What if the Saffarids took over Bagdad?

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One of my favorite dynasties are the Saffarids, due the fact that it was founded by a mere craftsmen, who managesd to conquer most of Persia, hal of Pakistan and all Afeghanistan. The saffarids were also quite nationalist according too wikipedia:

"The Saffarids gave great care to the Persian culture. Under their rule, the eastern Islamic world witnessed the emergence of prominent Persian poets such as Fayrouz Mashriqi, Abu Salik al-Jirjani, and Muhammad bin Wasif al-Sistani, who was a court poet.[20]

In the later 9th century, the Saffarids gave impetus to a renaissance of New Persian literature and culture. Following Ya'qub's conquest of Herat, some poets chose to celebrate his victory in Arabic, whereupon Ya'qub requested his secretary, Muhammad bin Wasif al-Sistani, to compose those verses in Persian.[21]"

In 876 the Saffarids made a ambitious offensive to take over Bagdad and crush the Abbasid empire:

410px-Battle_of_Dayr_al-%27Aqul.svg.png

The route taken during the offensive, and the place of the battle.

The battle resulted on a Saffarid defeat, but while they lost, it was not a crushing decisive defeat and so the dynasty continued for more 150 years until finally was conquered, alltough it lost most of it's strengh after a defeat against the central asian sultanates in Balkh in 901.

Now, let's say that the Saffarid Army wins decisively against the abbasids, crushing their army and capturing Bagdad afterwards, what happens next?
 
If the saffarids crush the Abbasids, they will place a puppet on the caliphate. They also have to now deal with the zanj to keep their puppet on his throne. The zanj will probably fall, though Ya'qub will probably die around the same time he did OTL, so it will be up to his brother to defeat the zanj.

I wouldn't call the saffarids nationalist, as they were more motivated by ambition and a dislike for the Abbasids. That being said, they did have an appreciation for their Persian heritage, though nothing like nationalism that we would recognize in the modern sense.
 
If the saffarids crush the Abbasids, they will place a puppet on the caliphate. They also have to now deal with the zanj to keep their puppet on his throne. The zanj will probably fall, though Ya'qub will probably die around the same time he did OTL, so it will be up to his brother to defeat the zanj.

Why did he choosed his brother instead of a son? If he was childless otl, what if after defeating the abbasids he has a children on this TL?
 
From what I know, Ya'qub had some form of colic disease that he refused to be treated for. This probably was the cause of his early death, which might have influenced his decision to pick his brother Layth as he didn't expect to be around long enough to have a son. But that was only one of the factors. Layth often campaigned with his brother and was a decent commander in his own right (heck, he could have won at Balkh if some of his soldiers didn't betray him or if he wasn't captured). Thus, the army saw Layth as a capable successor to Ya'qub, a notion Ya'qub agreed with.

In your scenario, where Ya'qub beats and vassalizes the Caliphate, he could possibly have a child if he got married and make him the heir, provided he doesn't die around OTL
s time. However, getting him to be treated for his colic disease would be a pain to do, though having him almost die during a battle might be able to scare him into getting treated or if he is convinced by his brother. Any hypothetical heir would probably get a martial education, though how skilled he is a roll of the dice. If Ya'qub dies while his son is still young, Layth would most likely serve as a regent and guardian to maintain his brother's legacy.
 
I hear that the Abbasid caliph of the time once offered the Saffarids governorship of a region spanning roughly the modern Islamic Republic of Iran, but the Saffarids declined the offer. Once Yaqub was near Baghdad, he engaged in battle against the Abbasids, who held a numerical superiority and knowlege of the terrain.
Now, a "remake" of the Sassanian Empire under a muslim dynasty would be pretty intriguing.

Beaming up @John7755 يوحنا
 
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The Saffarids immediately will need to face the Zanj and Khawarij to the north. Not to mention, rivals to the west amongst the Tulunid. Ya’qub ibn Layth al-Saffar was defeated by the Zanj in Ahvaz on several occasions, so their victory is certainly not assured.

I am quite busy, I may have time later for a better response.
 
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