Saman Khuda
Saman Khuda was an 8th-century Persian noble whose descendants later became rulers of Persia. He was a Dehqan from the village of Saman in Balkh province in present-day northern Afghanistan. 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 so impressed with the piety of Asad ibn 'Abd-Allah al-Qasri, that he converted to Islam. He named his son Asad, allegedly in the governor's honor.
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.
Saman was a 4th or 5th generation descendant of Bahram Chobin, a noble of the ancient House of Mihran, who played an important role in the history of the later Sassanian Empire.Family tree
