Ahmad ibn Ismail (; died 24 January 914) was

amir Emir (; ' (), also transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremonial authority. The title has ...

of the

Samanids People Samanid Samanid Samanid The Samanid Empire () was a Persianate society, Persianate Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim empire, ruled by a dynasty of Iranian peoples, Iranian ''dehqan'' origin. The empire was centred in Greater Khorasan, Khorasan an ...

(907–914). He was the son of Ismail Samani. He was known as the "''Martyred Amir''".

Biography

Ahmad is first mentioned in the early 900s, when he was appointed as the governor of

Gurgan Gorgan (; ) is a city in the Central District of Gorgan County, Golestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It lies approximately to the northeast of the national capital Tehran, and some a ...

. However, Ahmad was soon removed from the governorship because of his failure to wage war against the

Justanids The Justanids or Jostanids () were an Iranian Zaydi Shia dynasty that ruled a part of Daylam (the mountainous district of Gilan) from 791 to the late 11th century. History The Justanids appear as kings of Daylam at the end of the 8th century ...

Daylam Daylam (), also known in the plural form Daylaman () (and variants such as Dailam, Deylam, and Deilam), was the name of a mountainous region of inland Gilan, Iran. It was so named for its inhabitants, known as the Daylamites. The Church of the Ea ...

. Ahmad became amir upon his father's death in late 907. Some time afterwards, he was granted the rights to

Sistan Sistān (), also known as Sakastān (, , current name: Zabol) and Sijistan (), is a historical region in south-eastern Iran and extending across the borders of present-day south-western Afghanistan, and south-western Pakistan. Mostly correspond ...

, the heart of the

Saffarid The Saffarid dynasty () was a Persianate dynasty of eastern Iranian origin that ruled over parts of Persia, Greater Khorasan, and eastern Makran from 861 to 1002. One of the first indigenous Persian dynasties to emerge after the Islamic conque ...

realm, by

Caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

al-Muqtadir Abū’l-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Al-Mu'tadid, Aḥmad ibn Al-Muwaffaq, Ṭalḥa ibn Al-Mutawakkil, Jaʿfar ibn al-Mu'tasim, Muḥammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, Hārūn Al-Muqtadir bi'Llāh () (895 – 31 October 932 AD), better known by his regnal name a ...

. The Saffarids' infighting made the job much easier. Ahmad's army travelled from Farah to Bust, where they met little resistance. At the same time, Ahmad's Turkic general Simjur al-Dawati received the surrender of Zarang from al-Mu'addal. The conquest of the Saffarids complete (911), Ahmad appointed his cousin Abu Salih Mansur as governor of Sistan in the following year. The Samanids also captured a Caliphal rebel, Turkic warlord Sebük-eri, and sent him to

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. Mansur's oppressive taxation policies sparked a revolt in Sistan within a year of his appointment. The garrison at Zaranj was destroyed, and Abu Salih Mansur was captured. Amr ibn Ya'qub, a Saffarid, was installed, first as a puppet for the leader of the rebellion, then as amir in his own right. A Samanid army, however, under the control of Husain ibn 'Ali Marvarrudhi restored Samanid control to the region. 'Amr was sent to

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

; the other rebel leaders were killed. Simjur al-Dawati was then installed as governor of Sistan.

Tabaristan Tabaristan or Tabarestan (; ; from , ), was a mountainous region located on the Caspian coast of northern Iran. It corresponded to the present-day province of Mazandaran, which became the predominant name of the area from the 11th-century onward ...

and

, however, soon revolted against

Samanid The Samanid Empire () was a Persianate society, Persianate Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim empire, ruled by a dynasty of Iranian peoples, Iranian ''dehqan'' origin. The empire was centred in Greater Khorasan, Khorasan and Transoxiana, at its greatest ...

authority as well, and Ahmad was killed before he could deal with them. He was decapitated while sleeping in his tent near

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

by some of his Turkic slaves (24 January 914). After his death, he was brought to Bukhara and buried in Naukanda. Some of his slaves who had killed the ''Amir'' were caught and executed, while others fled to

Turkestan Turkestan,; ; ; ; also spelled Turkistan, is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and East Turkestan (Xinjiang). The region is located in the northwest of modern day China and to the northwest of its ...

. He was designated as the "''Martyred Amir''".Abu Sa'id 'Abd al-Hayy Gardizi, ''The Ornament of Histories: A History of the Eastern Islamic Lands AD 650–1041'', 56. Ahmad may have become unpopular among his subjects for his order to change the language of the court from

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

; this order was soon rescinded. He was succeeded by his young son Nasr II.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmad Samani 914 deaths Year of birth unknown Samanids 10th-century monarchs in the Middle East Murdered Persian monarchs 10th-century Iranian people 10th-century murdered monarchs Arab slave owners