Lands of Asia layouts (Eng) 26.11.21

4 .4
The Tashkent scholar S. Kamaletdinov has revealed a curious fact. At the end of
the 10th century, Amir Faiq al-Hassa, a prominent military leader, who owned vast
territories and had constructed many buildings in Bukhara and other cities, played
a significant role in the political life of the Samanid state. It was Faiq who actually
wielded power in the state, much like another Amir, Bektuzun, did under Amir Mansur
ibn Nukh. Previously it had been assumed that Amir Faiq was descended from Turkic
ghilman (mercenaries), but on the basis of the Persian scholar al-Nasafi’s manuscript,
Kamaletdinov has established that one of his nisbas (an adjective indicating a person’s
origin) was in fact al-Andalusi, the Arabic name for Spain, as well as the region in
southern Spain. Hence, Faiq was in fact of Spanish descent and had come to Bukhara
via Baghdad for some reason. It is possible that he had been sold as a child to Rum
(Byzantium) – his second nisba, mentioned in the same source, was ar-Rumi. Faiq
may have reached Baghdad from Rome, and in Baghdad the Caliph of that time gave
him to the Samanid ruler Nukh bin Nasr. Nukh bin Nasr encouraged him to adopt
Islam and then passed him on as a personal servant to his son, the future Samanid
ruler, Amir Mansur bin Nukh, better known as Mansur I (AD 961–976). During the
reign of Mansur I’s son, Nukh bin Mansur (AD 976–997), Faiq was entrusted with
the most important affairs of state, alongside Hajib Tash, although in the last years
of Nukh bin Mansur’s reign Faiq opposed him and for a time was even an ally of the
Qarakhanids. He died in AD 999, when his full name was Amir Amid al-Dawla Abu-l
Hasan Faiq ibn Abdallah al-Hasan al-Andalusi ar-Rumi.
Direct diplomatic relations with Spain were established under Amir Timur (also
known as Tamerlane) at the beginning of the 15th century. This came after a series
of important military and political events connected with Turkish expansion into
Europe. In a number of battles, especially at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 and the
Battle of Nicopolis in 1396, the Turkish army crushed the allied forces of several
European countries and went on to conquer nearly the entire Balkan Peninsula. The
rulers of many European countries turned to Amir Timur for help, as they believed he
could save them from the Turks. Spain, which was keeping a close eye on the perilous
events in Asia Minor and on the Balkan Peninsula, was also involved in this. At this
time, Castile and Leon, under Henry III of Castile (1390–1406), represented the
most powerful of the three alliances that emerged out of the Reconquista. On the eve
of the decisive battle of Ankara in 1402 between Amir Timur and the Turkish Sultan
Bayezid, Castilian ambassadors Pelayo de Sotomayor and Fernando de Palazuelos
arrived at Amir Timur’s camp on a mission to learn more about his power. They were
among the first to congratulate him on his great victory over Bayezid and, in turn,
Amir Timur sent his envoy Haji Muhammad al-Qazi with gifts and letters. Henry
III sent a return embassy to Samarkand, headed by his chamberlain Ruy Gonzáles
221