بن علي | 908–910 CE | |
| Amir أمیر | Muhammad ibn 'Ali محمد بن علي | 910–911 CE | |
| Amir أمیر | Al-Mu'addal ibn 'Ali المعضل ابن علي | 911 CE | |
| Amir أمیر Abu Hafs ابو حفص | Amr ibn Ya'qub ibn Muhammad ibn Amr عمرو بن یعقوب بن محمد بن عمرو | 912–913 CE | |
| Samanid occupation 913–922 CE. | |||
| Amir أمیر Abu Ja'far ابو جعفر | Ahmed ibn Muhammad ibn Khalaf ibn Layth ibn 'Ali | 922–963 CE | |
| Amir أمیر Wali-ud-Daulah ولي الدولة | Khalaf ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalaf ibn al-Layth ibn 'Ali | 963–1002 CE | |
| Conquered byMahmud ibn Sebuktigin of theGhaznavid Empire in 1002 CE. | |||
Princes, although they were often tutored in Arabic and religious subjects, frequently did not feel as comfortable with the Arabic language and preferred literature in Persian, which was either their mother tongue—as in the case of dynasties such as the Saffarids (861–1003), Samanids (873–1005), and Buyids (945–1055)...
The Tahirids had made scant use of Persian, though the Saffarids used it considerably more. But under the Samanids Persian emerged as a full "edged language of literature and (to a lesser extent) administration. Court patronage was extended to Persian poets, including the great Rudaki (d. c. 940). Meanwhile, Arabic continued to be used abundantly, for administration and for scientific, theological and philosophical discourse.
One of the first indigenous Persian dynasties to emerge after the Arab Islamic invasions.
First, the Saffarid amirs and maliks were rulers of Persian stock who for centuries championed the cause of the underdog against the might of the Abbasid caliphs.
The provincial Persian Ya'kub, on the other hand, rejoiced in his plebeian origins, denounced the Abbasids as usurpers, and regarded both the caliphs and such governors from aristocratic Arab families as the Tahirids with contempt
Saffarids: A Persian dynasty.....
There were many local Persian dynasties, including the Tahirids, the Saffarids....
Saffarid, the Coppersmith, the epithet of the founder of this Persian dynasty...
The Saffarids, the first Persian dynasty, to challenge the Abbasids...
The Sunni Samanids eventually annexed the territories of the Shi'ite Saffarids in 908, creating a powerful emirate bounded by the Pamir, the Caspian Sea, the Iranian plateau, and the steppe.
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