His origins are disputed, with
Iranian or
Sogdian roots suggested. The Samanids themselves later claimed Saman was a 4th or 5th generation descendant of the famed
Sassanian general
Bahram Chobin, of the ancient
House of Mihran. He has been suggested to have been of
Sogdian origin, or from a
Hephthalite princely background. In the early 8th century, he came to
Merv, seat of the
Caliphal governor of
Khorasan,
Asad ibn 'Abd Allah al-Qasri (ruled 723-727). Saman was originally a
Zoroastrian. However, he was impressed by the piety of al-Qasri and converted to
Islam. He named his son
Asad, allegedly in the governor's honour. He was also influenced by the teachings of the scholar
Abu Hanifa. Caliph
al-Mamun (786-833) 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 (849-907) became Amir of
Transoxiana and
Khorasan. ==Family tree==