226 chapter six
The Saffarìds, yet another Persian dynasty, founded by a head of
a gang of outlaws, ruled all of Persia to the Indian frontiers from
867 to 908.
The Samanìds, founded by a Zoroastrian aristocrat, started by
taking away Khurasàn from the Saffarìds in 900 and later expanded
their domain further, were the next dynasty of Persian power. In
sharp contrast to their predecessors the Samanìds had a considerable
interest in learning and their court attracted both Arab and non-
Arab scholars such as al-Razi in medicine, ibn-Sina in literature and
others. It was the period when Arabic literature was first translated
into Persian and the capital Samarqand almost outshone Baghdad as
a centre of learning and art (Hitti, 1963). It would not be an exag-
geration to say that the interest of the Samanìds in learning could
be interpreted as a reflection of the quality of their aristocrat founders,
who were in sharp contrast with slave founders of other non-Arab
separatist movements.
The Samanìd period was the period that witnessed the growing
power of the Turks, starting with that of the Turkish slaves who were
recruited in the Samanìds’ army. In what seemed to have become
almost a usual occurrence, the Turkish slaves, with whom the Samanìds
filled their army, rose to power and overcame their masters. That
was the beginning of the influence of the Ghaznawids that started
from 962 and grew to become an empire. By 1186 their reign
stretched to cover Afghanistan and Punjab. The real founder of the
Ghaznawid Empire was Subuktigin (976–997), a slave and a son in
law of Alptigin who was a governor under the Samanìds (ibid.)
That was the beginning of the major Turkish influence in the
Islamic world. The Ghaznawids glory finally came to an end in 1186
at the hands of the Ghurids of Afghanistan.
The Bùwayhìd dynasty marked the influence of the Shi"ìPersians
on the caliphate. At the time of the Abbasìd caliph al-Mustakfi
(944–946) ibn-Buwayh entered Baghdad in 945, and was received
with honour by the Caliph who seemed to have been pleased to see
the Turkish guard fleeing on his arrival. He was designated the title
“commander of the commanders” and “the one who makes the state
mighty”. The Bùwayhìd had a free hand in Baghdad and tended to
govern with or without the caliph, though they maintained the con-
cept of the caliphate as a figurehead caliph. In a certain instance
there was an attempt to forge a coalition between their political and