Two military families—the Simjurids and Ghaznavids—have arisen…

Two military families—the Simjurids and Ghaznavids—have arisen from the Turkic slave-guards of the Samanids; they will ultimately prove disastrous to the Samanids.

The Simjurids had received an appanage in the Kohistan region of eastern Khorasan (northern Afghanistan).

Samanid generals Alp Tigin and Abu al-Hasan Simjuri had competed for the governorship of Khorasan and control of the Samanid empire by placing on the throne emirs they could dominate after the death of 'Abd al-Malik I in 961 CE, creating a succession crisis between 'Abd al-Malik I's brothers.

Abu had al-Hasan died in 961, but a new rival, Fa'iq, arose, and eventually Mansur I had been elected by the court ministers.

Alp Tigin, having backed the wrong candidate, had prudently retired from Khorasan to Ghazni, where he has dispossessed a local ruling family, thus starting the Ghaznavid dynasty in 962 CE.

Coins of the era, however show that he still nominally acknowledges the Samanid authority.