Sāmāniyān
Persian Empire (819-999)
Location: Iran and Central Asia
Capital City: Samarkand (819-892), Bukhara (892-999)
Government type: Monarchy
Main languages: Persian, Arabic
Main religions: Sunni Islam, Shia Islam, Zoroastrianism
Chronology
819: Samanid State founded independent from thr Abbasid Caliphate
888: Samanid Civil War between Nasr I and Isma'il ibn Ahmad, emir of Transoxiana
992: Karakhanid occupiation of large parts including the capital
999: Samanid domains split between Karakhanids and Ghaznavids
1000-1005: Samanid prince Isma'il Muntasir tries unsuccessfully to revive the Samanid state
Currency
Dinar (819-999)
1 Dinar = 60 Fals • 1 Dirham = ⁷⁄₁₀ Dinar
Coins from the Samanid Empire in the collection
•3.7 Dirham, Emperor Nuh II (976-997), (silver, Kura Badakhshan mint, Islamic#1469.2) 3.7 dirham
Note: The multi-dirham was a coin produced as a result of the incredibly productive silver mines the Samanids controlled, allowing larger quantities of silver to be traded more easily. Instead of standard dirham-sized planchets, the deisgn would be struck on larger discs of silver, giving them a distinctive empty margin around the text, and a weaker impression. Their value was determined by their weight relative to a standard dirham, which was about 3 grams. multi-dirhams proved very popular trade items, and hoards of them have been found as far away from the Samanid heartland as Scandinavia, carried by vikings on the silk road.