CHAP. II. DYNASTIES FORMED AFTER THE BREAKING UP OF THE CHAP. II. A.H. 190. THE death of Hárún al Rashíd, fifth calif of the house of Abbás, was accelerated by a journey undertaken in consequence of an obstinate revolt of Transoxiana*, which was quelled by his son, Má- A.D. 806, mún; and the long residence of that prince in Khorásán maintained for a time the connection of that province with the empire. But it was by means of a revolt of Khorásán that Mámún had himself been enabled to wrest the califate from his brother Amín; and he had not long removed his court to Bagdad, before Táhir, who had been the principal instrument of his elevation, began to establish his own authority in Khorásán, and soon became virtually independent.t Khorásán and A.D. 820, Transoxiana were never again united to the califate; and the Commanders of the Faithful being not long afterwards reduced to pageants in the hands of the Turkish guards, the dissolution of the Arab empire may from that time be regarded as complete. + A.H. 205 A.D. 861, The family of Táhir ruled quietly and obscurely The Tahe rites. A. D. *Price, vol. ii. p. 79. His authority is, generally, the "Tá- 820-872. ríkhi Tabari." BOOK V. A.H. 259. The Sofarides. A. D. for upwards of fifty years, when they were deposed by the Sofarides, a more conspicuous dynasty, A.D. 872, though of even shorter duration.* Yácúb, the son of Leith, the founder, was a brazier of Sístán, who first raised a revolt in his native province, and 872-903. afterwards overran all Persia to the Oxus, and died while on his advance against the calif in Bagdad. His brother, Omar, was defeated and made prisoner by the Sámánis; which put an end to the greatness of the family, though a younger member maintained himself in Sístán for a few years after the loss of their other possessions. † A. D. 903, A.D. 964, A. D. 1006, The house of Sámáni. A.D. Their whole reign did not last above forty years; but their memory must have survived in Sístán, for at the end of half a century we find that country again asserting its independence under one of their descendants ‡, who was finally subdued by Sultán Mahmúd of Ghazni, more than 100 years after the downfal of the original dynasty.§ The house of Sámáni subsisted for more than 120 years; and though not themselves invaders 872-999. of India, they had more connection than their predecessors with the history of that country. They derive their name either from one of their ancestors, or from a town in Bokhára, or in Balkh, from which they drew their origin.¶ The first of the family mentioned in history was already a per *Price, vol. ii. p. 229. From A. D. 892, A. H. 279, to A.D. + Ibid. p. 234. § Ibid. p. 282. 1004, A. H. 395. II. A.D. 817-280, A.H. 202-205. son of consideration, when he attracted the notice CHAP. of the Calif Mámún, then residing in Khorásán. By the directions of that prince, three of the Sámáni's sons were appointed to governments beyond the Oxus, and one to that of Herát. They were continued under the Táherites, and retained Transoxiana after the fall of that dynasty, till the death of Yácúb Leith; when they passed the Oxus at the head of a large army of cavalry, probably composed of their Túrki subjects, made Omar Leith prisoner, as has been related, and took possession of all the territory he had conquered. They go- A.D. 900, verned it in the name, though perfectly independent of the calif, until they were deprived of a large portion of it by the family of Búya, called also the Deilemites, from the district in Mázenderán in which their founder was a fisherman on the Caspian Sea. A.H. 287. yades or Cut off by a high range of mountains from the The Búrest of Persia, and protected by the difficulty of Deilemites. access, the extensive forests, and the unwholesome climate, Mázenderán had never been perfectly converted, and probably never entirely subdued: it was the seat of constant insurrections, was often in the hands of worshippers of fire, and presented a disturbed scene, in which the Deilemites rose to consequence, and at length acquired sufficient force to wrest the western provinces of Persia from the Sámánis, to seize on Bagdad and the person of the calif, and to rule over an extensive territory in his name for a period exceeding 100 years. A.D. 932-1055, A. H. 321-448. BOOK Alptegín, founder of of Ghazni. After their losses by the Deilemite conquests, the Sámánis remained masters of Khorásán and Transoxiana, and gave rise to the dynasty of Ghazni, who were the founders of the Mussulman empire of India. It was in the reign of Abdulmelek, the fifth the house prince of the house of Sámáni, that Alptegín, the founder of this new dynasty, rose into importance. He was a Túrki slave, and his original duty is said to have been to amuse his master by tumbling and tricks of legerdemain.* A.D. 961, It was the fashion of the time to confer offices of trust on slaves; and Alptegín, being a man of good sense and courage, as well as integrity, rose in time to be governor of Khorásán. On the death of his patront, he was consulted about the best person of the family for a successor; and happening, unluckily, to give his suffrage against Mansúr, on whom the choice of the other chiefs had fallen, he incurred the ill-will of his sovereign, was deprived of his government, and if he had not displayed great military skill in extricating himself from among his enemies, he would have lost his liberty, if not his life. He had, however, a body of trusty adherents, under whose protection he 66 * D'Herbelot, article " Alpteghin." + Price, vol. ii. p. 243.; De Guignes, vol. ii. p. 155. Ferishta (vol. i. p. 12.) makes his revolt A. D. 962, a.Ḥ. 351. D'Herbelot makes this date A.D. 917, A. H. 305; but it is evidently a slip, either of the author or the printer, for in the date of Alptegin's death he comes within a moderate distance of the other authorities. CHAP. lion. made good his retreat, until he found himself in safety at Ghazni, in the heart of the mountains of Solimán. The plain country, including Balkh, His rebelHerát, and Sístán, received the new governor, and remained in obedience to the Sámánis; but the strong tract between that and the Indus bade defiance to all their attacks; and though not all subject to Alptegín, all contributed to secure his independence. One historian states that he was accompanied on his retreat by a body of 3000 disciplined slaves or Mamlúks, who would, of course, be Túrks of his own original condition*: he would doubtless also be accompanied and followed, from time to time, by soldiers who had served under him when governor; but it is probable that the main body of his army was drawn from the country where he was now established.† The inhabitants of the cultivated country were not unwarlike; and the Afgháns of the hills, even when their tribe did not acknowledge his authority, would be allured by his wages to enter his ranks. He seems to have made no attempt to extend his territory; and he died within fourteen years after A.D. 976, he became independent. § A.H. 365. Alptegín had a slave named Sebektegín, whom Sebektegín. he had purchased from a merchant who brought *Price, from the "Kholásat al Akhbár,” vol. ii. p. 243. + D'Herbelot, article "Alpteghin." D'Herbelot makes it A. D. 964, a. h. 353. Price, vol. ii. p. 244.; Ferishta, vol. i. p. 13.; De Guignes, vol. ii. p. 156. |