Samanids

Cultural and religious efforts

The Samanids revived Persian culture by patronizing Rudaki, Bal'ami and Daqiqi. The Samanids determinedly propagated Sunni Islam, and repressed Ismaili Shiism but were more tolerant of Twelver Shiism. Islamic architecture and Islamo-Persian culture was spread deep into the heartlands of Central Asia by the Samanids. Following the first complete translation of the Qur'an into Persian in the 9th century, populations under the Samanid empire began accepting Islam in significant numbers. The arabization of the Samanids was clearly minimal compared to the almost entirely arabized Tahirids. Despite Arabic literature and science flourishing in the Samanid Empire, its distance from Baghdad allowed the Samanids to be a crucial element in the renaissance of New Persian language and culture. This Persianate culture variant was the first to use a language besides Arabic in Islamic culture.