Andy Hooper's
Khurasanian Samanids (III/43c)

Armies of the Fanatici > Eye Candy > DBA Resources > Fanaticus

The reign of the Samanid dynasty over Khurasan (modern Iran) corresponds exactly to the duration of the 10th Century in the western calendar. They seized much of Iran from the Saffarid rebels of Seistan in 900 AD, and did their best to lay claim to the expanded Persian Empire controlled by the Sassanids and Tahirids before them. They managed a ring of allied and vassal states that insulated them from a variety of outside threats, including the authority of the Caliphate, the Byzantines, and the Fatimids. But ultimately, they couldn't control all these bordering states, and they were overwhelmed by the armies of Mahmud I of Ghazna and the Qarakhanid Turks by 999 AD.

These are Essex figures, sold as a complete DBA army pack. In general, the figures in the pack look rather more Arab or Kurdish than Persian, but given the polyglot nature of the Samanids' many clients, troops of this appearance probably served under their banners. Tom Holland of Seligman, Arizona painted the figures for me, and I did some inking and finishing before basing them.

The Amir and his Guards (3Cv/Gen)

The Samanid General with a bodyguard of armored Khurasanian lancers.

Khurasanian and Kurdish Nobles (3Cv)

Elephantry (EL)

Asian elephant with mahouts, probably trained and crewed by vassals from the Hindu Kush.

Skirmishing Horse (2Lh)

Samanid Foot (4Sp)

These figures are more appropriate for the urban militia of Damascus or Baghdad than Persian levies, but I still like the way they look.

Archers (3Bw)

Professional archers were often as prized in the millennial Arab world as they came to be in Medieval Britain and France, and these bow men with turbans and small shields might be Turkish, Yemeni, Syrian, Omani or even Berber or Sudanese..

Dailami (3Ax)

Dailami auxiliaries like these troops fought in armies all around the Persian Gulf, and as far north as the Transoxonian cities like Bokhara and Samarkhand. Those conical helmets were used all over western Asia and southern Europe by the Avars, Bulgars and Slavs, and provide a good clue to their owners' mercenary service.

Dailami Skirmishers (2Ps)

The Dailami are believed to have armed themselves with a variety of missile weapons, from darts and javelins to several grades of bow. But regardless of their weaponry, they are said to have been relentless and aggressive skirmishers and thus seem better represented as psiloi than bows.