Ismail Samani: the emir who made Bukhara a capital

In a garden in the Central Asian city of Bukhara stands a small cube-shaped building of baked brick. Its walls are laid in a way that looks like basket weave. The building is known as the Mausoleum of Ismail Samani. Ismail ibn Ahmad (Isma'il ibn Ahmad) ruled Transoxiana and Khorasan from 892 to 907. Bukhara became the capital of the Samanid state in his time.

The Samanid dynasty

According to Britannica, the Samanid dynasty (819–999) arose in the region of present-day eastern Iran and Uzbekistan. The four grandsons of the founder, Saman Khuda, were given rule over different areas for their service to the Abbasid caliph: Nuh received Samarkand, Ahmad Fergana, Yahya Shash (present-day Tashkent) and Ilyas Herat. Ismail was the son of this Ahmad. His elder brother Nasr became governor of Transoxiana in 875.

Governor of Bukhara

According to the Encyclopaedia Iranica, Ismail was born in 849. For about 20 years, from 874 to 892, he was governor of Bukhara on behalf of his brother Nasr, who himself lived in Samarkand. According to Iranica, this was a period of unrest in Khorasan and Transoxiana, and as governor Ismail also had to take on the defence of Bukhara. The two brothers also had differences for some time.

Rule over the whole state

When Nasr died in August 892, Ismail became ruler of the whole of Transoxiana. According to Iranica, he moved the capital from Samarkand to Bukhara, and from then on Bukhara remained the centre of the Samanid emirate. In Baghdad, Caliph al-Mu'tadid recognised him as governor of Transoxiana.

In 900, in a battle near Balkh, he defeated the Saffarid ruler Amr ibn Layth. According to Iranica, the caliph then also appointed him governor of Khorasan, Sistan, Rayy, Tabaristan and Isfahan, although later Samanid emirs were able to hold only Khorasan and Transoxiana permanently.

Practical autonomy

According to Iranica, Ismail continued to accept the caliph's formal supremacy, and the caliph's name continued to appear on coins. But because of the distance from Baghdad and his growing standing, he was in practice an autonomous ruler. Iranica also writes that there is no evidence that he sent regular tribute or revenue to Baghdad.

According to Britannica, Samanid rule was relatively decentralised, and local nobles retained considerable authority. In Ismail's last years his state reached Rayy and Qazvin in the west, and in 904 he repelled a Turkish attack from the northern steppes.

Trade and silver coins

Trade was a major reason for prosperity in the Samanid period. Bukhara and Samarkand lay on the Silk Road. According to Britannica, Transoxiana and Khorasan flourished under the Samanids, and industry and trade grew markedly. As evidence, Samanid silver coins were used as currency across northern Asia.

Art and learning

According to Britannica, Samarkand and Bukhara became cultural centres in the Samanid period, Persian literature developed, and philosophy and historical writing were encouraged. The great Persian poets Rudaki and Ferdowsi also belong to this era, although their poetry appeared in the period after Ismail.

According to Britannica, the most important contribution of the Samanid period to Islamic art is the pottery made at Nishapur and Samarkand. Samanid potters adopted the technique of mixing colours into thick clay (slip) to make designs, so that the patterns would not run during firing. These bowls and plates carry designs such as horsemen, birds, lions and bulls' heads. Bronze casting and metalwork also flourished at Nishapur.

The Mausoleum of Ismail Samani

Very few buildings of the Samanid period survive. The most famous is the mausoleum in Bukhara attributed to Ismail Samani. According to Britannica, this fully symmetrical building is made entirely of brick, and its raised decorative patterns are also made of brick. Britannica also notes that it contains more than one grave. UNESCO has described it as impressive for its "simple elegance" and as the best preserved example of 10th-century architecture in the whole Islamic world. It is part of the historic centre of Bukhara, which is on the World Heritage List.

According to Iranica, although the tomb is called Ismail's mausoleum, some scholars think it was built somewhat later in the Samanid period.

Death

According to Iranica, Ismail died in November 907 and was succeeded by his son Ahmad. According to Iranica, later historical and literary works mention him as a just ruler, and the sources remember him as "Amir-i Madi" and "Amir-i Adil".

Legacy

According to Britannica, the Samanid state began to weaken from the middle of the 10th century, and in 999 the Qarakhanid Turks took Bukhara. Iranica calls Ismail the greatest of the Samanid emirs, as none of his successors was his equal. His most lasting work was making Bukhara the centre of a state. The city continued to count among the major centres of learning and trade in Central Asia for centuries afterwards.