Hi everyone, welcome to what I hope will be a long history of the saffarid dynasty. I'm inspired to play in the 867 start date as Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar. Ya'Qub is known as the persian robin hood in modern iranian folklore because legend has it he stole from the rich to give to the poor.
Background History:
Ya'qub was born in 840 in a small town called Karnin (Qarnin), which was located east of Zaranj and west of Bost, in what is now Afghanistan. Many sources claim that he lived a very poor life, it is mentioned that he sometimes ate bread and onions due to poverty. His family moved to the city of Zaranj due that reason as well as the occasional sectarian violence between the Sunnis and Kharijites. His father's name was Laith, who was probably killed before the family arrived to the new city. Ya'qub began work as a coppersmith ("saffar"), while his brother Amr worked as a mule-hirer. So essentially, for the gameplay purpose, I'm trying to establish an empire of coppersmiths :laugh:
When the Tahirid dynasty of Khorasan came south to take control of the region, Ya'qub was fighting in 852 under a local commander of Bost (now Lashkar Gah), Salih Ibn an-Nadr. After killing in a single combat a dreaded Kharijite captain named Amman, Ya'qub was promoted to the position of a commander. He decided to give himself the title Emir at that point. It was during his rule that Persian was introduced as an official language, and Yaqub reportedly did not know Arabic.
Ya'qub-i Laith claimed the inheritance of the kings of Persia and sought "to revive their glory," and thus in 867 he sent a poem written by himself to the Abbasid caliph. The poem said: "With me is the Drafsh e Kavian, through which I hope to rule the nations." The motivation behind the Saffarids' initial campaigns remains unknown and highly debated in secondary scholarship. Some scholars believe that Yaqub fought as a ghazi warrior for the purpose of spreading proto-Sunni Islam, others support the notion that he was motivated by his Persian identity and consequent desire to restore the glorious Sasanian past, while still others believe he was simply motivated by greed and adrenaline. The stage is set for a glorious imperial persian revival.
January 867 - Marries Nazgol
I was browsing through courtiers and women in the courts of my vassals but couldn't find anyone approaching suitable. I want a persian zorastrian wife and a lowborn named Nazgol in a foreign court to the north of my lands is the best option. Nazgol was being used as the emirate of karen's spymaster so I found it surprising the ai let me marry her. Anyway, Nazgol arrives at my encampment in mid janurary 867 just as I'm preparing to launch an invasion of the bastard Tahrids.
She hates me but that is to be expected. Greatness is always the victim of tall poppy syndrome.
The enemy. The Tahrids start at war with the Saffarids in the 867 scenario. I have no doubt I can crush them easily.
I have no retinues or raised levies but Ya-Qub has 28 martial and a standing army of 4500 men! I decide to leave the levies unraised and fight on with my free standing army of Ghazi warriors.
I'm so confident of victory I make my ambition the total conquest of the Tahrid lands. This is definately achievable I think and it is basically a free gift of +1 stewardship and +100 prestige. Very nice!
Let the war begin!
