SIMJURID DYNASTY

(c. 9401000), minor Iranian dynasty that ruled in Khorasan. The Simjurids, a family of Iranian notables, rose to prominence early in the 10th century under the Samanid rulers of Iran. The detailed history of the family is somewhat obscure, but its historical significance lies in the fact that in the last two decades of Samanid rule it held the balance of power in Khorasan and western Afghanistan. The founder of the family was a certain Ahmad, originally a slave of the Samanid king Esma'il. Ahmad was appointed governor of Seistan by the Samanids in c. 912. His descendant Ebrahim Simjuri became governor of Khorasan during the reign of the Samanid Nuh I. Ebrahim's son Abu ol-Hasan Simjuri created a virtually independent principality centred in Qohestan in southern Khorasan. Abu ol-Hasan's son Abu 'Ali added Herat to the domains. With the growing weakness of the Samanid dynasty and increasing power of the Ghaznavids, Abu 'Ali entered into an alliance with the Qarakhanid Turks, hoping to strengthen his position. In ensuing tripartite hostilities between the Ghaznavids, the Qarakhanids, and the last of the Samanids, the Simjurid territories were overrun and their power was extinguished.