Saffarid dynasty

Saffarid dynasty
صفاریان
861–1003
Saffarid dynasty at its greatest extent under Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar
Capital		Zaranj, in what is now modern-day Afghanistan
Languages		Persian (mother tongue)[1]
Religion		Sunni Islam
Government		Monarchy
Emir
•	861–879	Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar
•	963–1002	Khalaf I
Historical era		Medieval
•	Established	861
•	Disestablished	1003
Preceded by Succeeded by Tahirid dynasty Abbasid Caliphate Samanid dynasty Ghaznavids
Today part of		Countries today  Afghanistan  Iran  Iraq  Kyrgyzstan  Pakistan  Tajikistan  Turkmenistan  Uzbekistan

The Saffarid dynasty (Persian: سلسله صفاریان‎‎) was a Muslim Persianate^[2] dynasty from Sistan that ruled over parts of eastern Iran, with its capital at Zaranj (a city now in southwestern Afghanistan).^[3][4] Khorasan, Afghanistan and Balochistan from 861 to 1003.^[5] The dynasty, of Persian origin,^{[6][7][8][9][10][11]} was founded by Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar, 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 ayyar, who 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, Tajikestan and Uzbekistan.

The Saffarids used their capital Zaranj as a base for an aggressive expansion eastward and westward. They first invaded the areas south of the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan and then overthrew the Persian Tahirid dynasty, annexing Khorasan in 873. By the time of Ya'qub's death, he had conquered the Kabul Valley, Sindh, Tocharistan, Makran (Balochistan), Kerman, Fars, Khorasan, and nearly reached Baghdad but then suffered a defeat by the Abbasids.^[5]

The Saffarid empire did not last long after Ya'qub's death. His brother and successor, Amr bin Laith, was defeated at the Battle of Balkh against Ismail Samani in 900. Amr bin Laith was forced to surrender most of his territories to the new rulers. The Saffarids were subsequently confined to their heartland of Sistan, with their role reduced to that of vassals of the Samanids and their successors.

Founding

The dynasty began with Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar (Ya'qub, son of Layth, the Coppersmith), a coppersmith who moved to the city of Zaranj. He left work to become an Ayyar and eventually got the power to act as an independent ruler. From his capital Zaranj he moved east into al-Rukhkhadj and Zamindawar followed by Zunbil and Kabul by 865. He then invaded Bamyan, Balkh, Badghis, and Ghor. In the name of Islam, he conquered these territories which were ruled mostly by Buddhist tribal chiefs. He took vast amounts of plunder and slaves from this campaign.^[12][13]

The Tahirid city of Herat was captured in 870 and his campaign in the Badghis region led to the capture of Kharidjites which later formed the Djash al-Shurat contingent in his army. Ya'qub then turned his focus to the west and began attacks on Khorasan, Khuzestan, Kerman (Southeastern Iran) and Fars (southwestern Iran).^[14] The Saffarids then seized Khuzestan (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. These incursions, however, forced the Abbasid caliphate to recognize Ya'qub as governor of Sistan, Fars and Kerman, and Saffarids were even offered key posts in Baghdad.^[15]

In 901, Amr Saffari was defeated at the battle of Balkh by the Persian Samanids, which reduced the Saffarid dynasty to a minor tributary in Sistan.^[16]

In 1002, Mahmud of Ghazni invaded Sistan, dethroned Khalaf I and finally ended the Saffarid dynasty.^[17]

Culture

The Saffarids gave great care to the Persian culture. Under their rule, the eastern Islamic world witnessed the emergence of prominent Persian poets such as Fayrouz Mashriqi, Abu Salik al-Jirjani, and Muhammad bin Wasif al-Sistani, who was a court poet.^[18]

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.^[19]

From silver mines in the Panjshir Valley, the Saffarids were able to mint silver coins.^[20]

Rulers of the Saffarid dynasty

Titular Name	Personal Name	Reign
Independence from the Abbasid 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 by Mahmud ibn Sebuktigin of the Ghaznavid Empire in 1002 CE.

Gallery

• 
  The Saffarid dynasty and its neighbors at its peak in 900 CE
• 
  Saffarid Soldier

See also

• Iranian Intermezzo
• Samanids
• Ghaznavids
• List of kings of Persia
• List of Sunni Muslim dynasties

References

1. "Persian Prose Literature." World Eras. 2002. HighBeam Research. (September 3, 2012);"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)...".
2. The Islamization of Central Asia in the Samanid era and the reshaping of the Muslim world, D.G. Tor, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London , Vol. 72, No. 2 (2009), 281;"The Saffārids were the first of the Persianate dynasties to arise from the remains of the politically moribund ʿAbbāsid caliphate".
3. The Cambridge History of Iran, by Richard Nelson Frye, William Bayne Fisher, John Andrew Boyle (Cambridge University Press, 1975: ISBN 0-521-20093-8), pg. 121.
4. The Encyclopedia of World History, ed. Peter N. Stearns and William Leonard Langer (Houghton Mifflin, 2001), 115.
5. Clifford Edmund Bosworth, Encyclopædia Iranica SAFFARIDS
6. "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." -- Savory, Roger M.. "The History of the Saffarids of Sistan and the Maliks of Nimruz (247/861 to 949/1542-3)." The Journal of the American Oriental Society. 1996
7. "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". -- Ya'kub b. al-Layth al Saffar, C.E. Bosworth, The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. XI, p 255
8. Saffarids: A Persian dynasty.....", Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature, Volume 2, edited by Julie Scott Meisami, Paul Starkey, p674
9. "There were many local Persian dynasties, including the Tahirids, the Saffarids....", Middle East, Western Asia, and Northern Africa, by Ali Aldosari, p472.
10. "Saffarid, the Coppersmith, the epithet of the founder of this Persian dynasty...", The Arabic Contributions to the English Language: An Historical Dictionary, by Garland Hampton Cannon, p288.
11. "The Saffarids, the first Persian dynasty, to challenge the Abbasids...", Historical Dictionary of the Ismailis, by Farhad Daftary, p51.
12. The Development of Persian Culture under the Early Ghaznavids, C.E. Bosworth, Iran, Vol. 6, (1968), 34.
13. Saffarids, C.E. Bosworth, Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. VIII, Ed. C.E.Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P.Heinrichs and G. Lecomte, (Brill, 1995), 795.
14. Saffarids, Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. VIII, 795.
15. Esposito, John L., The Oxford History of Islam (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), p. 38.
16. The Development of Persian Culture under the Early Ghaznavids, C.E. Bosworth, 34.
17. C.E. Bosworth, The Ghaznavids 994-1040, (Edinburgh University Press, 1963), 89.
18. The Ṭāhirids and Persian Literature, C. E. Bosworth, Iran, Vol. 7, (1969), 104.
19. The Tahirids and the Saffarids, C.E.Bosworth, The Cambridge History of Iran: The period from the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs, Vol. IV, Ed. R.N.Frye, (Cambridge University Press, 1999), 129.
20. Pandjhir, Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. VIII, 258.

External links

• Encyclopædia Iranica Saffarids