Page 67 - Azərbaycan xalçaları

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Azerbaijani carpets / TABRIZ GROUP
On the upper right main
border the ketebe read:
“All the shahs were
proud of their thrones.”
“It is only Nadir shah, of
whom the throne is proud.”
“One like Nadir shah will
not come to this world
again.”
“He fulfilled the most dif-
ficult task with high profes-
sionalism.”
In the gaps among the ketebes there are round medallions with light brown backgrounds.
Inside the medallions there are portraits of real and legendary shahs.
In the medallion, which is located at the top of the main border in the center, there is a portrait
of a shah known as Samani. The Samanid Dynasty as a state existed in 819-999. A son of a Tajik
called Saman who was a janishin (military title) in Marv appointed Asad also as a janishin.
Asad had four sons: Nuh, Ahmad, Yahya, and Ilyas. In 806 there was a rebellion in Central Asia
against the Caliphate. Mugenna’s supporters were leading the rebellion. The head of the rebel-
lion was Arabian commander Rafi bin Layth. In this situation, Asad’s sons helped al-Mamun
and suppressed the revolt in 810. For these services the caliph appointed Samon’s helpers as
janishin in the various regions of Central Asia. Nuh became janishin in Samarkand, Ahmed in
Farand, Yahya in Shash, and Ilyas in Urushan.
After Ahmed’s death, his son Nasr replaced him. Nasr bin Ahmed became the independ-
ent head of Maveraunnehir and coined money in his name. But in 888, his brother Ismail Ibn
Ahmed seized power by defeating him. He organized military campaigns on the Turkish tribes
living nearby and strengthened the power of the state.
So, Ismail, belonging to the Samanid Dynasty, became the head of what was known as the
“Samanid State.” During the reign of hi son Ahmed and his grandson Ahmed II, the Samanid
state started to fall into decay. This was due to the appearance of new Turkish tribes united in
Central Asia and they started wars of conquest. Especially in the Sirdarya fields, the Oghuz
were strengthened.
Despite its short existence in history, Samanid was distinguished for the growth of agriculture
and trade. The great Turkish personalities of Central Asia, Al-Farabi and Ibn Sina, grew up dur-
ing the Samanid period. The Samanid played a key role in developing Islam in Central Asia. Sa-
manid leaders commissioned many mosques, madrasahs (religious schools), and mausoleums.
By attacking the Samanid in 922, the Kara-Khanid soon occupied Bukhara. Under the treaty
signed in 966, the fields extending to the north from the river of Zeravshan were subordinate
to the Kara-Khanid state. In 999, the united forces of Kara-Khanid and the Ghaznavids brought
down the power of the Samanids.
On the top of the main border, the first medallion on the right depicts Keyumars, the first
human being according to Zoroastrianism and the first shah according to the “Shahnameh.”
Keyumars, which means “Great Man” in the Zand language, was in power for 30 years and was
remembered fondly. He had a son named Siamek.