Ya'qub-i Laith Saffari
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Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar or Ya'qub-i Laith Saffari (840-879) (Persian: یعقوب لیث صفاری) was the founder of the Saffarid dynasty in Sistan, with its capital at Zaranj (a city now in south-western Afghanistan). He ruled territories that are now in Iran and Afghanistan as well as some in Pakistan.[1][2]
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[edit] Early life
Ya'qub's was born of a plebeian family in Qarnin, a small village in Sistan. He moved to the city of Zaranj and worked as a copper smith, while his brother Amr-i Laith Saffari (who later became his successor) worked as a mule-hirer.[3] He started his campaign as a bandit (Ayyar) and formed his own army.[1] In Iranian folkloric stories, Ya'qub is regarded as an Iranian Robin Hood because he stole from the wealthy and helped the poor.[1]
[edit] Saffarid Dynasty
He attracted the attention of an Abbasid caliph by conquering non-Muslim territories in the east, which are now mostly part of modern Afghanistan. Then he began acting as an independent ruler and eventually succeeded in gaining control of much of what is now Iran, Afghanistan and large parts of Pakistan. He became the sovereign monarch of the first Iranian dynasty after the Arab Islamic conquest.[1][2] In many cases, the people he conquered had rebelled against their Islamic overloards and reverted to prior forms of worship.[4]
From his capital Zaranj, he conquered a vast area that included: Kabul Valley, Sind, Tocharistan, Makran (Baluchistan), Kerman, Fars, Khorasan. He attempted to conquer Baghdad but was defeated by the forces of the caliph al-Mu'tamid.[1][2] It was during his rule that Persian was introduced as an official language, ending the pervasive influence of the Arabic language.[5] Laith has been accorded the historical status of a popular folk hero in history because his court began the revitalization of the Persian language after two centuries of domination by the Arabic language.[2]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e "Ya'qub-i Laith Saffari". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved on 2007-07-15.
- ^ a b c d "Saffarid Dynasty". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved on 2007-07-15.
- ^ "YA'QUB LAYT". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved on 2007-07-15.
- ^ Dupree, Nancy Hatch (1971) "Sites in Perspective (Chapter 3)" An Historical Guide To Afghanistan Afghan Tourist Organization, Kabul, OCLC 241390
- ^ Hafizullah Emadi. Culture and Customs of Afghanistan, Greenwood Press, 2005. pg 27
| Preceded by none |
Saffarid amir 867–879 |
Succeeded by Amr-i Laith Saffari |
