Samanid dynasty

Samanid Empire
سامانیان
819–999
The Samanid Empire at its greatest extent under Ismail Samani
Capital		Samarkand, (819–892) Bukhara (892–999)
Languages		Persian (official/religious decree/mother tongue), Arabic (religious decree)
Religion		Sunni Islam (also Shia Islam, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism)
Government		Emirate
Emir
•	819–864/5	Ahmad ibn Asad
•	999	'Abd al-Malik II
Historical era		Middle Ages
•	Established	819
•	Disestablished	999
Area
•	928 est.	2,850,000 km² (1,100,391 sq mi)
Preceded by Succeeded by Saffarid dynasty Abbasid Caliphate Alid dynasties of northern Iran Banijurids Bukhar Khudahs Principality of Ushrusana Principality of Farghana Ghaznavid dynasty Karakhanids Banu Ilyas Farighunids Muhtajids Buyid dynasty
Today part of		Afghanistan  Iran  Kazakhstan  Kyrgyzstan  Pakistan  Tajikistan  Turkmenistan  Uzbekistan

The Samanid Empire (Persian: سامانیان‎‎, Sāmāniyān), also known as the Samanid dynasty, Samanid Emirate, or simply Samanids, was a SunniIranian empire, ruling from 819 to 999. The empire was mostly centered in Khorasan and Transoxiana during its existence, but at its greatest extent, the empire encompassed all of today's Afghanistan, and large parts of Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Pakistan.

The Samanid state was founded by four brothers; Nuh, Ahmad, Yahya, and Ilyas—each of them ruled their own territory under Abbasid suzerainty. In 892, Isma'il ibn Ahmad (892–907) united the Samanid state under one ruler, thus effectively putting an end to the feudal system used by the Samanids. It was also under him that the Samanids became independent of Abbasid authority.

The Samanid Empire is part of the Iranian Intermezzo, which saw the creation of a Persianate culture and identity that brought Iranian speech and traditions into the fold of the Islamic world. This would lead to the formation of the Turko-Persian culture.

The Samanids promoted the arts, giving rise to the advancement of science and literature, and thus attracted scholars such as Rudaki, Ferdowsi, and Avicenna. While under Samanid control, Bukhara was a rival to Baghdad in its glory. Scholars note that the Samanids revived Persian more than the Buyids and the Saffarids, while continuing to patronize Arabic to a smaller degree. In a famous edict, Samanid authorities declared that "here, in this region, the language is Persian, and the kings of this realm are Persian kings."