Saffarid dynasty

 ( States And Territories Established In The 860s ) 

The Saffarid dynasty () was a Persianate dynasty of eastern Iranian peoples origin that ruled over parts of Persia, Greater Khorasan, and eastern Makran from 861 to 1002. One of the first indigenous Persians dynasties to emerge after the Islamic conquest, the Saffarid dynasty was part of the Iranian Intermezzo. The dynasty's founder was Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar, who was born in 840 in a small town called Karnin (Qarnin), which was located east of Zaranj and west of Bost, in what is now Afghanistan. A native of Sistan and a local ayyār, Ya'qub worked as a coppersmith ( ṣaffār) before becoming a warlord. He seized control of the Sistan region and began conquering most of Iran and Afghanistan, as well as parts of Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The Saffarids used their capital Zaranj as a base for an aggressive expansion eastward and westward. They first invaded the areas south of the Hindu Kush, and then overthrew the Tahirid dynasty, annexing Greater Khorasan in 873. By the time of Ya'qub's death, he had conquered the Kabul, Tocharistan, Makran (Balochistan), Kerman, Fars province, Khorasan, and nearly reached Baghdad but then suffered a defeat by the Abbasids.

The Saffarid dynasty did not last long after Ya'qub's death. His brother and successor, Amr bin Laith, was defeated at the Battle of Balkh against Ismail Samani in 900. Amr bin Laith was forced to surrender most of his territories to the new rulers. The Saffarids were confined to their heartland of Sistan, and with time, their role was reduced to that of of the Samanids and their successors.

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History

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Founding The dynasty began with Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar (Ya'qub, son of Layth, the Coppersmith), a coppersmith of eastern Iranian origins, who moved to the city of Zaranj. He left work to become an Ayyarun and eventually got the power to act as an independent ruler. From his capital Zaranj he moved east into al-Rukhkhadj (Arachosia), Zamindawar and ultimately Kabul, vanquishing the Zunbils and the Hindu Shahis by 865. He then invaded Bamyan, Balkh, Badghis, and Ghor. In the name of Islam, he conquered these territories which were predominantly ruled by Buddhism . He took vast amounts of plunder and slaves from this campaign.

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Expansion The Tahirid city of Herat was captured in 870, and Ya'qub's campaign in the Badghis Province led to the capture of Kharidjites which later formed the Djash al-Shurat contingent in his army. Ya'qub then turned his focus to the west and began attacks on Khorasan, Khuzestan, Kerman (Southeastern Iran) and Fars province (southwestern Iran). The Saffarids then seized Khuzestan (southwestern Iran) and parts of southern Iraq, and in 876 came close to overthrowing the Abbasids, whose army was able to turn them back only within a few days' march from Baghdad. From silver mines in the Panjshir Valley, the Saffarids were able to mint silver coins.

These incursions, however, forced the Abbasid caliphate to recognize Ya'qub as governor of Sistan, Fars and Kerman, and Saffarids were even offered key posts in Baghdad. Despite Ya'qub's military successes, he was not an empire builder since he had no concept of a centralized government.

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Decline In 901, Amr Saffari was defeated at the battle of Balkh by the , and they lost Khorasan to them. The Saffarids were reduced to the provinces of Fars, Kerman and Sistan. Under Tahir ibn Muhammad ibn Amr (901–908), the dynasty fought the Abbasids for the possession of Fars to maintain its control over the province. However, in 908, a civil war erupted between Tahir and the pretender Al-Layth in Sistan. In the next years, the governor of Fars, Sebük-eri defected to the Abbasids. In 912, the Samanids finally expelled the Saffarids from Sistan. Sistan passed briefly to Abbasid control, but became independent again under the Saffarid Abu Ja'far Ahmad ibn Muhammad; but now the dynasty was a minor power isolated in Sistan.

In 1002, Mahmud of Ghazni invaded Sistan, dethroned Khalaf I and finally ended the Saffarid dynasty.

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Culture

The Saffarids patronized the Persian language in the form of court poetry and established Persianate culture. Under their rule, the eastern Islamic world witnessed the emergence of prominent Persian poets such as Fayrouz Mashriqi, Abu Salik al-Jirjani, and Muhammad ibn Wasif, who was a court poet.

In the later 9th century, the Saffarids gave impetus to a renaissance of New Persian literature and culture. Following Ya'qub's conquest of Herat, some poets chose to celebrate his victory in Arabic, whereupon Ya'qub requested his secretary, Muhammad bin Wasif al-Sistani, to compose those verses in Persian.

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Religion

The religion of the Saffarid's founder, Ya'qub, has been a topic of debate. Most of the primary sources were written during or after the fall of the Samanid dynasty and view the Saffarids through Samanid eyes. These primary sources depict Ya'qub either as a religious rascal or a volunteer Sunni warrior – a mutatawwi. The Seljuk vizier Nizam al-Mulk, obsessed with the integrity of the Seljuk Empire, depicts Ya'qub as an Ismaili convert.

According to C.E. Bosworth, early Saffarid emirs did not appear to have significant religious beliefs. Since Kharijism prospered in Sistan longer than anywhere else in eastern Iran, it was believed the Saffarids held Kharijites sympathies. Archeologist Barry Cunliffe, states the Saffarids were Shia Islam.

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Rulers of the Saffarid dynasty

Independence from the Abbasid Caliphate.
Amir al-Saffar coppersmith	Ya'qub ibn Layth	861–879 CE
Amir	Amr ibn al-Layth	879–901 CE
Amir Abul-Hasan	Tahir ibn Muhammad ibn Amr co-ruler Ya'qub ibn Muhammad ibn Amr	901–908 CE
Amir	al-Layth	908–910 CE
Amir	Muhammad ibn 'Ali	910–911 CE
Amir	Al-Mu'addal ibn 'Ali	911 CE
Samanid occupation 911–912 CE.
Amir Abu Hafs	Amr ibn Ya'qub ibn Muhammad ibn Amr	912–913 CE
Samanid occupation 913–922 CE.
Amir Abu Ja'far	Ahmed ibn Muhammad ibn Khalaf ibn Layth ibn 'Ali	922–963 CE
Amir Wali-ud-Daulah	Khalaf ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalaf ibn al-Layth ibn 'Ali	963–1002 CE
Conquered by Mahmud ibn Sebuktigin of the Ghaznavids in 1002 CE.

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Gallery

Image:Saffarids 900ad.jpg|The Saffarid dynasty and its neighbors at its peak in 900 CE Image:Saffarid soldier.jpg|Saffarid Soldier

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See also

• Iranian Intermezzo
• Nasrid dynasty (Sistan)
• Mihrabanids
• Samanids
• Ghaznavids
• Muhammad ibn Wasif
• List of kings of Persia

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Notes

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Sources

• Christoph Baumer (2025). 9781784534905, I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9781784534905
• (2025). 9780199689170, Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199689170
• Hamid Dabashi (2025). 9780231544948, Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231544948
• (2018). 9780691180748, Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691180748
• Julie Scott Meisami (1999). 9780748612765, Edinburgh University Press. . ISBN 9780748612765

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External links

• Encyclopædia Iranica Saffarids

Categories: States And Territories Established In The 860s, 861 Establishments, 860s In The Abbasid Caliphate, 870s In The Abbasid Caliphate, 880s In The Abbasid Caliphate, 890s In The Abbasid Caliphate, History Of Nimruz Province, Former Political Entities In Afghanistan, States And Territories Disestablished In The 1000s

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