Sh. S. Kamoliddin digs into the layer few researchers ventured to investigate, and wields a shovel few researchers attempted to lift. Even now, few of the researchers digesting Chinese annals connect the Chinese calque Da Yuan 大宛 with its original name Greater Ionia, an Alexander Macedonian's creation in the land of the Saka Scythians. The tiny Greek colony, amalgamated with the surrounding largely ranching Türkic population, grew to become Dayuan and Dawan and Davan of the Chinese aspirations, and the Türkic Fergana, the name still carrying an echo of the Ionians that nearly vanished from the Greek memories. The tiny Greek offshoot blossomed under umbrellas of Kangars and Huns, played a significant role in their fates, and withstood vicissitudes of fate that brought it to the apogee in the Central Asian history, ruling its Persian provinces from the centers in Bukhara and Samarkand.

Reading form the agitprops of the self-admiring pundits, a reader would never have a chance to catch on to the real history, to learn the who-is-who of the personalities that shaped much of the regional history and its impact on the global events. As is often the case with any slogan-driven depictions, the picture is not just distorted, it is also robbed of the beauty, complexity and intricacy, turning a mosaic of volume, color, and forms into an iconic flat caricature. The extent of the Samanid Empire far exceeds its footprint in Central Asia, Afganistan, and Persia, it rises into cultural, linguistic, literary, and religious spheres of the entire area, it gives the Arab Caliphate its staying power, it shaped ideology of rule that still governs the area and drives the modern events. It paved a path from the Early Middle Age to the modern Neo-Middle Age isles. The seeds sown by the Late Antique ambitions of adventurists and misfits created opportunities for the later adventurists to give a shine to the pages of history. The work of Sh. S. Kamoliddin returns some shine to the withered icons.

A tracing of the personal origin is bringing to light previously asserted but unadvertised gems. They are connected with the real origin of the examined leadership, real fabrics of the cultural, linguistic, literary, and religious developments. That fabrics carries distinct imprint of the Türkic culture, and within the immediate circle of the closely-knit society, of the Türkic traditions and attitudes. In an hour of trouble, a reverse flow finds safety in native penates. The work of Sh. S. Kamoliddin is a best illustration of the immortal adage “No Türks without aliens as no hats without a head” (Mahmud Kashgari II 281).

A reader will encounter too many insights to list. Among the most interesting are:
–  For the Middle Age Türks, Middle East was not a separate landmass, as was perceived by certain protagonists, it was a part of their Eurasian belt with first historically described major players As-Kuzu Scythians, then Parthians and the Partho-Sassanian confederacy, Samanids, Horezmian confederacy, and then Mongolian and Seljuk empires;
–  The Dark Ages-cum-Middle Ages was the era of the Türkic world order, where Inner Asia formed the core and the Europe, China and the Middle East merely a periphery;
–  No Sinocentric or Eurocentric writer could ever admit that in the grand scheme of things their world was of secondary importance and that their despised “nomadic” steppe barbarians were at one stage their superiors and overlords
–  Sh. S. Kamoliddin cracks open a curtain into the world of sedentary Türks, to the decrepitly explored world of settled economy that was an organic continuation of the world of pastoral economy, the world distinct and self-contained, free and dynamic, the world with unique skill in running two-legged and four-legged creatures.

Page numbers are shown at the end of the page in blue. Posting notes and explanations, added to the text of the author, are shown in (blue italics) in parentheses and in blue boxes, or highlighted by blue headers. The academic text follows a combination of precedent academic conventions and modern colloquial pronunciation that straddles the wall of accessibility, to help that, the unusual forms are translated to pronounceable English and shown in parentheses in (blue italics): Khwarazm (Horezm) etc.

Preface	5
Chapter 1. Saman-Khudat
The Sasanids and the Türks	9
Bahram Chubin	19
Genealogy of Saman-Khudat	26
Saman-Khudat	34
Balkh	41
Pre-Islamic cults in Central Asia	50
Symbolics of the Samanids	61
Anscestral possession of Saman-Khudat	71
Djabba-Khan	74
Medallion of Mansur ibn Nuh	79
Saman-Yabgu	87
Saman-Khudat's Father	91
Аrquq	96
Kakuldar	99
Chapter 2. The Samanids
Samanids and the Oguz Türks	105
Samanids and the al-Shu„ubiyya movement	110
Samanids and “sacred” wars against the Türks	118
Samanids and the Shiites	129
Chapter 3. Bukhara – a capital of the Samanids
Pre-Islamic rulers of Bukhara	139
Etymology of the place-name “Bukhara”	147
Ancient Turkic toponymy of the Bukhara oasis	152
Ethnic situation in Bukhara oasis during Early Middle Ages	155
Material culture of Türks in Bukhara	161
Arab conquest	164
Ethnic situation in Central Asia during Samanid epoch	169
Concept “Türk” in medieval sources	182
Chapter 4. Samanid Government
Samanid Administration	189
Samanids and local nobility	192
Türks in Samanid administration	195
Legal status of Samanids	202
Expressions of statehood	208
Relations of Samanids with Caliphs	217
Titles of the Samanids	219
Chapter 5. Central Asian Literature during Samanid rule
Islamic Renaissance Epoch	231
Samanids and Persian culture	234
Türks and Persian culture	239
New Persian language and literature	243
Turkic rulers and development of the New Persian literature	249
Arabic language and literature	255
Local languages and cultures	257
The Turkic language	263
The Türks and the Islamic culture	268
Türkic-Islamic literature	274
Conclusion	281
References (Bibliography)	287
Abbreviations	369
Transliteration	374
Appendix
Sources on Samanid genealogy	375
Family tree of Bahram Chubin	377
Family tree of Saman-Khudat	379
Family tree of the Samanid dynasty	380
List of recent publications on Samanids	381
Indexes
Index of geographical and topographical names	384
Index of proper names	409
Index of clans and dynasties	441
Index of titles and honorific names	444
Index of ethnic names	452
Index of religions and religious communities	460
Index of terms and untranslated words	463
Index of titles of compositions	476

5

PREFACE

In a medieval history of Central Asia, as it is known, a special place belongs to the Samanid dynasty, whose numerous members in the 3rd–4th/9th–10th centuries ruled in Bukhara and other cities and areas of Khurasan (Khorasan) and Mawara‘an-nahr [Frye 1993: 136–161; Bosworth 1971: 145–147; Negmatov 1977]. There is plenty of historical data in textual sources on the reign of the Samanids, on political, economical situation, and cultural life of that period. However the origin of this dynasty till now remains uncertain [Frye 1993: 136]. Many researchers consider that the dynasty of the Samanids is of the Persian origin [Bosworth 1995: 1025; Belenitsky 1999: 19–24; Browne 1997: 207, 352; Lane-Poole 1899: 107] and originated from the Sasanid dynasty [al-Zirikli I: 290; Gafurov 1958: 51–55; Gafurov 1957: 2–3]. It is reflected in the works of other researchers [Perry 2003: 118; Manz 2003: 80; Golden 1992: 192] and almost in all encyclopedic editions [Samanids 1948: 40; Samanids 1956: 916–917; Samaniden 1996 XIX: 75; Samanides 1964: SAL; Buchner 1997: 140; Daniel 1988: 371]. Some researchers called them a dynasty of local [Sourdel 1996: 728] or Türkic-Iranian (Afghani) origin [Louis 1984: 41]. Therefore definition of a true and real origin of the Samanid dynasty is one of the most actual problems both for the historical science of Uzbekistan, and for the world's historical and oriental studies.

Information about Samanids could be found almost in all of the Arabian and Persian textual sources on the history of Central Asia of the pre-Mongol period.¹ There is a lot of valuable data about Samanids in geographical and biographical works of 4th–6th/10th–12th centuries² and other textual sources.³ There is information about existence of a special work devoted to the history of the Samanid dynasty–“Tarikh Al-i Saman” (History of the House of Saman) which did not survive till the present day [Bayhaqi: 175; Hafiz-i Tanish I: 222]. Some important data about Samanids can be found in some sources of the post-Mongol period.

1 For example, in such historical works as “Tarikh-i Bukhara” by al-Narshakhi, “Tarikh Murudj al-Dhahab wa Maadin аl-Djawhar” by аl-Маsudi, “Таdjarib аl-Umam” by Ibn Miskawayh, “Zayn al-Akhbar” by Gardizi, “Tarikh al-Yamini” by al-Utbi, “Chahar Maqala” by Nizami Arudi Samarqandi, “al-Kamil fi-l-Tarikh” by Ibn al-Athir, “Tarikh-i Masud” by Abu-l-Fadl Bayhaqi, “Tarikh al-Rusul wa-l-Muluk” by al-Tabari and its continuations (dhayl), the Persian translation and additions of al-Balami to the work of al-Tabari, “Lubb al-Albab” by Awfi, etc.
2 These are the works of the Arabic geographers of 4th/10th century: “Kitab al-Buldan” by Ibn al-Faqih, “Kitab al-Kharadj” by Qudama ibn Djafar, “Masalik al-Mamalik” by al-Istakhri, “Surat al-Ard” by Ibn Hawqal, “Ahsan al-Taqasim ila Marifat al-Aqalim” by al-Muqaddasi, and also “Hudud al-Alam”, “al-Аnsab” by Abu Sad al-Samani, “al-Qаnd fi Dhikr Ulama‘ Samarqand” by Abu Hafs al-Nasafi, “Mudjam al-Buldan” by Yaqut al-Hamawi, “al-Lubab fi Tadhhib al-Ansab” by Ibn al-Athir, etc.
3 For example, “al-Athar al-Baqiya ani-l-Qurun al-Khaliya” by Abu Rayhan al-Biruni, “Fada‘il-i Balkh” by al-Balkhi, “Siyasat-Nama” by Nizam al-Mulk, “Kitab al-Dhakha‘ir wa-l-Tuhaf ” by Ibn al-Zubayr, etc.
6

Many of them are valuable, because they were borrowed from earlier textual sources, which have not survived.⁴ In the work on a general history “Rawdat al-Safa‘” by Mirkhwand (9th/15th c.) there is special section devoted to the history of the Samanids [Mirkhwand]. Valuable information about Samanid dynasty also comes from their rich numismatics, which, being a documental source, provides supplements and corrections for the data of the textual sources.

The ancestor of the dynasty Saman-Khudat has appeared for the first time on the political arena in the first quarter of the 2nd/8th century, when he came from Balkh to Marw to the Arabian governor of Khurasan (Khorasan) Asad ibn Abd Allah al-Qasri (or al-Qushayri)⁵ and asked him to help against his enemies in Balkh. His enemies could be the Turgash (Turgesh) tribes in the vicinity of Balkh [Daniel 1988: 371–372]. Having received from him the required help and having restored his position, Saman-Khudat with his assistance accepted Islam and named his son Asad in his honor. Later, together with his son, he took part in the revolt of Abu Muslim in Khurasan (Khorasan) [al-Zirikli I: 290; Frye 1993: 136]. Subsequently, his son Asad served at the court of al-Mamun⁶ during his stay in Marw as a governor of Khurasan (Khorasan). Together with him in the court of al-Mamun also served the descendants of the pre-Islamic kings of the Sughd (Sogd)–al-Ihshid al-Sughdi and Shabib ibn Bukhar-Khudad al-Balkhi [al-Djahiz: 75]. The grandsons of Saman-Khudat, the sons of Asad–Nuh, Ahmad, Yahya and Ilyas took part in suppression of the Rafi ibn al-Layth revolt (190–195/806–810) in Central Asia [Narshakhi: 69] and have persuaded him to surrender to the authorities. For these merits, before his departure from Marw to Bagdad, al-Mamun has ordered to appoint them as governors. So, in 204/819-20 they were appointed as viceroys in some cities of Mawaraannahr: Nuh in Samarqand (Samarkand), Ahmad in Farghana (Fergana), Yahya in al-Shash (Chach, Tashkent) and Ustrushana, and Ilyas in Harat (Herat) under the Tahirids, the governors of Khurasan (Khorasan) [Negmatov 1977: 18]. Ilyas ibn Asad was outstanding military commander, he played an important role in the army of the Tahirids and in 212/827-28 was appointed a viceroy of Alexandria in Egypt [Bartold 1963a: 267; Bartold 1963a: 223].

4 From such sources, for example “Bahr al-Asrar fi Manaqib al-Akhyar” by Mahmud ibn Wali, “Tarikh-i Guzida” by Hamd Allah Qazwini, “Habib al-Siyar” by Khwandamir, “Mir‘at al-Adwar wa Marhat al-Aghyar” by al-Lari, “Abd Allah-Nama” by Hafiz-i Tanish, “Oguz-Nama” by Rashid al-Din, Waqf (Nasab)-Nama of Ismail ibn Ahmad al-Samani, “al-Nudjum al-Zahira” by Ibn Taghri-Bardi, etc.
5 Abu Mundhir Asad ibn Abd Allah al-Qasri–governor of Djurdjan (Gurgan, Hyrcania) in 98/716-17, and then of Khurasan (Khorasan) in 106–109/724–728 and 117/735; died in 120/737-38.
6 al-Mamun – the son of Harun al-Rashid, in 182–198/798–812 the governor of Khurasan (Khorasan) with residence in Marw, and in 198–218/813–833 – the Caliph with residence in Bagdad.
7

In textual sources is mentioned one more son of Saman-Khudat–Ishaq ibn Saman, who was in the service of Zuhayr ibn al-Musayyab al-Dabi⁷, the military commander of al-Mamun, who appointed him a viceroy of Sistan before Shawwal of 193 AH/July of 809 AD [Tarikh-i Sistan: 180, 495]. Other medieval sources do not mention his name. Possibly, he took part in the suppression of Kharidjit revolt in Sistan led by Hamza al-Kharidji (179–195/795–811) and was killed. In medieval sources is also mentioned a certain Salama ibn Saman al-Bukhari, and in medieval Bagdad a site was called with his name. There was a mosque al-Bukhariyya (i.e. of the Bukharians) with a green minaret [al-Jakubi: 247; Tskitishvili 1986: 80].

The clan name of the Samanid dynasty is connected with the name or the title of their ancestor Saman-Khudat, who was the founder and the owner of the settlement called Saman (سامان) located, according to sources, in the Balkh region [Hamzae Ispahanensis: 237; Narshakhi: 132], or Samarqand (Samarkand) [al-Moqaddasi: 337–338; Jaсut III: 13] or Tirmidh [Semenov 1955: 3–11].

7 Zuhayr ibn al-Musayyab al-Dabi – the son of al-Musayyab ibn Zuhayr, who in 130/747-48 was military commander of Qahtaba ibn Shabib, one of the colleagues of Abu Muslim, and in 163/779-80 he was the governor of Khurasan (Khorasan).
8, 9

Chapter One SAMAN-KHUDAT

The Sasanids and the Türks

Textual sources contain conflicting information on the origin of Saman-Khudat. According to some information [Masoudi II: 5; al-Moqaddasi: 337–338; Jacut III: 13], he was a descendant of the Sasanid Shahan-Shah Bahram V Gur (r. 420–438 AD)⁸ or Khusraw I Anushirwan (r. 531–579 AD) [al-Zirikli I: 290]. However a majority of the sources ascend his genealogy to Bahram Chubin (6th century AD) [Hudud al-Alam: 102; al-Istakhri: 143, 292; Ibn Haukal: 468; Narshakhi: 133; Mirkhwand: 113; Gafurova 1992: 63], who was a military commander of the Sasanid Shahan-Shah Hurmazd⁹ IV (r. 579–590 AD) and initially was a Marzban of Arminiya and Adharbaydjan (Azerbajan) [al-Dinаwari: 81]10, and then of Rey and Khurasan (Khorasan) [Masoudi: 213]. There is also information that Bahram Chubin was of a Turkic origin of the Oguz Türks in the service of Sasanids [Gumilev 1967: 162; Rizo 1955: 152].

It is known that Bahram Chubin claimed to be a descendant of the Arshacids from the noble Parthian family Mihran¹¹ from Rey [аl-Masudi: 102, 155; Firdausī 1952: 282], and had a second name Mihrbandak [Shahbazi 1989: 519], i.e. “the slave of Mihr” (in the Armenian sources–Mihrevandak [Ter-Mkrtichan 1979: 58]). Bahram Chubin was a son of Bahram Gushnasp [Shahbazi 1989: 520] Djushanas [Biruni 1957: 52], Djushnas [al-Dinawari: 81], Djashnas [Ibn Haukal: 472], or Hasis, the son of Kuzak [Gardizi: 62]), who was a Marzban of Adharbaydjan (Azerbajan) during the reign of Khusraw I Anushirwan (r. 531–579 AD). According to other data, he was a descendent of Bahram IV Kirman-Shah [Tarikh-i-Guzida: 120].

8 Bahram Djur – the name accepted in the Islamic tradition for the Sasanid Shahan-Shah Varahran V Gur (r. 420–438 AD). The Middle Persian (Pahlavi) name Varahran originated from a name of the Avestian god of victory Varathragna. In the Middle Ages the name of Bahram was widespread among the Türks too [Shami: 54, 70].
9 In medieval sources this name is cited in the form of Hurmuz or Hurmuzd; in the scientific literature it is accepted in form Hormizd or Hormuzd. As this name occurs on behalf of Ahura Mazda, the Supreme deity of the Zoroastrian pantheon, in our opinion, it should be read in form of Hurmazd.
10 Nizam al-Mulk called Bahram Chubin as “wazir” of the Sasanid Shahan-Shah Khusraw II Parwiz (r. 590–628 AD) [Siyasat-Nama: 75].
11 In the ancient Parthia except the Arshacids were 7 other noble families–Каren Pahlav (in Nihawand), Suren Pahlav (in Sistan), Ispahpat Pahlav (in Gurgan), Spandiyat, Мihran (in Rey), Zik and some others, who saved their high position during the Sasanid‘s reign too [Simokatta: 93; Diakonov 1961: 195, 283].
10

According to the Byzantine sources, Varam, the son of Bargusn (i.e. Bahram Chubin) originated from Razaken (Rey), from the house of Mirram (Mihran) of the Arshacids family. In the beginning of his career he served in the detachment of Shahan-Shah royal body-guards, later he commanded a cavalry squadron, and took part in military campaigns of Khusraw I Anushirwan against Babylon and Armenia. He became famous because of his military feats during the war. Then he was appointed as a general commander (commander-in-chief) of the Persian army and was honored by a high title “Darigbedum of the king‘s table” [Simokatta: 93–94].

The origin of the Arshacids is connected with the Central Asian nomadic tribes of the Scythian circle [DA: 90; Bartold 1971: 422], in antique sources they were known under a general name Dahae (i.e. the Dahs) (Tokhars, Tuhsi) [Pigulevskaya 1958: 28]. The Dahae tribes were also mentioned in the ancient Persian inscriptions as one of the tribes of the Saka confederation, in the Syr-Darya lower basin, in the 3rd century BC they expanded to the south, to the borders of Parthia [Vaynberg 1999: 207, 261] (There was no Parthia when Parthians expanded). The Chirik-Rabat material culture along Jana-Darya in the Eastern Aral region was attributed to the Dahae tribes [Mambetullaev 2004: 100–101]. Their initial territory corresponds to the land of the Saka Tigrahauda, i.e. “the Sakas with bonnet hats”, mentioned among the Persian subjects in the area of Aral Lake, identified with the Massagets of the ancient Greek authors [Piankov 1968: 16].

Having come to power in Parthia, the Arshacids have not lost their ties with nomadic steppe, just the opposite, they actively supported them with political marriages and alliances, moreover, some of the Arshacids emphasized their origin from nomadic milieu [Olbrycht 2003: 98]. The Arshacid coins frequently feature a sitting man in nomadic dress with a bow in outstretched right arm [Lapshin 1999: 80, 86]. The bow type is close to the Hunnic bows, the best bows of the end of the 1st millennium BC.¹² Under Arshacids, the base of the Parthians army consisted of Central Asian mercenary nomads [Nikonorov 2005: 142].

The Sasanids, just as the Parthians, widely practiced involvement of military forces of the neighboring “Barbarian” tribes. The use of the nomads' military potential provided at the same time a continuous control over them [Wright 2005: 15–31]. There is some information about the Türks taking part in military campaigns of the Ahemenids against their enemies.¹³ In the 4th century AD the Sasanids used Khionites in the war against Byzantine.

12 Such type of bows is also called “Hunnic-Parthian bow” [Kradin 2000: 10].
13 Ancient Türks, who had rich traditions in the art of war, served as mercenaries in the armies of different countries. According to the Armenian sources, the Ahemenid king Cyrus army partly sonsisted of the Turkic troops [Теr-Мkrtichyan 1985: 66]; according to the Hebrew manuscript from the ancient city Yeb (Elephantine, 494–407 BC) in Egypt, the 5th century BC Achaemenids' military campaign against Egypt was headed by a Khwarizmian (Horezmian) Türk called Dragman, a son of Kharchin [Meyer 1912: 28; Togan 1981: 416, n. 124].

11

In 502 AD, the Shahan-Shah Kawad in alliance with Hephtalites (Ephtalites) troops campaigned against Byzantine again, and in 503 AD Hephtalites (Ephtalites) fought against Huns in the Caucasus. In 527–532 AD Sasanids used Sawir (Savir, Suvar) tribes in war against Byzantine. Khusraw I Anushirwan also widely practiced settling of warlike tribes on the borders of the empire to create permanent barriers to aggressive nomads [Kolesnikov 1981: 53; Diakonov 1961: 312]. So, according to al-Masudi, he has built the city of Bab al-Abwab (Darband), and also a 40 farsakh-long (7km/farsakh, 300 km long, an unreal statement for a really short wall) wall against infidels and has settled near each of its gates the tribes of Khazars, Alans, various Türk clans, and al-Sarir tribes (probably, Sawir (Savir, Suvar)) (Sary, of Alan/Sarmat circle, the once leading tribe of the Onogur confederation) for protection from aggressive nomads [Masoudi II: 2].

Sawir (Savir, Suvar) of Sabir tribes (Savirai) are mentioned in the geographical work of Cl.Ptolemaeus [Petrov 2004: 84]. Michael the Syrian (12th c. AD) blamed the fateful practice of the Persian kings of attracting Turkic groups as mercenaries, because after returning home they aroused their compatriots by stories about the riches of the Near East cities and provoked bloody nomadic invasions [Mokrynin 2004: 69].

The Arabian writer al-Djahiz wrote that in their country, Türks fight not for their religion, not for their king and not for al-kharadj (tax on agricultural land, i.e. sedentary peasants), not for tribal unity or for possession of women, not for defense of native land ot their houses, and not for money, but solely to extract war booty [al-Djahiz: 82]. According to Ibn Hawqal, a part of the Türks from the Badjnaq (Bechen, Bosnyak) (بجنق) tribe in ancient times left their country and went to al-Andalus (الاندلس), then they came to al-Bardzaa (Barza) (البرذعة), i.e. Parthia [Ibn Hawqal: 15]. In that, can be seen an echo of the real events that took place in the ancient times, namely during a formative epoch of the Parthian kingdom founded by the nomadic tribes at the end of the 3rd century BC.

The viceroys of the frontier regions where Iranian were not in majority (Khionites, Hephtalites (Ephtalites), Khazars, Türks, Armenians, Georgians, etc.) had a high Iranian title Marzban “defender of the border”, and belonged to the estate of high military officials at the Sasanid court [Kolesnikov 1981: 49, 54, 55]. One of the most closed confidants of Khusraw I Anushirwan was an Hephtalite (Ephtalite) called Katulf [Trever 1950: 141]. The Anushirwan's court included emissaries from various kings: Türks, Chinese, and Khazars [at-Tabari II: 899]. The bulls of the Sasanid high officials with bulla seals of the 3rd – beginning of the 4th centuries AD from the Balkh settlement Djiga-Tepa depicted Türks [Kruglikov 1984: 141–151].
12

Some of the Sasanid seals of the 5th–7th centuries AD depict typical Turkic faces and Turkic symptomatic accessories,¹⁴ and also scenes in the so-called “animal style”, assuredly not typical for Iranians, but typical for the Türkic people.¹⁵ In the 4th/10th century the Turkic tribes Khalach and Kandjina in Tukharistan (Tokharistan) were considered to be the descendants of the Hephtalites (Ephtalites) (al-Haytal) [al-Horezmi: (al-Horezmi) 119].

There are no doubts that Kushans, Khionites, and Kidarits, like the Hephtalites (Ephtalites) and the Türks were related people of the Central Asia and adjacent territories. In the Avesta, the enemies of the of Zarathustra (Zoroaster) religion are called Khionites, who have appeared only in the 4th century AD. Obviously, the Avesta text originally used another ethnographic name. In this respect, the Iranian (i.e. Persian) epos went even further, and in the 6th century AD replaced the Khionites with the Türks. Another version, attributed to the end of the 5th or the beginning of the 6th century AD, instead of the Türks still used the name Khionites [Bartold 1971: 390–392].

It is known that Khusraw I Anushirwan was married to a Turkic princess called Kayen [Ter-Mkrtichian 1979: 57], a daughter of the Türkic Kagan [at-Tabari I: 899]. This marriage was concluded in 554 AD as a result of several Persian embassies to the (Ashina) Türks [Mokrynin 2004: 72]. The name of this Kagan is stated in the medieval sources as Kökem Kagan [Ibnul-Balkhi: 24, 94, 98], who was identified as the first Kagan of the western part of the Türkic Kaganate, the Istami (Istemi)-Kagan “Dizavul”, who in 568 AD sent an embassy to the Byzantine. The same Kagan is mentioned in “Oguz-Nama” by Rashid al-Din as Kukem Yavkuy  [Rashid al-Din 1987: 94], in the works of Abu-l-Ghazi it is Kukem Bakuy [Kononov 1958: 69] and at al-Tabari it is “Sindjibu” (Sir-Yabgu) [Togan 1981: 112]. The name of this Kagan, rendered in the Byzantine sources in the form of “Dizavul”, was reconstructed as Sil-Zabul, i.e. Sir-Yabgu [Zuev 2002: 189].

Unlike his predecessors, Khusraw I Anüshirwan abandoned the ideas of religious fanatism that dominated orthodox Zoroastrianism, and advanced a policy of toleration in respect to the Christians¹⁶, followers of Mazdaism, and other religious groups. The mother of Khusraw I Anushirwan was a daughter of some dihqan (land-owner) whom Shahan-Shah Kubad married during his campaign to Turkistan [Bayhaqi: 896]. From that follows that Khusraw I Anushirwan was half non-Iranian (non-Persian?) and probably had a Turkic blood that was his main divergence from his predecessors on the Sasanid throne. That possibly explains his marriage to the Turkic princess.

14 For example, a portrait with Mongoloid features and a headdress in a form of bull horns (similar to the Norse/Germanic idiosyncrasy) [Frye 1971: pl. XV, fig. 81].
15 Images of a she-wolf feeding two human babies, a horseman, an elephant, a lion, a horse, a camel, a bull, a deer, a wild boar, a goat, an eagle, a pheasant, a crane and other animals and birds [Frye 1971: pl. XXXIX, XLVI–LIV; Bivar 1968а: 69–101; 1968b: pl. XV, XX–XXIV; Gignoux 1982: 87–117; Gyselen 1995: 39, 43].
16 Аnushirwan held a contempt for the Christians because his son Anushak-Zad from his Christian wife followed belief of his mother and raised a revolt against him. However, despite of that, Anushirwan did not treat Christians with hostility, and yielded them adequate conditions [Browne 1997: 136, 168, 181].
13

Khusraw I Anushirwan was known for his educational activities, he spent many efforts for development of secular science and culture.¹⁷ For that, he was called “Anushirwan the Just” and “Immortal Soul”.¹⁸ It is known that in his reign into the Middle Persian (Pahlavi) language were translated the sacred book of the ancient Türks “Oguz-Nama”, authored by certain Ulug-Khan Ata Bitikchi and some other Turkic storytellers.¹⁹ The Buzurg-Mihr Bakhtagan, a vizier of Khusraw I Anushirwan, owned a manuscript of that book [Korogly 1976: 38].

Anushirwan's successor on the Sasanid throne prince Hurmazd IV (579–590) was half-Türk, for that he was nicknamed “Turkzada”, i.e. a descendant of the Türks. In continuation of the policy of his father, he ruthlessly fought against Iranian nobility and priests, continued the peaceful policy toward Christians, and relied on common people [Pigulevskaya 1946: 84–85], a considerable part of which were Hephtalites (Ephtalites), Türks and other non-Persian people.²⁰ He purportedly phrased a slogan, “Like a throne cannot rest only on its front legs, so a state cannot base only on Zoroastrians” [at-Tabari I: 990]. During Hurmazd IV reign were minted silver drachmas with a clear image of a cross next to the Zoroastrian symbols. These coins were minted not only in the cities in the eastern part of the Sasanid empire, such as Abarshahr, Gurgan, Marwrud and Rakhwad (al-Rukhhadj), but also in the mints of Stakhr, Bishapur, Darabgerd and Ardashir-Khwarra, the central cities of Persia, a cradle of the Sasanids statehood. Also are known Varahran VI (Bahram Chubin) drachmas with the image of a cross, minted in 591 AD in Abarshahr, Harat (Herat) and Marw [Kolesnikov 2005: 114–115].

17 In 532 AD he invited from Byzantine to his court Neo-Platonist philosophers, who engaged in translation of philosophical and scientific works from Greek and Syrian to Middle Persian (Pahlavi), he was also a founder of the first Persian university in Djundishapur (Khuzistan) (circa 550 AD), to study philosophy and medicine. These traditions were continued later, at the Abbasid time, by establishing in Bagdad of an Islamic Academy of Sciences (Bayt al-Hikma) [Browne 1997: 167, 305, 419].
18 In Middle Persian (Pahlavi) the name Anushirwan means “Immortal Soul” (Anushak-ruban) [Browne 1997: 107, 135].
19 This information is cited in composition “Durar at-Tidjan wa Tawarikh Ghurar al-Zaman” (“Pearls and Dates of the Glorious People”) by Abu Bakr Abd Allah ibn Ay-Bek al-Dawadari (8th/14th c.), who writes that in 211/826-27 a Syrian-Nestorian scholar Djibril ibn Bakhtishu, who served at the court of five Abbasid Caliphs from Harun al-Rashid (r. 170–193/786–809) to al-Mutawakkil (r. 232–247/847–861) [Ibn al-Nadim II: 969], has translated this book to Arabic, and that he personally saw the Arabic version of “Oguz-Nama” translated by Djibril ibn Bakhtishu [Köprülü 1976: 25–26, 249–251; Dede Korkut I: 35–37].
20 During the reign of Shahan-Shah Hurmazd IV Turkzada, were executed 13 thousands members of Persian aristocracy [Belami II: 248].
14

The marriage of the Turkic princess (Khatun) with the Shahan-Shah was a mutually advantageous political step. Sasanids were interested in it to have an ally against Hephtalites (Ephtalites), and the Türks wanted to influence the Sasanids' politics. There is an opinion that precisely to this Türkic Kagan, who established a kinship with Sasanids, ascends the genealogy of the Samanid dynasty [Togan 1972: 112], which alternate sources also ascend to Khusraw I Anushirwan [al-Zirikli I: 290].

In the beginning of the 3rd/9th century a native of Sughd (Sogd), a known Arabic-speaking poet Ishaq ibn al-Hasan al-Khurrami (d. 200/815-16) asserted in his verses that Khusraw ibn Hurmazd (i.e. Khusraw II Parwiz) and Kagan were cousins of his father Sasan [Browne 1997: 267]. According to some information, Khusraw Abarwiz (Khusraw II Parwiz) also married a Khatun (خاتون), a daughter of the Türkic Kagan, who bore the successor to the throne, the Shahan-Shah Shiruye [al-Djahiz: 100–101].

Thus, at least four Persian Shahan-Shahs (Khusraw I Anushirwan, Hurmazd IV Turkzada, Khusraw II Parwiz and Shiruye) had family ties with the Türkic Kagans. In the Persian history are known only two ruling queens. One of them, Buran (-dokht) (Storm-daughter, a Turkic-Persian compound), was a daughter of Khusraw II Parwiz (590–627 AD) from Maryam, a daughter of the Byzantine emperor Mauritius, and she ruled only for one year and 4 months (630–631 AD). The second, Azarme (-dokht) (Bolting-daughter, or Mazed, Mixed-up-daughter, a Turkic-Persian compound), ruled for only few months [Bayani 1973: 50]. Rise to the throne and reign of these two queens contradicted traditions of the Sasanid Persia, and most likely was connected with the Türkic statecraft traditions where women occupied high position in the society, and a wife of the Kagan (Hatun) was active in state affairs [Kamoliddin 2005: 16–24].

According to al-Narshakhi, one of the descendants of Khusraw I Anushirwan called Shapur settled in Sughd (Sogd), after a quarrel with his father he fled to Bukhara. The Bukhara ruler, titled Bukhar-Khudat, received him well and allocated him a land possession. Shapur built there canal, which then was called Shapurkam (i.e. canal of Shapur) and founded on its banks a few settlements, including the settlement Wardana on the border with Turkistan. Later, these possessions inherited his descendent Wardan-Khudats [Narshakhi 23, 34–35].

There is testimony that during Khusraw I Anushirwan reign for some time²¹ Persian relations with the Türks were close. So, Ibn Khordadhbeh cites a legend that Khusraw I built in the territory of the Khazar Kaganate the cities Balandjar (aka Varachan, from bulun “tributor” + jar “center, headquarters”, the Masgut capital after Persian conquest displaced Masguts/Massagets/Alans from Shirvan and Agvania) and Sаmаndаr (Hunnic capital, both capitals precede the Khazar rise) [Ibn Khordadbeh: 123].²²

21 Before the deterioration of relations had occurred after unsuccessful Türks' embassy headed by the Sogdian Maniakh to the court of Khusraw I Anushirwan
15

The inhabitants of these cities were possibly the Türks-Balandjars and Khazars [Romashov 2000: 219–338] (What a screaming ignorant nonsense). Foundation of some cities in the Türks' country is attributed to Bahram Chubin also. So, according to the legend, he established the city Sarir al-Dhahab (Golden Throne), a capital of the Türkic Kagan. It was located in the Khazar steppe north of Bab al-Abwab (Darband), and during Late Middle Ages it was known as Sarai Batu [Mahmud ibn Wali: 41] (Sarai Batu - “Batu palace” was a name of the Batu court in the city Saksin). In the 4th/10th century is mentioned an area called al-Sarir (السریر), located 4 days of travel from Bab al-Abwab (i.e. Darband), its inhabitants were Christians (Sarir is the mountain location of Sary Oguz refugees). According to the legend, the king Filan-Shah of this city was a Christian from Bahram Gur descendants. When the last Persian king Yazdigird III fled from the Arabs to the Türks, he gave a gold throne, treasury, and property to one of the descendants of Bahram Gur to induce him to come to that country [Masoudi II: 41]. According to other sources, this man was a descendant of Bahram Chubin [al-Istakhri: 223; Grigoriev, Frolov 2001: 260, 280].

During the rule of the Caliph al-Wathiq (r. 227–232/842–847) the ruler of al-Sarir is called a king of Alans with a title Tarkhan [Demidchik 1977: 120]. To Bahram Chubin is also attributed a foundation in the Türks' country of the city Sarwast (سروست) [Mustawfi-i Qazwini: 121]. In the Kimak country is mentioned a settlement Dih-i Chub [Hudud al-Alam: 100]. These details allow to suggest that before Bahram Chubin was killed after his flight from Persia, he stayed with the Türks for a long time.

However, that should have happened not later than the beginning of the 7th century AD, because Bahram Chubin is not mentioned any more when in 611 AD the Djik (Zik, Shikh)-Kagan came to power, in alliance with Hephtalites (Ephtalites) won a big victory over Sasanids, and established his rule over the whole eastern part of Persia up to the Rey and Isfahan.²³ Though subsequently the Türks withdrew their armies back to Amu Darya, they continued to play an important role in the subsequent history of the Sasanid Empire.²⁴ So, according to the Chinese sources, the killing of Khusraw II Parwiz (Ko-su-ho) and raising to the throne of his son Shiruye (Se-li) was staged by Tun Yabgu-Kagan [Chavannes 1903: 171]. After that, the Sasanid Shahan-Shahs were ruled by the Türkic Kagans [Togan 1981: 73–74]. In 629 AD, after Shiruye and his son Ardashir, to the Sasanid throne was raised Khusraw Kharkhan (Kharmaz), a son of Arslan, a son of Bayunchur, who was one of the descendants of the Sasanid line from the Türks' country [Ibnul-Balkhi: 24, 109].

22 According to the legend, the name of Balandjar had one of the sons of Yafath ibn Nuh (Bibl. Iaphet son of Noah) [Ibn al-Fakih: 289].
23 In the Forughi collection of the Sasanid seals (Iran) are two seals with Middle Persian (Pahlavi) and Turkic Runic legends with the name of this Kagan (Djik (Zik, Shikh)-Kagan), and a medallion with his image in profile and Middle Persian (Pahlavi) legend with his name. Speculatively, the seal was made to administrate the captured territory, and the medal was minted in memory of his victory [Harmatta, Litvinsky 1996: 369].
24 In our opinion, this calculated process started with the reign of Khusraw I Anushirwan, who married the daughter of the Türkic Kagan.
16

According to the legend, in Farghana (Fergana) Khusraw I Anushirwan also founded a city, relocated there people from each (noble?) house and named that place Har Khana (аz har khana), i.e. “from each house” [Ibn Khordadbeh: 30]. This legend in full version is in the work of Ibn al-Faqih²⁵ and later sources [Mahmud ibn Wali: 64; Bakran: 51; al-Bakuwi: 96]. According to al-Masudi, the city founded by Khusraw I Anushirwan in Farghana (Fergana) was called Quba (قبا) (Kuba) [Masoudi IV: 507; VIII: 701].

The stability of this legend in the folk tradition attests that during the reign of Khusraw I Anushirwan could have really been established a Persian colony in Farghana (Fergana), and that some Persian population could have been moved there. This supposition is supported by the al-Tabari's information that Khusraw I Anuushirwan, after conclusion of an alliance with the Türks, campaigned against Hephtalites (Ephtalites)²⁶ and reached Farghana (Fergana), where he left his army [at-Tabari I: 899]. The last period of Bahram Chubin‘s life after his flight to the Türks also was connected with Farghana (Fergana) [Gumilev 1960: 229–230].

The last Sasanid Shahan-Shah Yazdigird III (r. 632–651 AD), having fled from the Arabs to the Türks, resided in Farghana (Fergana) [HC: 1b; at-Tabari I: 2689, 2692]. The al-Tabari's composition noted that in 29/649-50 the Caliph Uthman (r. 23–35/644–656) sent to Khurasan (Khorasan) Umar (Umayr) ibn Uthman ibn Sad, who crossed Djayhun (Djeyhun, Jeyhun, Amu Darya) river and came to Farghana (Fergana) [at-Tabari I: 2829]. Аbu Ali Balami in his addition to the “History” of al-Tabari dates this event by 31/651-652. Possibly, this first Arab reconnaissance campaign searched for Yazdigird III [Djalilova 1991: 7]. In the beginning of the 2nd/8th century are mentioned Persians (al-'Adjam)²⁷ living in Farghana (Fergana) and in the Türks' country [HC: 167а]. From circle of the Persian immigrants apparently descended the Sasanid's Khusraw Kharkhan (Khаrmaz), the son of Arslan, the son of Bayunchur, who lived in the Türks' country, and in 8/629-30 with the support of the Türks was installed on the Sasanid throne after Shiruye and his son Ardashir [Ibnul-Balkhi: 24, 109]. The echo of these events remained in the folk legends, according to which, after the Arabs conquered Persia (al-'Adjam), Persians fled and settled in Farghana (Fergana) [Shah Hakim: 17].

25 Cited in the composition of Zakaria Qazwini, who refers to Ibn al-Faqih [Demidchik 1977: 122].
26 Event took place in 554 AD [Trever 1950: 129].
27 In the al-Tabari work this place reads: “one non-Arab (al-'Adjam) from the inhabitants of Khurasan (Khorasan) said...” [at-Tabari II: 1300].
17

One of the Yazdigird III's descendants, a dihqan Kamkar, lived in the vicinity of Marw [Ibn al-Athir VIII: 44]. The celebrated Muslim lawyer (al-faqih) Abu Hanifa al-Numan ibn Thabit ibn Kamkar ibn Yazdidjird ibn Shahriyar (d. 150/767), a founder of the al-Hanafiyya law school (al-madhhab), was Yazdigird III's 4th generation descendant [al-Karshi: 63].

Qutaiba ibn Muslim during his conquest of Mawaraannahr fought with the son Firuz of Yazdigird III [al-Masudi: 101]. He has captured his daughter Shah-Farind and sent her to al-Hadjdjadj ibn Yusuf, and that forwarded her to the Caliph al-Walid, from whom she gave birth to al-Yazid [at-Tabari II: 1247]. She had a case with a book in Persian [Ibn al-Fakih: 209]. Chinese sources mention a grandson of Yazdigird III called Nerse (Ni-huan-shi), who in 58/677-678 was at the court of the Chinese emperor, and then headed an anti-Arab revolt in Tukharistan (Tokharistan) [al-Tabari 1988: 17, n. 16]. In 110/728-29 a son of Yazdigird III called Khusraw participated in the battle at Kamardja on the side of the Türkic Kagan [at-Tabari II: 1518]. A chronicle under 720 AD tells about arrival to Japan in the second half of the 7th century AD of the Tukharistan (Tokharistan) people of noble origin with Iranian names. It is suspected that they were Yazdigird III's descendants [Gikio 1979: 55–63]. The founder of the Ghaznawid (Ghaznavid) dynasty Sabuk-Tegin was a Qarluq (Karluk) from the city Barskhan near the Isyq-Kul (Issyk Kul) lake, not far from the city Atbash where ostensibly settled the last Shahan-Shah Yazdigird III [Bosworth 1962: 220; Bosworth 1963: 39–40].

From the above, it is possible to suspect that it was Farghana (Fergana) that was the native land of the Türkic Kagan with whom Sasanids established marital ties.

The Turkic ruler El Arslan (Shir-i Kishwar, Sawa-Shah) of Bukhara was a relative by the maternal side of the Sasanid Shahan-Shah Hurmazd IV Turkzada [Belami II: 248]. When Bahram Chubin in 589 AD has taken his son El-Tegin (Parmuda, Nili-Khan) a prisoner in Baykand and sent him to Hurmazd IV, the last accorded him a sumptuous welcome and after a conclusion of a peace released him with honor [Belami II: 265; Firdausī VI: 656–657]. Alternatively, El-Tegin (Parmuda) has not been taken prisoner, but went voluntarily to the Shahan-Shah Hurmazd IV for negotiations [Gumilev 1969: 132]. From this story follows that Shir-i Kishwar (Sawa-Shah) was a nephew of Istami (Istemi)-Kagan‘s daughter, a wife of the Sasanid Shahan-Shah Khusraw I Anushirwan.

In the 4th/10th century, in Nishapur lived an expert on the al-Hadith (Acts of the Prophet Mohammad) Abu Mansur Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Dayzil al-Djallab al-Farisi al-Dayzili (d. 345/956-57), who had a nisba ascending to his ancestor Dayzil. According to Abu Abd Allah al-Hakim al-Hafiz al-Naysaburi, which book cites al-Samani, his clan had a very ancient origin, but he always preferred solitude and avoided people.
18

First he lived in Bagdad and then moved to Nishapur [al-Samani V: 399]. The name of this ancestor is probable should be read as Dizabul (ديزبل) instead of Dayzil (ديزيل) neither among the Arabs, nor the Persians have such a name. Therefore it is possible to presume that he was one of descendants of the first Kagan of the Western Türkic Kaganate mentioned in the Byzantine sources as Dizavul. Among Türks, children were given names of their distant ancestors, especially if they were famous people. The name of this Kagan, who in 568 AD sent an embassy to Byzantine, was reconstructed as Sir Yabgu (from Sil-Zabul) [Zuev 2002: 189]. One of his descendants, namely the Crown Prince son of Tun Yabgu-Kagan, also used a name Sir Yabgu.

In 3rd/9th century in Bagdad lived certain Kagan (d. 234/848-49), who was a descendant of the pre-Islamic kings of Farghana (Fergana) [al-Jakubi: 258, 266; al-Suli: 104]. His sons and the grandsons, who accepted Islam, were high-ranking officials, important military leaders, viceroys, viziers, and closest people to the Abbasid Caliphs.²⁸ To his clan belonged such known persons as al-Fath ibn Kagan (d. 248/862-63), Yahya ibn Kagan (d. 240/854-55), Baglavur ibn Kagan, Takin ibn Kagan, Abu-l-Abbas Ahmad ibn Kagan al-Farghani, etc. [al-Suli: 63, 104, 117, 127; Ibn Miskawaih: 68, 69, 174, 420, 421, 424, 561; Ibn al-Nadim I: 116; аl-Masudi: 362, 379]. From Balkh originated the al-Hadith expert Muhammad ibn Kagan al-Baruqani al-Balkhi [al-Samani II: 176]. In the 3rd/9th century are also mentioned certain people called Kagan al-Khadim al-Turki, Kagan Atrudj [al-Jakubi: 258; al-Masudi: 190, 191], Kagan ibn Ahmad and Kagan al-Aflahi [Ibn Miskawaih: 115, 225, 244], who served in Bagdad at the court of the Caliphs. Маsrur al-Farghani was a bodyguard and a close friend of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid [al-Isfahani: 419]. Azku-Tegin ibn Asa-Tegin, a military leader of the Caliph al-Muwaffaq also The was a Farghanian (Fergana) [Ibn al-Fakih 1968: 59]. An al-Hadith expert Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Farankadik Hadjib ibn Malik ibn Arkin al-Turki al-Farghani (d. 306/918-19) ascended his genealogy to one of the kings (mаlik) of Farghana (Fergana) [Jacut IV: 931]. Тughdj ibn Djaf ibn Djaf ibn Yil-Takin ibn Fawran ibn Furi ibn Kagan al-Farghani and his son Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Tughdj al-Farghani [Ibn Miskawaih V: 508, 553, 577; Ibn Khallikan I: 41–44], the founders of the Ihshid dynasty, ruled in the 4th/10th century in Egypt and Syria [EI IV: 418; Bosworth 1971: 76], they held themselves descendants of the Ihshids, the pre-Islamic kings of Farghana (Fergana) [al-Masudi: 194, 371; EI III: 1060]. It can be supposed that they were descendants of the Kagan El-Tegin, at which court Bahram Chubin spent his last days.²⁹

28 His descendants referred to him with a nisba al-Hakani [al-Samani V: 22].
19

Genealogy of some members of the Ihshid dynasty names among ancestors a certain Bighdjur al-Ihshid [Ibn al-Nadim I: 173, 174, 235; al-Zirikli I: 165]. In 268/881-82 on the post of the viceroy of al-Basra in al-Iraq was appointed a certain Qaysar, a descendant of Arkhuz, the Ihshid of Farghana (Fergana) [at-Tabari III: 2016]. According to other sources, during the Arab conquests, the Ihshid of Farghana (Fergana) used a Turkic name Suvar-Takin [al-Horezmi: 119; Ibn al-Nadim I: 280]. His descendant possibly was Wasif ibn Suvar-Takin al-Khadim al-Biktamiri, who lived in Bagdad [Ibn Miskawaih: 48, 56, 64, 116, 119, 125, 162, 270]. Al-Tabari composition mentioned the pre-Islamic kings of Farghana (Fergana) al-Tar or Alatar, Balaz and Djur [at-Tabari II: 1440]. In the Middle Ages, a large channel south of the city Andidjan [Babur-Nama: 77, 121] and one of the Andidjan city gates [Babur-Nama: 121, 122] were called “Hakan”.

Bahram Chubin

After the well-known Bahram Chubin victory over of the Hephtalite (Ephtalites) army and the Türks in 588 AD³⁰, the Sasanid Shahan-Shah Hurmazd IV gave him Balkh and all of the Khurasan (Khorasan).³¹ After a murder of Chol-Kagan³², his son Yil (El)-Tegin³³ hid in the of Paykand fortress.³⁴ Bahram Chubin laid siege to the fortress, forced him to surrender, and seized a great booty. He sent to Hurmazd IV only a part of it, and held on to the rest.

29 Besides, textual sources mention other Kagans of that time: Manush-Hakan, Fayruz-Hakan, Khaylub-Hakan, etc. [Ibn Khordadbeh: 40–41].
30 As a result of this war the Türkic Kaganate weakened and split into two Kaganates – the East and the Western [Harmatta, Litvinsky 1996: 368–369].
31 According to Middle Persian (Pahlavi) sources, Spandiyat, the son of Vishtasp, built in Pahl (Balkh) a splendid capital Nawazak and founded there a miraculous Vahram fire [Markwart 1931: 10].
32 This Kagan was identified with El Arslan, the son of Tardu-Kagan (in 576–587 AD – Kagan of the Western Türks; in 587–603 AD – Kagan of the East Türks) and grandson of Istami (Istemi)-Kagan (r. 562–576 AD). The al-Narshakhi history mentions him under a name Shir-i Kishwar [Frye 1954: 108, n. 28]; Chinese sources Yang-Su T‘ele (Tegin), Arabic sources Shaba or Shiyaba [Ibn Khordadbeh: 40], and Persian sources Sawa-Shah or Sawkh [Gumilev 1967: 115, 132]. The Asilan Dagan (Arslan Tarkhan) of the Chinese sources is also identified with him [Chavannes 1903: 149; Zuev 2002: 200].
33 Yil-Tegin or Il-Tegin, i.e. El-Tegin. Chinese sources mention him under a name Nili-(Khan), and Persian sources Parmuda or Narmud [Togan 1981: 72]. With him is connected the construction of a Buddhist temple in Kashmir and the penetration of the Buddhism into Bukhara region [Stavisky 1960: 115]. The name Parmuda is an Iranian calque of the Turkic name Sawa Buyuruq [Gumilev 1967: 132].
34 According to Firdausī, this fortress was called Awaza [Firdausī 1952: 68].
20

This angered the Shahan-Shah, and he was sacked from his post [Masoudi II: 213–214; al-Dinаwаri: 84–85]. According to other sources, after defeating Türks in Baykand, Bahram Chubin was sent to the Caucasus, where he fought against Byzantine army. In that war, Bahram Chubin lost and then he was sacked from his post [Simokatta: 77–80].³⁵ However, he had refused to obey Hurmazd IV, and has revolted in Balkh in 590 AD [Harmatta, Litvinsky 1996: 368–369]. Concluding an alliance with the Türks, he took command of military units of Turkic volunteers, and with a joined army moved to Ktesifon, the Sasanid capital.³⁶ He also was supported by the majority of the local population [Guseynov 1960: 35]. Meanwhile, the local nobility has deposed Hurmazd IV and enthroned his son Khusraw II Parwiz. In the summer of 590 AD, Bahram Chubin entered Ktesifon with his army and has proclaimed himself a Shahan-Shah. Before that, he has been crowned near Tirmidh. He declared the Sasanids to be usurpers of the legitimate power which by right belonged to the Parthian Arshacids, and himself a lawful successor of their power [Shahbazi 1989: 521]. Khusraw II Parwiz fled from the capital to Byzantine to the emperor Mauritius. Having usurped the supreme power of the Sasanids, Bahram Chubin ruled for more than one year and even minted coins with his image.³⁷ In 591 AD a joined Sasanid army with a support of the Armenian, Georgian, and Byzantine troops, defeated Bahram Chubin army near a river Baliarat in Armenia, and captured many Türks with a cross sign on their foreheads [Simokatta: 131]. After that, Bahram was forced to flee east, to the land of the Türks, and settle in Farghana (Fergana) [Gumilev 1960: 229 – 230].

35 This battle between Bahram Chubin and Byzantines is known only from the Byzantine and the Middle Persian (Pahlavi) sources used by Firdausī. Other Arabic and Persian authors of the Middle Ages know nothing about Bahram Chubin's defeat from Byzantines [Diakonov 1961: 315, 413, n. 195]. Possibly, the reference there is to the military operations Persians, with support of the Byzantines, conducted in the Caucasus against Khazars [Pigulevskaya 1946: 81], and a commander who fought with them was not Bahram Chubin, who at that time was still in Khurasan (Khorasan) engaged in a war with the Türks, but another commander called Bahram, a son of Siyawush [al-Dinаwari: 86; Ibnul-Balkhi: 102; Gumilev 1960: 228–229].

36 Bahram Chubin's army included numerous Türks, the sources relay that “with him went many brave and war-like Eastern people, and Khusraw II Parwiz personally killed three Turkic knights in service of Bahram Chubin” [Gumilev 1960: 237–239]. Among prisoners were many Türks, Khusraw sent them to the emperor Mauritius as victory gifts. On the captives' forehead was incised a Christian cross that they “have received from their mothers” [Simokatta: 130–131].

37 There are known drachma and dinars with his image and with inscription Var(a)hran [Göbl 1971: 80; pl. 12, No. 203–204; Nöldeke 1879: 282].
21

He became a friend and an adviser to the Türkic Kagan Parmuda (El-Tegin) [Mustawfi-i Qazwini: 121],³⁸ and married his daughter.³⁹ Some time later he was killed by a hired agent sent by Khusraw II Parwiz [Chavannes: 242–245; Gumilev 1967: 131–132; Usanovа 1995: 29].

There is an opinion that that story tells not of a supreme Türkic Kagan, but about a Hephtalite ruler of Balkh with a Bactrian title šawa (“ruler”), and of his son titled pariowk (parmowk), whose descendant Barmakids also were the owners of the Naw-Bahar temple.⁴⁰ In that case, the Shawa-Shah and Chol-Kagan, and the Parmuda and El-Tegin should be different persons fighting together against Sasanids.

El-Tegin is also mentioned in the Armenian sources of the 7th century AD [Gukasian 1971: 250]. Considering that after defeat of the Hephtalites (Ephtalites) and Türks in 590 AD a large part of Tukharistan (Tokharistan) was occupied by the Sasanid army, Bahram Chubin could have escaped from the Sasanid pursuit only out of the country, most likely in the north,⁴¹ i.e. at the “Hakan of Chin” Parmuda (El-Tegin), a relative of the Sasanid Shahan-Shah Hurmazd IV Turkzada on a maternal side [Belami II: 248, 265; Firdausī VI: 656–657; Firdausī 1952: 291–294] because his father Shir-i Kishwar (Shawa-Shah) was a nephew of Istami (Istemi)-Kagan‘s daughter married to the Sasanid Shahan-Shah Khusraw I Anushirwan.

The new family ties of Bahram Chubin were most likely connected with Farghana (Fergana), where later lived his descendants who held themselves the “holders of royal blood” [Kamaliddinov 1996: 116–117] and pretended to the supreme power in the Sasanid Persia.⁴²

Numismatic sources add to this picture some details. Silver drachmas with abbreviation SML (Samarqand (Samarkand)) were minted in the second year of the Hurmazd IV rule (i.e.  580–581 AD) and from the third till the fifth years of the Khusraw II rule (i.e.  592–594 AD).

38 According to al-Dinawari, the Türkic Kagan honored him, and built for him and for his people a city and a palace. When Bahram Chubin in an honest duel has killed the Kagan‘s antagonistic brother, the Kagan ennobled him even more [al-Dinаwari: 98–102].
39 He saved a Kagan‘s daughter on walk from an attacking wild animal (dragon-lion), then Kagan gave him his daughter and a kingdom [Masoudi II: 223–224; Firdausī 1952: 302; Mustawfi-i Qazwini: 120–121].
40 The word pariowk (parmowk), barmuka in the Armenian rendition and Barmuda in the Arabic rendition, reflects the Buddhist title Pramukha [Harmatta, Litvinsky 1996: 371; Frye 1956: 122].
41 According to Firdausī, in case if Sawa-Shah would not extend his protection to him, Bahram Chubin planned to leave to the south to Hindustan [Firdausī 1952: 295].
42 The medieval sultans of Shirwan also held themselves to be descendants of Bahram Chubin [Nawai: 204].
22

The Hurmazd IV drachma dated by the sixth year of his rule (i.e. 584–585 AD) indicates in full the name of the Chach (čač) area. Only during the rule of Hurmazd IV (581, 584, 586–588 AD) were minted drachmas in the Khulm (XLM) mint, located east from Balkh [Kolesnikov 2005: 114]. This indicates that Bahram Chubin‘s army military advance of against the Türks was more extensive than was believed earlier, and extended not only to the areas of Balkh and Bukhara, but also to the more remote areas of the Türkic Kaganate, including Samarqand (Samarkand) and Chach.

These is a synopsis of the data about life and activities of Bahram Chubin in the Byzantine, Armenian, Middle Persian (Pahlavi), Arab-Muslim and other sources.

It was thought that the second part in the name of Bahram Chubin, “Chubin” or “Chubina”⁴³ had a meaning of a “raven” (or a “crow”) in the later Sasanid Middle Persian (Pahlavi) [Wolf 1953: 301]⁴⁴, and that it was a Bahram's nickname in a court slang at the time of Shahan-Shah Hurmazd IV (r. 576–590 AD) [Firdausī VI: 654–655]. In a geographical treatise of the second half of the 8th century AD translated to Tibetan, among the Turkic tribes and people inhabiting Central Asia at that time is mentioned a tribe called Gar-rga-pur in the neighborhood of the tribes Yan Ti (the Kushans) and He-bdal (the Hephtalites (Ephtalites)) [Gumilev 1967: 162; Аbdurasul Ogli 1997: 72]. Apparently, those were the people in the Tukharistan (Tokharistan), which at that time was a part of the Western Türkic Kaganate. There is an opinion that ethnonym Gar-rga pur consists of two words: Turkic gar-rga (“raven”)⁴⁵ and Persian pur (“son”)⁴⁶, the first of which is a calque of the Middle Persian (Pahlavi) word chubin (“raven”). It was the name of the descendents of Bahram Chubin in the Balkh, given to them by the Türks [Gumilev 1967: 162].

The antique sources mention Gargars among the people of the Eastern Caucasus, along with Albans and Caspians. In the Adharbaydjan (Azerbajan) territory still remain a hydronym Karkar and toponym Kharkhar [Aliev 1974: 178]. One of the Sogdian documents from the Mugh mountain (beginning of the 8th century AD) mentions a Turkic governor called Chubin Chur Bilga (V.A.Livshitz reading) who was a governor of the city Panch (Pandjikent) for 15 years, and a mountain area Kasht (or Bakht) [Smirnova 1963: 11].

43 Various sources mention this name in different forms: Chobin, Chopin, Chupin, Djubin, Shubin, etc. Some late sources also give a form “Chuba” [Azimov 1999: 26, 158, 160].
44 In the New Persian the word chubin (چوبین) means “wooden”, and the word chubine  (چوبینھ) means “a crane” [PRS I: 480]; for “raven” in the New Persian is used the word kulagh or zaghan [RPS: 91].
45 In Old Turkic the word karga meant “a raven”, “a crow” [DTS: 426]. Modern Turkic languages use forms kurgun (a raven) and karga (a crow) [RTS: 103].
46 According to some information, the word pur originated in Farghana (Fergana), where the Chinese emperor as “the son of the sky” was called bаghpur or faghfur [Bartold 1963б: 215].
23

This document confirms the fact of the spread of the name Chubin among the Central Asian Türks during the Early Middle Ages epoch.

The raven or a crow is a central character in the mythologies of the people of Siberia and Indians of the North America, appearing as primogenitor, cultural hero and a mighty shaman [Melitinsky 1991: 245]. For the ancient Türks the Raven was a symbol of a rising Sun, which along with the morning blue Heaven, personified the Supreme deity Tangri. An image of a Red Raven, in a form of an eagle with spread wings, is depicted on the tiara of the pre-Islamic Turkic prince Kül-Tegin [Zuev 2002: 24, 226]. Similarly, Kirgiz epos has an image of a Kara-Kush bird (Blackbird) that affords help to the people. In Iranian epos this bird is called Semurg [Korogly 1983: 53]. During Middle Ages, among the Türks was popular a name Kara-Kush (Blackbird) [Ibn al-Athir XI: 169]. The obverse of the Kara-Khanid coins had images of a pigeon, a cock, a bird with a chick, a bird with a flower, etc. [Kochnev 1993: 14]. According to the Chinese sources, a totem of the ancient Turkic tribes U-shi, i.e. Usuns, also called Huns, was a raven [Zuev 1960: 11–13]. In the art of the Central Asian people was widespread an image of a bird of prey (an eagle, a horned owl, etc.) in gold or bronze, it connected a symbolical image of the sun or the Farn incarnation [Vorobieva 1988: 41–42]. The mythology of the Siberian people, dubbed Shamanism, was closely connected with the image of eagle, whence the kind spirits of the Heavens sent a king of eagles (two headed eagle) to the earth to help people. The eagle descended to the earth and copulated with a woman sleeping under a tree. As a result of that union was born a first shaman. The eagle initiated a spiritual beginning of the mankind, for whom the eagle is a bird of the Sun. The eagle and nomad was a popular theme in the Kushan art. The Arshacid's eagle also belongs to that pantheon, though its milieu is a somewhat different tradition [Mustanmidi 1972: 81, 83]. In the Middle Ages, among Türks were iniquitous names related to birds, such as Ak-Kush (White Bird), Kara-Kush (Black Bird), Ala-Kush (Motley Bird), Boz-Kush (Grey Bird), Tun-Kush (Night Bird), Lachin (Falcon), Sunkur (Falcon), Sunkurcha (Small falcon), Ak-Sunkur (White Falcon), Kara-Sunkur (Black Falcon), Togan (Raptor), etc. [Tardjuman: 60–62].

In the mythological traditions of the Near East, North Africa, Europe, and India, the raven is a demonic character, it personifies misfortune and is an evil omen [Melitinsky 1991: 245]. In the Sasanid Persia, the image of a raven was frequently seen as an appellative for hostile strangers.⁴⁷

47 In one story an Arabian prince complained to Kusraw I Anushirwan that “his land was seized by ravens”; and the last asked: “What ravens, from Abissinia or from India?”, on which the Arab answered: “the Abissinian” [Browne 1997: 179].
24

Supposedly the name designating a raven could be given to such a person as Bahram Chubin⁴⁸ only among the people who held this bird to be a positive hero.⁴⁹ After Asad ibn Abd Allah in 107/725-26 rebuilt the Balkh city, its inhabitants, with a majority of Hephtalites (Ephtalites) and Türks [al-Idrisi IV: 483; Gibb 1923: 8–9], nicknamed him a “Raven” (al-Zagh) [HC: 210b]. The image of raven appears on the Sasanids seals [Frye 1971: pl. 46, fig. 139; pl. 47, fig. 143] that, along with some others [Frye 1971: pl. 39, fig. 77, 78, 78a; pl. 47, fig. 79, 81; pl. 52, fig. 198, 199], belonged to people of obviously non-Persian origin.

It can also be expected that the Bahram Chubin nickname reflected his belonging to the above mentioned tribe Kar-rga (Karga). According to available sources, one of Bahram Chubin's ancestors was called Chubin ibn Milad. He was from Anush clan⁵⁰ known as al-Ram [Masoudi II: 213]. Hence, the name “Chubin” of Bahram Chubin could be a Persian calque of the Turkic original clan name “Karga”. The same Chubin ibn Milad, an ancestor of Bahram Chubin in 19th generation (ca 475 years, or ca 100 AD), in other sources is mentioned under a name Karkyn [Usanova 1995: 27], Kargin ibn Milad [Gardizi: 62] or Gargin ibn Milad [Mustawfi-i Qazwini I: 94, 120]. Firdausī “Shah-Nama” mentions Gargin, a son of Milad, among knights and military leaders of an ancient Persian king Kay-Kawus (Kay Kavus) [Firdausī I: 353, 355, 390, 399, 403, 413, 419, 442, 448, 450], he is described as war-like, brave, battle-tested, fearless and proud hero [Firdausī III: 29, 82, 114, 117, 198, 214, 360, 436], although he perpetrated a treachery and turned over his companion in arms to Afrasiyab [Bertels 1960: 225–226]. His father, Milad, also was one of the Persian heroes and braves, and a head of the country during the Iranian king Kay-Kawus (Kay Kavus)'s campaign from the Balkh to the Mazandaran (Gurgan, Hyrcania; Hyrcania of the Sasanid times; Mazandaran became a name of the Persian province in 1914) [Firdausī I: 360; III: 114, 117, 404]. In the Hamadan area is mentioned a settlement Milad-djird [Mustawfi of Qazwin: 72]. The Middle Persian (Pahlavi) inscriptions of the Sasanid seals mention Gargarayan, a city in al-Iraq [Gyselen 2002: 153].

48 Bahram Chubin's image remained in people's memory as a national hero, and during Sasanid time a historical novel “Bahram Choben-Namak” (“Book about Bahram Chubin”) was composed in Middle Persian (Pahlavi) about him, and subsequently it laid down a base for the legends about Bahram Chubin immortalized in the works of medieval Arabic and Persian authors [Browne 1997: 108; Diakonov 1961: 20, 316].
49 In an environment where raven personified a demonic being boding misfortune and evil omen, such famous hero as Bahram Chubin, with circulating popular folk legends about his feats, could not be called by that name. On the process of transformation of the Bahram Chubin image into a figure of a national epos hero see: Czegdely 1958: 21–43.
50 According to the legend, Anush was one of the first people on the earth, a son of Shith (Seth) and a grandson of Adam [al-Dinаwari: 3]. Khusraw I Anushirwan was nicknamed Anushak-Ruban, which in the Middle Persian (Pahlavi) means “Immortal Soul”. His son from his Christian wife was named Anush-Zad, i.e. a descendant of Anush [Browne 1997: 107, 135, 181, 168]. The same name had Anush-Tegin Gharchai (Anush-Prince Kara-chai “Black River”), the ancestor of the Khwarazm (Horezm)-Shahs dynasty (circa 470–490/1077–1097) [Buniyatov 1986: 223].
25

Among the ancestors of the mythological Türkic Kagan Afrasiyab in his genealogy is mentioned Karkyn who was a son of Yafath ibn Nuh (Bibl. Iaphet) (Yapheth son of Noah) [al-Karshi: 101]. Another genealogy of Afrasiyab instead of the name Karkyn gives the name Türk as a son of Yafath ibn Nuh [al-Karshi: 63].

Among the medieval Turkmаn (Turkmen)-Oguz nomadic tribes is mentioned a tribe (el) Karkyn [Kononov 1958: 68, 72]. The name Karkyn (Qarqyn) had one of legendary ancestors of the Oguz Türks who, according to their genealogy, was a fourth son of Yulduz-Khan, a third son of Oguz-Khan [Rashid al-Din 1946 I: (1): 88–89; Rashid al-Din 1987: 65–66], and also another Oguz ruler Karkyn Konak-Alp [Kononov 1958: 78]. According to the legend, the name Karkyn meant “feeding hungry” or “hospitable”, and his ongon, i.e. a sacred bird,⁵¹ was a hawk or a water (river) golden eagle (su barkuti).⁵² According to the Persian dictionaries, the name Chubinak  (چوبینک) also means “water bird” (murgh-i abi) or “river bird” (murgh-i daryai) [Rizo 1955: 150]. Very probably, such semantic coincidence of these names (Karkyn and Chubinak) is not accidental, and quite possibly the second of them is a calque of the first.

This ongon can be compared with the image of Burkut-Baba with intertwined features of ancient agricultural and shamanistic deities. According to mythological etiology of the Turkic people, Burkut-Baba was a “patron” of a rain and was dispersing clouds with a whip, producing thunder and lightning preceding a rain [MN I: 195]. That bird, associated with water or rain, was an ongon of a Turkic tribe, it could also be a crane that lives in bogs and lakes adjoining agricultural areas [Brem 1992 II: 205]. In oral tradition, the word chubine (چوبینھ) means “crane” [PRS I: 480]. Still recently, in the Turkmаn (Turkmen) oral tradition was a custom of sacrificing in drought years a kid goat to Burkut-Ata, a patron of rain, whom they envisioned as the “patron of rain” Dede Korkut.⁵³

51 According to the shamanist mythology of the Türk-Mongolian people, an ongon personified spirits of totemic (wolf, bear, horse, etc.) and anthropomorphic  deceased ancestors [MN II: 255–256]. Many clan names of the Siberians and American Indians ascend to totems (wolf, bear, eagle, snake, etc.) [Nikonov 1970: 17].
52 According to Rashid al-Din, the ongon of Yulduz-Khan all four sons was a bird called tаwshanjil, i.e. a hawk [Rashid al-Din 1987: 66], and according to Abu-l-Ghazi ongon was a white falcon, a buzzard, a raven and a golden eagle [Kononov 1958: 53].
53 The tomb of Burkut-Ata was located in eastern suburb of Ashgabad (Ashgabat) and was a revered place in the past [Zhirmunsky 1962: 169–170].
26

The name of the Turkic clan or tribe Karga has also remained in the Central Asian historical and modern toponymy. So, in Khurasan (Khorasan) during Middle Ages is mentioned a settlement Kargali-Ilik [Kononov 1958: 77]. Among the Turkic clans of the Uzbeks, Kara-Kalpaks, Kirgizes, Bashkirs and other Turkic people are mentioned such clans as Kargyn [Sultanov 1977: 167], Kargar [Aliev 1975: 178], Karga [Karmysheva 1976: 97, 213, 216], and Gargaly, their names have survived in the toponymy of the Farghana (Fergana) valley, Khwarazm (Horezm), Zarafshan and Kashka-Darya valleys⁵⁴, and also in Adharbaydjan (Azerbajan), Volga (Itil) region, Southern Siberia, Mongolia, and other places inhabited by Turkic people [Karataev 2003: 99–100].

From the above, it appears that the ancestors of Bahram Chubin originated from one of the Central Asian Turkic tribes with a bird ongon, i.e. a raven, a river golden eagle, or a crane.⁵⁵ In the ancient times that tribe could belong to a circle of the Parthian tribal confederation, and then along with the Khionites, Kidarits, Hephtalites (Ephtalites) and Türks it was in the service of the early Sasanids and the later members of that dynasty.

Genealogy of Saman-Khudat

Bahram Chubin had 3 sons: Nawshard, Mihran, and Shapur. Saman-Khudat was his descendant his elder son Nawshard.⁵⁶ According to the cited in medieval sources Saman-Khudat genealogy, he was a descendant of Bahram Chubin in fourth or fifth generation. The names of his ancestors are given differently in various sources:

54 Karga – qishlaqs (settlement) (kishlak, kyshlak) in the Kagan tuman (small district) of the Bukhara wilayat (area) (vilayet),
in Uzbekistan  – a tuman of the Farghana (Fergana) wilayat (vilayet);
Kok-Karga and Kargali – qishlaqs (kishlak) in the Narpay tuman of the Samarqand (Samarkand) wilayat (vilayet),
Ala-Karga – a qishlaq (kishlak) in the Yakka-Bagh tuman of the Kashka-Darya wilayat (vilayet),
Kargalar – qishlaqs (kishlak) in Gurlan and Hazar-Asp tumans of the Khwarazm (Horezm) wilayat (vilayet),
Karga-Tepa – a qishlaq in the Khatirchi tuman of the of Samarqand (Samarkand) wilayat (vilayet),
Karga-Owul – a qishlaq in the Bulungur tuman of the of Samarqand (Samarkand) wilayat (vilayet), etc. [Koraev 1978: 168; Оkhunov 1994: 70–71].
55 The tribal ongons could be changed with changes of political situation (loining a new confederation, political change, etc.). Besides, the Turkic word karga could be have wider meanings, not only a raven or a crow, but also some other black-colored birds [Clauson 1972: 653].
56 It is known that he also had a brother called Mardansina, a sister called Gordiya, and one more sister with unknown name [EPersia III: 520].
27

(The Arabic transcriptions may not be accurate)
Saman ibn Djuba or Djabba (خثا ) ibn Niyar ibn Nawshard ibn Tamghath ibn Bahram Chubin [al-Samani VII: 12];
Saman-Khuda ibn Djuba (Djaba, Djuta, Khuta) ibn Tamghath ibn Nawshard ibn Bahram Chubin [Jacut III: 13; Dictionnaire: 297];
Saman ibn Djimathyan (نايثميج ) ibn Nawshard ibn Samtaghan ibn Bahram al-Malik [al-Nasafi 6284: 64а];
Saman-Khudat ibn Djathiman (ناميثج ) ibn Taghmath ibn Nawshard ibn Bahram Chubin [al-Biruni: 39; Biruni 1957: 52];
Saman-Khuda ibn Djithman (نامثيج ) ibn Taghmath ibn Nawshard ibn Bahram Shubin⁵⁷ [Ibn Haukal: 472];
Saman ibn Hamitan (ناتيمح ) ibn Nawsh ibn Tamghasp ibn Shawl⁵⁸ ibn Bahram Chubin [Gardizi: 62];
Saman ibn Djuthman (نامثج ) ibn Tamghath ibn Nawshard ibn Bahram Chubin [Ibn al-Athir VII: 110];
Saman-Khudat ibn Djuthman (نامثج ) ibn Taghmath ibn Nawsard ibn Bahram Chubin [Mustawfi-i Qazwini: 379];
Saman-Khudat ibn Hamita (اتيمح ) ibn Nawsh ibn Tamasf ibn Shadal ibn Bahram Shubin [al-Karshi: 98];
Saman ibn Khudat (ادخج ) ibn Taghan (طغاْ ) ibn Bahram ibn Bahram Chubin [Usanova 1995: 26];
Saman ibn Sasan (عاعاْ) ibn Bahram Chubin [Tabaristanensis I: 11];
Saman ibn Djothman ibn Toghmath ibn Noshrad ibn Bahram Chubin [EPersia III: 520].⁵⁹

Some of these names in the Saman-Khudat genealogy, in particular Tamghath (طمغاث) (Tamghasp, Tagmhath, Tamgharth, Tamghat, Samtagan), might be identified with the title Tamgach (طمغاج) (lit. “seal holder”), with a Turkic origin [Togan 1964: 61]. The other names of the Saman-Khudat‘s ancestors cited in his genealogy, Shawl (شاول), Taghan (طغان), and Djabba (خثا) can be compared with names or titles of Sul (Sawl), Tughan (Toghan) and Djabgu (Yabgu), widespread among the ancient and medieval Türks.

Other names in the Saman-Khudat genealogical tree can be etymologized from the Iranian languages. However, it is known that a name of a person is not always connected with the ethnic origin, much more often it is connected with religious or cultural affiliation [Nikonov 1974: 88–90].

57 In another place this name is written as Djubin (جوبین) [Ibn Haukal: 468].
58 This name can also be read Shadil (شادل) [Mukhtarov 1999: 285].
59 Later sources also have somewhat different genealogy: Bahram Chuba – Saman – Siyawush – Haman – Asad etc. [Azimov 1999: 26, 158, 160]. There apparently is a copyist or compiler error, which switched the names of Saman (سامان) and Haman (هاما), and omitted two links between them.
28

For example, the names of the Christian Arabs totallly differ from names of the the Muslim Arabs. The Arab Islamic names are widespread in all Islamic countries. The ancient Türks followed many world religions. Before the Arab conquest, among the Türks of Central Asia and Zoroastrian Khurasan (Khorasan) were widespread Iranian names and titles [at-Tabari I: 167–168; Nikitin 1986: 82–88; Sims-Wiliams 1997: 8–9] and later, among the Türks professing Buddhism (Uigurs, Altaians, Tuvinians, etc.), Judaism (Khazars, Karaims), and Christianity (Armenian-Oipchaqs (Kipchkas) , Gagauzes, Polovetz-Qipchaqs (Kipchkas), Nestorian Türks, etc.), in addition to the native Turkic, were frequent names of the Buddhist, Judaic [Mikhaylov 1999: 78–79], and Syrian-Christian origin [Nikitin 1984: 124–125; Baskakov 1981: 21–26; Djumagulov 1971]. Besides, medieval sources frequently use names or nicknames of many Turkic rulers, military leaders and other historical personalities used by the Arabs and Persians (for example, Afrasiyab, Shir-i Kishwar, Parmuda, Abu Muzahim, Firuz-Kagan, etc.). And the Türks had a custom to name their children after their birthplace in a foreign land. For example, Sultan Sandjar (Sindjar) received his name after the name of the city Sindjar in Syria where he was born [al-Samani VII: 159]. Hence, it is impossible to attribute an origin of any historical personality to the Iranian ethnicity only because his name is of Iranian type. For example, the names of the Cimmerian leaders were Iranian. However, this does not attest that they were Iranian in origin, like also for the whole Cimmerian people. It is known that rulers of the non-Iranian Mitany (Mittani) and Khurrit (Khurite) people also used Indo-Iranian names [Chlenova 1971: 331].

The name of Nushard or Nawshard (var. Nush or Nawsh)⁶⁰ in the genealogy of Saman-Khudat originated from the name of mythical persona Anush ibn Shith (Seth) ibn Adam [al-Jakubi I: 6]. It can be compared with a name of the ancestor of the Khwarazm (Horezm)-Shahs Anush-Teginids (Prince Anush, Tr. tegin “prince”) dynasty Nush (Аnush)-Tegin Gharchai from the Oguz clan Bekdili [Toshov 2004: 15], with the name of the Saljuq (Seljuk) military leader Nush-Tegin [Ibn al-Zubayr: 86], and also with the name of the city Nushdjan (Nawshdjan), located in the region of the Isyq-Kul (Issyk Kul) Lake, near Atbash in the Tughuz-Ghuz (Tokuz-Oguz) Türks country [Ibn al-Fakih: 328; Ibn  Khordadbeh: 30; Kodаma: 209]. In the 3rd/9th century among the  Central Asian Turkic rulers is mentioned a Kagan called Manush (Аnush)-Kagan [Ibn Khordadbeh: 40]. The name Nush also used one of the rulers of the Qara (Kara)-Khanid dynasty [Kochnev 1993: 10].  An image of a lion with a runic inscription-monogram legend n + uš (ush) is depicted on the reverse of the coins minted in Utrar (Otrar) in the Lower Syr-Darya [Smirnova 1981: 56]. On the site of an ancient settlement Yer-Kurgan in the Kashka-Darya valley on the inside of a 5th–6th century AD bowl was found an impression of a seal with a Sogdian inscription reading Anush (n+wš) and is a part of a personal name [Isamiddinov 1978: 216; Iskhakov 1983: 43].

60 The name nwš (nawš) can be an Iranian loanword in Turkic meaning “drink”, “wine” [Nosirov 1994: 70].
29

Among Sogdian Ihshids ruling in the beginning of the 8th century AD is mentioned a certain ruler Mastich from Unash clan (m'stč 'wnš MLK), [Akhunbabaev 1986: 85]. The name of Unash (wnš), also encountered in the wall painting inscription in the palace hall of the city Afrasiab ruins, was a clan name of the Ihshid dynasty in Samarqand (Samarkand) [Livshits 1973: 23–25] of the Turkic origin [Kamoliddin 2003: 63–68]. Probably, the name Unash is one of versions of the name Anush.

In the medieval period the name Bahram was also widespread among the Türks, particularly among some rulers of the Ghaznawid (Ghaznavid), Saldjuqid (Seljukid) and Qara (Kara)-Khanid (Karakhanid) dynasties [Bosworth 1971: 162, 237; Kochnev 2000: 252]. The above allows to assert on sufficient grounds that the oldest forbear of the Saman-Khudat Samanids, and of Bahram Chubin had Turkic origin. In any case, at the present stage of research can be asserted that the Samanids' origin is not known [Frye 1993: 136], and to resolve this question needed a wider range of sources [Treadwell 1999: 88 - 89].

According to al-Istakhri, Samanids were Persians (al-furs), and the Islamic world had no other kings who had so deep reigning roots (al-mulk), which they passed along in inheritance still from the non-Arab times (al-'Adjam) [al-Istakhri: 293]. In the description of the al-Fars region, al-Istakhri stated that Samanids were Persian kings who ruled outside of the al-Fars region. They were descendants of Bahram, and Bahram came from noble people of Ardashir-Khwarra (Khurr) and lived in al-Rai [al-Istakhri: 143]. Ostensibly, this indicates that the Samanids were Persians in origin. However, some small, but very important clarifications within the Ibn Hawqal's text allow to better understand the substance of the al-Istakhri's words. Accordingly, Samanids originated from noble Persians (al-furs) because they were descendants of Bahram Chubin ibn Bahram Djushnas [Ibn Haukal: 472]. Thus, in Islamic tradition of the 4th/10th century, Samanids were held for “Persians” only because they were descendants of Bahram Chubin, who was known to medieval historians as a “Persian” commander.⁶¹ Besides, that is not corroborated by other medieval sources.

The valuable indication in the texts of Ibn Hawqal and al-Istakhri is that Islamic countries had no other kings with so deep reigning roots (al-mulk) as had the Samanids, who wielded power from the non-Arab (al-'Adjam) times, i.e. since pre-Islamic times.

61 More details below.
30

That message probably alludes to the kings of the Arshacids dynasty, to which ascends the Bahram Chubin genealogy [Gardizi: 62].⁶² However, the subject of the text is uninterrupted royal succession from the pre-Arab times. In our opinion, the pre-Islamic Samanid ancestors who conveyed royal power in succession, could not be the kings of the al-Fars region. Firstly, Bahram Chubin as an ancestor of the Samanids was not a king, but a Sasanid military commander and a short-time usurper of their throne. Secondly, the pre-Islamic Samanid's ancestors, the descendants of Bahram Chubin, ruled not in al-Fars region, but in Farghana (Fergana), Balkh, Bukhara and Chach. Hence, “the kings who held the power from the non-Arab times” most likely were the supreme Türkic Kagans to whom Bahram Chubin was related, and it were his descendants from the marriage with the Turkic princess who were the Samanid's ancestors.

A number of previous researchers have already expressed an opinion of the Turkic origin of the Samanids, for example, at the end of the 19th century AD a Russian scholar A.G.Tumansky [Tumansky 1896: ХIV]. Sayyid Hasan Taqizada asserted that the mentioned in textual sources name of one of the Saman-Khudat ancestors (Tamghath, Tamghasp, Tamgharth, etc.) probably is Turkic in origin and reflects a Turkic name Tamghach/Tabghach [Togan 1972: 112]. R.Frye also suspected that the Samanids could be of a Turkic origin, because in the Balkh, whence they came, Türks were an overwhelming majority [Frye 1993: 136]. According to A.Z.Validi Togan, the ancestors of Saman-Khudat not just belonged to the dynasty of the Tukharistan (Tokharistan) Qarluq (Karluk) Djabghu (Yabgu), but were descendants of the supreme Türkic Kagan Kukem-Khan of the sources⁶³ who ruled the Oguz branch of the Türks in his name [Togan 1981: 112]. The founders of the Turkic Yabgu dynasty that with interruptions ruled Tukharistan (Tokharistan) for about 200 years were offsprings of the Turkic Ashina line, the founders of the First Türkic Kaganate.

According to the researchers Yahya al-Khashshab and Ali al-Sabi, Samanids were relatives with Ghaznawids (Ghaznavid) and like them, they were of purely Turkic origin, and before Samanids appeared on the historical arena, nothing was known in Persia about their line [al-Sabi 1965: 129]. The same opinion held M.S.Günaltay [Günaltay 1938: 76–77], N.Togan [Togan 1964: 61–64], and R.M.Shukürova [Rashid al-Din 1987: 115, n. 241].

62 In the genealogical tree of Saman-Khidat were enumerated 36 generations of Bahram Chubin's legendary ancestors.
63 Rashid al-Din mentioned the name of this Kagan as Kukem Yawkuy, Abu-l-Ghazi as Kukem Bakuy, Ibn al-Balkhi as Qaqim Kagan, and al-Tabari as Sir Yabgu, all of which are identified with Istami (Istemi)-Yabgu “Dizavul”. His daughter was a wife of Sasanid Shahan-Shah Khusraw I Anushirwan and a mother of Shahan-Shah Hurmazd IV [at-Tabari I: 899; Ibnul-Balkhi: 24, 94, 98; Rashid al-Din 1987: 94; Коnonov 1958: 69].
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E.Browne cites verses of Arab poets deriding local governors of Mawaraannahr and Khurasan (Khorasan), i.e. the Samanids, accusing them of illegitimate claims of pre-Islamic noble origin.⁶⁴

А.Metz believed that Samanids had no relation neither to the Persians, nor to the Sasanids, and misrepresented themselves to appear to be legitimate rulers of the areas of Persia they controlled [Metz 1966: 27]. E.Daniel also expressed doubts in accuracy of the Saman-Khudat‘s genealogy, and believed that it was faked to protect them from assaults on their rule [Daniel 1988: 371]. The Samanid policy of enforced Persification also could be connected with efforts to overcome centrifugal aspirations of rebellious provincial governors (Chaganiyan, Tukharistan (Tokharistan), Khurasan (Khorasan), Khwarazm (Horezm), etc.) and the claims of their Turkic military leaders [Meisami 2002: 368].

When Samanids started advancing their genealogical claims is not known. The line on the Samanid origin from Bahram Chubin for the first time has appeared in a composition of Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Farisi al-Istakhri, who edited between 318–321/930–933 a geographical composition of Abu Zayd al-Balkhi, written circa 309/921-22, i.e. right after the Saffarid's lands were annexed to the possessions of Ismail ibn Ahmad al-Samani.⁶⁵ The earlier sources, for example, the al-Tabari's history, which ended with the to events of 303/915-16, do not mention such connections.⁶⁶ Since al-Istakhri he is the only author who called Samanids “Persians” (al-furs), quite possibly he, himself a Persian, ascribed to the Samanids a Persian origin [al-Istakhri: 143, 292].⁶⁷

The Arabic geographer Ibn Hawqal has met with al-Istakhri and charged him with inaccuracy in relaying information, and then under his request undertook to edit himself the work of Abu Zayd al-Balkhi. In fact, a comparison of the works of these two authors allows shows to ascertain that in places contents of al-Istakhri contradict the contents of Ibn Hawqal, and thus the contents of Ibn al-Balkhi, because Ibn Hawqal, working with both works of Ibn al-Balkhi and al-Istakhri, could compare them. So, speaking about the city of Ūsh (Osh), al-Istakhri writes that its fortress adjoined a mountain with “a guard post against the Türks” [al-Istakhri: 333].

64 The Arabian poets in their verses have wrote: “They (i.e. non-Arabs) have already forgotten as broke stones in stone quarries of al-Halani, and as carried cargoes in skirts of the dresses. Now, when they became rich began to shout impudently: “We are notable people, sons of dihqans”. If somebody doubted in this and asked the most impudent and vulgar of them, he with arrogance will answer: “I am a son of Bahram Chubin” and will add: “Khusraw has left for me his riches and has made me the successor”. “Who will dare to oppose me?” [Browne 1997: 265–267].
65 The first occupation of Khurasan (Khorasan) by the Samanids took place in 298/910-11, and the second–in 300/912-13 [Bosworth 1971: 148].
66 For more details about this see also: al-Biruni: 45–46; Minorsky 1956: 176–179; Meisami 2000: 357.
67 Ibn Hawqal named them only descendants of Bahram Chubin [Ibn Haukal: 468].
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Ibn Hawqal's text has a small but essential distinction that radically changed the meaning and the essence of the message. He says that the Ūsh (Osh) fortress adjoined a mountain with “a guard post of the Türks, where they guard their cattle and grazing herds” [Ibn Haukal: 513]. The same sense is also relayed by the text of al-Idrisi [al-Idrisi IV: 508].

Other kings and local rulers of the Islamic period also raised claims for the thrones of the pre-Islamic kings. First such claims were raised by Umayyads. One of the last Umayyad Caliphs, Yazid III ibn al-Walid (r. 126/743-44), born from the daughter of the Sasanid Shahan-Shah Shiruye, stated: “I am a descendant of the Persian emperor, my ancestors were Marwan and also the Byzantine emperor⁶⁸ and the Türkic Kagan”⁶⁹ [al-Djahiz: 101; Bosworth 1973: 53]. When he wanted to brag of his bravery and military aptitude, he was mentioning only the Kagan [al-Djahiz: 101].

Тhe Tahirids, although they were descendants of the pre-Islamic Persian nobility, were strongly Arabised and tried to ascend their genealogy to the Arabic tribe al-Khuzaa, a client (mawla) of which was their ancestor Tahir ibn al-Husayn. The early Samanids adopted many Tahirid customs, and imitating them, tried to portray themselves as descendants of pre-Islamic Iranian nobility and faithful followers of the Sunni tradition [Bosworth 1973: 54, 56]. In the 4th/10th century, the Iranian Saffarids ascended their genealogy to the Sasanid Shahan-Shah Khusraw II Parwiz, and the Buwayhids run it to the Shahan-Shah Bahram V Gur [Tarikh-i Sistan: 203]. The amir Adud al-Dawla had even visited the ruins of the ancient Persepolis, the Achaemenid capital, and kept a found there peice with a Middle Persian (Pahlavi) inscription. The rulers of Khuttalan also ascended their genealogy to Bahram V Gur [Bosworth 1973: 57, 59].

Abu Mansur Muhammad ibn Abd al-Razzaq al-Tusi, a Samanid governor of Khurasan (Khorasan), led his genealogy from Khusraw II Parwiz. The founder of the Ghaznawid (Ghaznavid)s dynasty Sabuk-Tegin, originally from the Qarluq (Karluk) tribe Barskhan in the Isyq-Kul (Issyk Kul) Lake area, tied his genealogy to the family of the last Sasanid Shahan-Shah Yazdigird III, who ostensibly resided in that city after his flight from the Arabs to the Turkistan [Bosworth 1962: 220; Bosworth 1963: 39–40]. Those claims were connected with the pro-Persian policy of the early Ghaznawids (Ghaznavid), used in the period of their struggle against the Turkic Qara (Kara)-Khanids (Karakhanid) [Bosworth 1968: 40].

68 Shiruye was married to Maryam, a daughter of Mauritius, a Byzantine emperor.
69 Shiruye was a descendant of Khusraw I Anushirwan from his marriage with the daughter of Istami (Istemi)-Kagan.
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In a letter that come to him (Sabuk-Tegin, from the context) in 418/1027-28 from the “king of al-Sin” (ملك الص) (aka Khitai, Khitan, Khitan-Liao, Kara-Khitan, an Uygur state) he is called “the ruler of Khurasan (Khorasan) Mahmud Qara (Kara)-Khan” [Bosworth 1962: 220]. As is known, the Qara (Kara)-Khanid Kagans originated from the same Qarluq (Karluk) tribe, but in contrast with the Samanids and their successors Ghaznawids (Ghaznavid), they ascended their genealogy to Afrasiyab, the mythological king of the Türks, who is also one of the main characters of the “Shah-Nama”, a legendary history of the Persia and Turan. The Saldjuqids (Seljukid), like the Qara (Kara)-Khanids (Karakhanid), unlike the Ghaznawids (Ghaznavid), descended from the free Türks. Therefore they held themselves of royal blood, and led their genealogy to Afrasiyab [Bosworth 1973: 61–62].

All these claims for kinship ties with pre-Islamic kings were caused by the desire of the rulers to prove the legitimacy of their rule in the territories they possessed. Therefore Buwayhids, Samanids and Ghaznawids (Ghaznavid) in the possession of the Khurasan (Khorasan) and Iran lands portrayed themselves as descendants of the Sasanids, and Qara (Kara)-Khanids (Karakhanid) with the possession of the Turkistan lands portrayed themselves as descendants of Afrasiyab. Actually the Ghaznawids (Ghaznavid) and Qara (Kara)-Khanids (Karakhanid) originated from the same Qarluq (Karluk) tribe, they split between themselves the lands of another Turkic dynasty of the Oguz origin, i.e. the Samanids. For the same reason the Samanids, and then other Turkic dynasties, patronized the New Persian literature, ushered at the court of the Iranian Saffarids⁷⁰, and opened a way for the New Persian language (Dari) that formed at the Sasanid court and became a lingua franca for the entire eastern part of the Persian world [Frye 1975: 99].

When Samanids in 298/910-11 defeated Saffarids and captured Khurasan (Khorasan), among the local population their authority soon became unpopular, and the inner opposition rose against occupying troops. A culmination was a revolt of the local patriotic forces headed by a 10-year-old member of the Saffarids family, a great-grandson of Amr ibn al-Layth. As a result of the revolt, in 299/911-12 the Samanid ruler was deposed and the young Saffarid prince was proclaimed an аmir of Khurasan (Khorasan). The actual power seized one of military leaders, Muhammad ibn Hurmuz, who broke communications both with the Saffarids and with the Samanids, and recognized only the Caliph of Bagdad as his suzerain⁷¹.

A Persian poet of 8th/14th century in his poem compares cruelty of a contemporary ruler with standard epithets for some (pseudo-) historical personalities that remained in the folk memory due to their evil deeds.

70 There are known names of several Persian poets who served at the court of Rafi ibn al-Layth [Tarikh-i Sistan: 211].
71 He minted a dirham that mentioned only his name and the name of Caliph al-Muqtadir. Minting of that coin was a display of his independence from the Samanids [Bosworth, Rispling 1993: 215–217].
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For example, haughtiness of the Pharaon, violence of Shaddad, hubris of Nimrod, bloodthirstiness of Zakhkhak, rebelliousness of Piran, treatury of Garsiwaz, rage of Kawus, ignominy of Tus, murders of Nawuhodonosor, debauchery and immorality of the Lot's, tribe polytheism and revelry of the Khud's relatives, villainy of of Ad and Samud tribes, etc. Along with others, he also mentioned “deceit of Saman” [Barnabadi: 150].

This leads to deduction that Samanids' ancestor remained in the folk memory as a character famous for deception used in his political activity. It is known that in the middle of the 2nd/8th century, when for the first time Saman-Khudat has appeared on a political arena of the Arab Caliphate, in Mawaraannahr rose a large revolt of the local population [Belenitsky 1973: 155], and Abu Muslim annihilated a local nobility of Sughd (Sogd) and Bukhara [at-Tabari III: 79–80], of which a majority were local rulers and dihqans of Mawaraannahr. Thus were ended attempts of local rulers to involve China in the struggle against Arab conquerors [Karev 2000: 209–210], and ensured a recognition of the Muslim victory at Talas over the Chinese army [Bolshakov 1980: 132–136]. By the same time is dated a liquidation of monetary mint by all local dynasties (the only attribute of their nominal power) and the final victory of Islam and Arab language in Mawaraannahr [Karev 2000: 205–218]. Abu Muslim became famous for his bloodthirstiness, and he was held as one of four Muslim commanders who have killed more than one million people each [al-Thaalibi: 72]. Thus, it is logical that Saman-Khudat took advantage of political situation in Mawaraannahr in the middle of 2nd/8th century, when the majority of local dynasties in the Sughd (Sogd) and Bukhara was wiped out and their property was confiscated, and he declared himself a descendant of the pre-Islamic kings of Mawaraannahr.⁷² Probably Saman-Khudat accepted Islam and participated in suppression of this revolt, just as later his grandsons Nuh, Ahmad, Yahya, and Ilyas, the sons of Asad, participated in suppression of the revolt headed by Rafi  ibn al-Layth.

Saman-Khudat

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CONCLUSION

Complex research of the medieval written sources in conjunction with archeology, numismatics, ethnography, and other related historical sciences allows to come to the following conclusions:

Sufficient records lead to assert that Bаhram Chubin was a native from the Тukharistan (Balkh) circle of the Oguz Türks in the Sasanid military service with foisted veneer of superficial Persification.

The ancient ancestor of the Samanids, Saman-Khudat was a descendant of Bahram Chubin in fourth or fifth generation from his marriage with a daughter of the Supreme Türkic Kagan El-Tegin (Parmudа) with a court in Bukhara. El-Tegin was also a founder of the Тukharistan (Tokharistan) Turkic Yabgu dynasty. The motherland of the Saman-Khudat ancestors was Farghana (Fergana), with it was connected the last period of the Bahram Chubin's life. The Saman-Khudat birthplace was Chach (Tashkent) where for some time his father Djabba-Khan was a ruler.

At the same time, on the maternal side Saman-Khudat via (the Türkic Kaganate viceroy) El Аrslan (Shir-i Kishwar) and (his son the Türkic Kagan) El-Tegin (Parmudа) was a relative of the Sasanid dynasty scions, Khusraw I Аnushirwan and his son Hurmazd IV Тurkzada, who were in kinship with the Türks.

Before acceptance of Islam, Saman-Khudat, like his ancestor Djabba-Khan and the Türkic Kagans, professed Manichaeism. He had a Turkic name Аrquq and a Buddhist-Manichaean name Saman. Per the Türkic custom, he braided his hair into a long plait, for that he was nicknamed Кakuldar. Like his father Djabba-Khan, he had a title Yabgu (Djabgu), a dynastic title of the Turkic ruler of Тukharistan.

The appearance of Saman-Khudat on the Arab Caliphate's political arena was connected with cultural-political movement ash-shu 'ubiyyа, which arose in Khurasan (Khorasan) in the first half of 2nd/8th century, i.e. on the eve of the political propaganda in favor of the Аbbasids, the main movers of which were the Khurasan (Khorasan) Oguz Türks along with the Persians. Its role can be compared with that of salient figures of that time as the pre-Islamic ruler of Djurdjan (Gurgan, Hyrcania) Sul-Tegin and the great scholar-encyclopaedist Аbd Allah ibn al-Mubarak al-Marwazi, who were also extracts from the Khurasan (Khorasan) Oguz Türks and who served for the Arab conquerors.

The descendants of Saman-Khudat trodded the line of their ancestor and in close co-operation with the Arab conquerors actively participated in suppression of the local revolts against the Arabs, and then in administrative capacity.
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 The Samanids rose to power with the help of the Аbbasids, and as their proteges were active pursuers of their policy in Central Asia. They became zealous fighters for faith and waged continuous “sacred” wars against the so-called “infidel” Türks, i.e. those Türks who were viewed as enemies of Islam. The early Samanids were deeply religious and had close relations with clergy. As the Islam was injected into the Türkic milieu largely via Persian language, the role of the New Persian (Farsi) language and the Arabic script began to increase in the religious life of the Central Asian local Türkic population.

The Samanids chose Bukhara as their capital because it was the residence of their ancestors El Аrslan (Shir-i Kishwar) and of El-Tegin (Parmudа) before he became the Supreme Türkic Kagan. The historical-linguistic analysis of the Bukhara oasis' historical toponymy shows that Türkic names are some of the most ancient names in that territory, which in turn attests that Türks lived there from extreme antiquity, making a part of the local settled population. The name of the city Bukhara originated from a Türkic word buxar which means “Buddhist temple” (Buddhist term, loanword). The origin of this name was connected with construction in 6th century AD of the Buddhist-Manichaean temple, the founder of which was the Türkic governor of Bukhara El-Tegin (Parmudа), son of El Arslan (Shir-i Kishwar).

During early Middle Ages the Bukhara oasis was populated by sedentary Türks and Turkisized Sogdians. The Türks not only held political and administrative power, but also were a considerable part of the Sughd (Sogd) urban population. Therefore already in the early Middle Ages population of cities was bilingual. Sogdians were very close to the local Türks due to the mixed marriages, not only genetically, but also culturally. The Arab conquest undoubtedly influenced the ethnic situation in the Central Asia, and caused some reduction of local population as a result of mass extermination and forced expulsion of a part of the Sogdians and Türks to beyond the Arab Caliphate borders and settling in their place immigrant and colonizer newcomers of Arab and Persian origin. However, some sources atttest that after the Arab-Persian invasion not all Türks have left their lands and moved east, as was speculated earlier, but on the contrary, after accepting Islam they increased both their numbers and their influence in the society. In the 3rd–4th/9th–10th centuries, like before that, the Türks, and also the Turkified Sogdians, Khwarazmians (Horezmians), and Bactrians made the major part of the urban and sedentary-agricultural population of the Central Asia.

After uniting Khurasan (Khorasan) and most of the Persia to the Samanid possessions, Samanids aspired to emphacize their Persian origin, to be real fathers for the subdued areas of Central Asia and Persia, and tried to look Persian at all costs, linking the origin of their line to the Sasanid epoch. Therefore they orchestrated favorable conditions for the Islamic culture in the New Persian (Farsi) language to prosper.
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At the same time, Samanids did not forget their Türkic origin, that is traceable during the entire life of their dynasty. Almost their entire stuff in the capital city Bukhara, i.e. the great nobles, politicians, and military leaders in service of the Samanids were Türkic. The majority of the provincial governors the Samanids appointed in the controlled area were also Türkic. Many Samanids intermarried with them. Samanids allowed Oguz Türks to move into the vicinity of Bukhara, counting on their support in a moment of need. Therefore the last people who assisted Samanids after they lost power in Bukhara were the Oguz Türks, who held them as their rulers.

The Samanid administrative system was fashioned on the Abbasid model, which in turn was fashioned after Sasanid state traditions. The Samanid administrative system was a crisp and perfect system that embraced most advanced achievements in the field of statehood of that time. However, because the term “statehood” is a legal concept, its definition also should be stated in legal terms. From the ludicial point of view the Samanid administrative system and their rule cannot be classed as that of the independent state. Hence, rule of the Samanids in Central Asia should be classed not as an independent sovereign state, but as rule of a dynasty of local rulers appointed by Bagdad as viceroys in charge of relatively independent internal policy using certain powers delegated by the Abbasid Caliphs. Formally, the Abbasid Caliphate finished its existence only with the Mongol conquest, before that it still was a confederation of Islamic countries united under a nominal power of the Bagdad Caliphs, although after 334/945-46 the real power in Bagdad at first was in the hands of the Buwaihids (Буидов), and after 448/1056-57 – in the hands of the Saldjuqids (Seljukids).

During the life of the Arab Caliphate Türks actively participated in the cultural life of the Islamic society. The time of Islamic revival brisles with mergers of various cultural traditions, first of all of the Arabs and Persians. Not a smaller in importance role in this process was also attained by the Türkic people. The fluorishing of the Islamic science and culture went on marked by activization of the “Türkic penetration” not only into the Central Asia, but also across the whole Near and Middle East. This in many respects explains the formation of the Türk-Persian symbiosis, and also brings attention to the Türkic role in the development of the Islamic science and culture.

Even before converting to Islam, the Türkic people were under cultural influence of their nearest neighbours, the Persians, and due to them were converting to Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism. Especially strong cultural influence on the Türks rendered the Sogdians, with whom  they had close ethno-cultural contact called a Türk-Sogdian symbiosis.
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As a result of natural processes of mutual influence and amalgamation of these two people, Sogdians completely assimilated among the settled Türks of Central Asia and Eastern Turkistan.

At the dawn of the New Persian (Farsi) literature stood not the Persians and not the Sogdians, but the Arabs and the Türks constituting a part of the Sasanid Persia population. The development of the Persian literature and culture, that begun at the court of the Persian Sаffarids, continued at the courts of the Türkic rulers – Samanids, Qаra-Khanids, Ghaznawids (Ghaznavids), Saldjuqids (Seljukids) and Khwarazm (Horezm)-Shahs, who patronised the best poets of the Persian poetry. The New Persian literature had a large influence on the culture of the Türkic people, and is refleed in their literature.

The Türkic rulers did not try to introduce Türkic language into the life of the countries they ruled. They did not use it even as a court language, which could raise its role as a language of administration. On the contrary, at their courts they used Arabic, and even more so the Persian language. The Türks were the first who began to use in the office along with the Arabic the New Persian (Farsi) language.

At that time, the Türkic language has not adapted to the Arabic graphics yet, although at the end of the 2nd/8th – beginning of 3rd/9th centuries some Türkic words were used as explanatory material in the works of some Arabic-speaking authors. There also are indicators that allow to deduce that the first work in Türkic language with the Arabic script was done not in the 5th/11th century, as was thought earlier, but in the second half of the 2nd/8th – beginning of 3rd/9th century.

After uniting Khurasan (Khorasan) and most of the Persia to the Samanid possessions, Samanids aspired to emphacize their Persian origin, to be real fathers for the subdued areas of Central Asia and Persia, and tried to look Persian at all costs, linking the origin of their line to the Sasanid epoch. Therefore they orchestrated favorable conditions for the Islamic culture in the New Persian (Farsi) language to prosper.

The oldest ancestor of the Samanids, Saman-Khudat, like his ancestors, was an extract of the Central Asian sedentary Türks, who had ancient traditions of agricultural and urban culture. The descendants of the ancient and medieval sedentary-agricultural and urban Central Asian Türkic-speaking population were known at the beginning of 20th century AD under a name “Sart” (Türkic “trader, merchant”), they differed both from the nomadic Türkic people and from the settled Persian-speaking people of the Central Asia [Kamoliddin 2004: 63–64]. After the administrative-territorial division the Bolsheviks carried out in 1924, they formed a core of the modern Uzbek people [Каmoliddin 2004: 34–41]. Hence, in light of the stated above, there are all reasons to assert that the rule of the Samanid dynasty in Central Asia is an integral part of the statehood history of the Uzbek people.
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