The Saffarid Yaʿqub b. Layth and the Revival of Persian Kingship

The sparse historical data suggest that Yaʿqub b. Layth was the first Iranian ruler following the Arab-Islamic conquests to make significant efforts to revive Persian kingship. This article seeks to clarify, as far as possible, Yaʿqub’s actions and goals, as well as the context for his efforts. This interpretation of the sources argues that the Saffarid ruler’s government faced a crisis of social legitimacy owing to the tense relations that developed between Yaʿqub and the caliph on the one hand, and the nobles of Khorasan on the other. In this context, only in the last four years of his rule was Yaʿqub, in an effort to legitimate his power, forced to turn away from dependence on caliphal investiture and to appeal instead to a revival of Persian kingship (without the official use of the title “king”).