Saman Khuda

Saman Khuda was an 8th-century nobleman and the eponymous ancestor of the Samanid Dynasty. He was a Dehqan from the village of Saman in Balkh province in present-day northern Afghanistan.

Origins

His origins are disputed, with Iranian or Sogdian roots suggested. The Samanids themselves later claimed Saman was a 4th or 5th generation descendant of the famed Sassanian general Bahram Chobin, of the ancient House of Mihran. He has been suggested to have been of Sogdian origin, or from a Hephthalite princely background.
In the early 8th century, he came to Merv, seat of the Caliphal governor of Khorasan, Asad ibn 'Abd Allah al-Qasri. Saman was originally a Zoroastrian. However, he was impressed by the piety of al-Qasri and converted to Islam. He named his son Asad, allegedly in the governor's honour. He was also influenced by the teachings of the scholar Abu Hanifa.
Caliph al-Mamun subsequently appointed Asad's four sons – Saman Khuda's grandsons – as governors of Samarkand, Ferghana, Shash and Ustrushana, and Herat in recognition of their role in the suppression of a revolt. This began the House of Saman; Saman Khuda's great-grandson Isma'il ibn Ahmad became Amir of Transoxiana and Khorasan.