Ahmad ibn Ismail (died 24 January 914) was

amir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, 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 cer ...

of the

Samanids People Samanid Samanid Samanid The Samanid Empire ( fa, سامانیان, Sāmāniyān) also known as the Samanian Empire, Samanid dynasty, Samanid amirate, or simply as the Samanids) was a Persianate Sunni Muslim empire, of Iranian dehqan orig ...

(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 ( fa, گرگان ; also romanized as ''Gorgān'', ''Gurgān'', and ''Gurgan''), formerly Esterabad ( ; also romanized as ''Astarābād'', ''Asterabad'', and ''Esterābād''), is the capital city of Golestan Province, Iran. It lies appro ...

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

Justanids The Justanids or Jostanids ( fa, جستانیان) 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 e ...

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 East es ...

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

Sistan Sistān ( fa, سیستان), known in ancient times as Sakastān ( fa, سَكاستان, "the land of the Saka"), is a historical and geographical region in present-day Eastern Iran ( Sistan and Baluchestan Province) and Southern Afghanistan ( ...

, the heart of the

Saffarid The Saffarid dynasty ( fa, صفاریان, safaryan) was a Persianate dynasty of eastern Iranian origin that ruled over parts of Persia, Greater Khorasan, and eastern Makran from 861 to 1003. One of the first indigenous Persian dynasties to emer ...

realm, by

Caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

al-Muqtadir Abu’l-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Ahmad al-Muʿtaḍid ( ar, أبو الفضل جعفر بن أحمد المعتضد) (895 – 31 October 932 AD), better known by his regnal name Al-Muqtadir bi-llāh ( ar, المقتدر بالله, "Mighty in God"), w ...

. 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 Simjur al-Dawati was a 10th-century Turkic general who served the Samanids. He was the founder of the Simjurid family which would play an important role in the Samanid Empire. Biography Simjur was a ''ghulam'' of Turkic origin. During his early ...

received the surrender of Zarang from al-Mu'addal. The conquest of the Saffarids complete (911), Ahmad appointed his cousin

Abu Salih Mansur Abu Salih Mansur (died 915) was a Samanid prince, who served as governor during the reign of his uncle Isma'il ibn Ahmad, his cousin Ahmad Samani, and Nasr II. Biography Abu Salih governed several provinces during the reign of Isma'il ibn Ahmad ...

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 (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

. 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 Abu Hafs ‘Amr ibn Ya'qub ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Amr (born 902/903) was the Saffarid amir of Sistan for slightly over a year (912–913). He was the son of Ya'qub, the brother of Tahir ibn Muhammad ibn Amr. In 912, opposition to the Samanid gov ...

, 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 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, ...

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

Tabaristan Tabaristan or Tabarestan ( fa, طبرستان, Ṭabarestān, or mzn, تبرستون, Tabarestun, ultimately from Middle Persian: , ''Tapur(i)stān''), was the name applied to a mountainous region located on the Caspian coast of northern Iran. ...

and

, however, soon revolted against

Samanid The Samanid Empire ( fa, سامانیان, Sāmāniyān) also known as the Samanian Empire, Samanid dynasty, Samanid amirate, or simply as the Samanids) was a Persianate Sunni Muslim empire, of Iranian dehqan origin. The empire was centred in ...

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

Bukhara Bukhara ( Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and the city ...

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 ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Overview Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turk ...

. 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 to

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

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

Nasr II Nasr ibn Ahmad or Nasr II ( fa, نصر دوم), nicknamed "the Fortunate", was the ruler (''amir'') of Transoxiana and Khurasan as the head of the Samanid dynasty from 914 to 943. His reign marked the high point of the Samanid dynasty's fortunes. ...

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 Slave owners