The Samanids, their roots stemming from the…

The Samanids, their roots stemming from the city of Balkh, have promoted the arts, giving rise to the advancement of science and literature, and thus attracting scholars such as Rudaki and Avicenna.

While under Samanid control, Bukhara is a rival to Baghdad in its glory.

Scholars note that the Samanids had revived the Persian language more than had the Buyids and the Saffarids, while continuing to patronize Arabic to a significant degree.

Nevertheless, in a famous edict, Samanid authorities had declared that "here, in this region, the language is Persian, and the kings of this realm are Persian kings."

The Samanids have not only revived Persian culture but have also determinedly propagated Sunni Islam.

In doing so, the Samanids have repressed Ismaili Shiism but remained tolerant of Twelver Shiism.

The Samanid state has become a staunch patron of Islamic architecture and spread the Islamo-Persian culture deep into the heart of Central Asia.

The population within its areas has begun firmly accepting Islam in significant numbers, notably in Taraz, now in modern day Kazakhstan.

According to historians, through the zealous missionary work of Samanid rulers, as many as thirty thousand tents of Turks will come to profess Islam (and later, under the Ghaznavids, the number of Turkish converts will total more than fifty-five thousand under the Hanafi school of Islamic thought).

The mass conversion of the Turks to Islam will eventually lead to a growing influence of the Ghaznavids, who will later rule the region.

Another lasting contribution of the Samanids to the history of Islamic art is the pottery known as Samanid Epigraphic Ware: plates, bowls, and pitchers fired in a white slip and decorated only with calligraphy, often elegantly and rhythmically written.

The Arabic phrases used in this calligraphy are generally more or less generic well wishes, or Islamic admonitions to good table manners.