Genealogy of the Kamkar family: Khorasan agents in the third and fourth centuries AH

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

• Fatemeh Hajipour ¹
• Reza Shabani Samghabadi ²
• Azartash Azarnoosh ³

¹ PhD Student in History of Islamic Iran, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran

² Professor, Department of History, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran

³ Professor of Arabic Literature, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

10.22067/jhistory.2021.40898.88821

Abstract

The Kamkars were an Iranian family in the first centuries AH and one of the renowned peasants in the Khorasan region (c. 309-31 AH). The appellation of this family comes from and is attributed to Kamkar, the Marvi peasant and one of the sons of Yazdgerd III, the last Sassanid king (632-651 AD). Some members of this family held positions in the administration system of Taherians (255-259 AH), Saffarians (247-339 AH) and Samanids (261-395 AH). The present study investigates their national and military positions by adopting a descriptive-analytical approach. This family, ruling over parts of Khorasan, was the commander in chief of the Khorasan Army. A prominent figure of this family was Ahmad ibn Sahl ibn Hashim (d. 307 AH). His father and brothers were also secretaries and astronomers. Aside from their political-military role, this family played a crucial role in the preservation of Iranian science and culture by patronizing authors and scientists.

Keywords

• Kamkars
• Khorasan
• Yazdgerd III
• Ahmad Ibn Sahl

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