ABSTRACT
While the Sāmānides were thus harassed by the powerful Daylamites in the west, by the growing power of Sabuk- tagin in the south, and the fear of insubordination in their own states, a force still more formidable had arisen on their northern frontier, where a Turkish state had been founded which extended from Kāshghar to the Sea of Aral. The relations of this state with its southern neighbours were at first of a peaceful and even friendly character ; but when the nomads perceived that Iranian authority was on the wane they began to cast longing eyes across the Jaxartes. They probably belonged to the tribe of Uïghūr, which had been the first to separate from the main body of the Turkish race and settle down in a home on the slopes of the Tien-shan. 1
