Saman Khuda (Saman Khoda, Saman-khudat; fa, سامان‌خدا، سامان‌خدات) was an 8th-century Iranian noble whose descendants (the House of Saman) later became rulers of

Khurasan Greater Khorāsān,Dabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 or Khorāsān ( pal, Xwarāsān; fa, خراسان ), is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plate ...

(the Samanid Empire). He was a

Dehqan The ''dehqân'' ( fa, دهقان) or ''dehgân'' ( fa, دهگان), were a class of land-owning magnates during the Sasanian and early Islamic period, found throughout Iranian-speaking lands. The ''deqhans'' started to gradually fade away under t ...

from the village of Saman in Balkh province in present-day northern Afghanistan. In the early 8th century, he came to Merv, seat of the Caliphal governor of

Khorasan Khorasan may refer to: * Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan * Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...

, Asad ibn 'Abd Allah al-Qasri (ruled 723-727). Saman was originally a Zoroastrian. However, he was so impressed with the piety of Asad ibn 'Abd-Allah al-Qasri, that he converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

. He named his son

Asad Asad ( ar, أسد), sometimes written as Assad, is an Arabic male given name literally meaning "lion". It is used in nicknames such as ''Asad Allāh'', one of the by-names for Ali ibn Abi Talib. People Among prominent people named ''Asad'', " ...

, allegedly in the governor's honor. Caliph al-Mamun (786-833) subsequently appointed Asad's four sons – Saman Khuda's grandsons – as governors of

Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...

Ferghana Fergana ( uz, Fargʻona/Фарғона, ), or Ferghana, is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 420 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km west of Andijan, and less than 20 km fr ...

, Shash and

Ustrushana ''Osrušana'' ( fa, اسروشنه) or ''Ustrushana'' was a former Iranian regionC. Edmund Bosworth (2005), "Osrušana", in ''Encyclopaedia Iranica''. Online Accessed November 201Quote 1: "The region was little urbanized, and it long preserved i ...

, and Herat in recognition of their role in the suppression of a revolt.Shamsiddin Kamoliddin, "To the Question of the Origin of the Samanids", ''Transoxiana'' 10 (July 2005)
This began the House of Saman; Saman Khuda's great-grandson Isma'il ibn Ahmad (849-907) became Amir of Transoxiana and

. Saman was a 4th or 5th generation descendant of Bahram Chobin, a noble of the ancient House of Mihran, who played an important role in the history of the later Sassanian Empire.R. N. Frye, ''The Golden Age of Persia'', London: Butler & Tanner Ltd., 1996, p. 200.

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* Samanids Converts to Islam from Zoroastrianism 8th-century monarchs in Asia People from Balkh Province People from Balkh Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown 8th-century Iranian people Dehqans {{CAsia-hist-stub