1. In modern Persian, zamin-dar means 'the one who holds land' but it might be related to Middle Persian Zamin-i dātbar (Land of the Justice-giver). Zamin-i dātbar/Zamindawar was capital of Zunbils -the pre-islamic rulers of most of Afghanistan & descendants of Hepthalite Huns.

2. The Zunbils worshipped the sun (Zun/Zur). The main temple of Zun was located at Helmand. Their territory was called Zabulistan/Zavolistan. They were linked with Kabul-Shahs of the Turk Shahi dynasty, & according to Tarikh al-Tabari & Tarikh-i Sistan, employed Turkish troops.

3. André Wink: In S & E Afghanistan, the regions of Zamindawar (Zamin-i Datbar or land of the justice giver, the classical Archosia) & Zabulistan or Zabul (Kabul), Arabs were opposed for more than 2 centuries, 643-870 AD, by the indigenous Zunbils & related Buddhist Kabul-Shahs.

4. According to C.E. Bosworth, The early Arab governors of Sistan had at times penetrated as far as Ghazna & Kabul, but these had been little more than slave & plunder raids. There was a fierce resistance from the local rulers of these regions, above all from the line of Zunbils.

5. In 654 AD, army of 6,000 Arabs led by Abdur Rahman bin Samara arrived at the shrine of Zun in Zamindawar. It is reported that Abdur Rahman "broke off a hand of the idol & plucked out the rubies which were its eyes to persuade the Marzbān of Sīstān of his god's worthlessness."

6. He said to Marzbān (priest): "My intention was to show that this idol can do neither any harm nor good." The Zunbīls drew the Arabs deep into their country and cut them off, so that Arabs managed to extricate themselves only with great difficulty & after suffering many losses.

7. Another disaster in 698 under Ubayd Allāh b. Abi Bakra (swarthy son of an Abyssinian slave & free Arab woman). The Army of Destruction (Ḏj̲ays̲h̲ al-Fanā) was destroyed by starvation & by attacks of the Zunbīl’s followers. Ubayd died on the way back with the army’s remnants.

8. In response, al-Hajjaj sent another army under (the famous rebel) Ibn al-Ash'ath against the Zunbīls. Whether due to the splendor of its equipment or as an allusion to the "proud & haughty manner of the Kufan soldiers & the ashrāf" this army became known as the "Peacock Army".

9. al-Ash'ath's uncle had said to al-Hajjaj that his nephew might revolt but he doesn't listen. Al-Tabari suggests that al-Hajjaj relied on the fear he inspired to keep al-Ashath in check. al-Ashath first punished leader of Kirman who'd refused to help governors of Sistan & Sind.

10. al-Ashath rejected a peace offer from Zunbīls, and in marked contrast to his predecessor's direct assault, began a systematic campaign to slowly and methodically capture the villages and fortresses one by one, installing garrisons in them and linking them with messengers.

11. After accomplishing this task, he withdrew to Helmand to spend the winter of 699/700. But once al-Hajjaj received al-Ash'ath's messages, he replied in "a series of arrogant & offensive messages ordering him to penetrate into the heart of Zabulistan & fight enemy to death."

12. Ibn al-Ashath told his troups al-Hajjaj's instructions. They resented "the prospect of a long & difficult campaign so far from Iraq, "denounced al-Hajjaj, proclaiming him deposed, & swore allegiance to Ibn al-Ashath instead. Ibn al-Ashath now made an agreement with Zunbīls.

13. Whereby if he was victorious in the conflict with al-Hajjaj, he would accord the Zunbīls generous treatment, while if he was defeated, the Zunbīls would provide him refuge. By the time he reached Fars, the revolt evolved from a mutiny into a full-blown anti-Umayyad uprising.

14. Scholars attribute the uprising to efforts of non-Arab converts to Islam (the mawālī) to secure equal rights with Arabs. Or reaction of Iraqis in general & the ashrāf in particular against the Syrian Umayyads as represented by the overbearing (& notably low-born) al-Hajjaj.

15. Or a manifestation of the tribal factionalism b/w the N Arab & S Arab (Yamani) tribes. In a poem by a certain A'sha Hamdan in celebration of the rebellion, al-Hajjaj is denounced as an apostate and a "friend of the devil" while Ibn al-Ash'ath is portrayed as the champion of >

16. > champion of the Yamani Qahtani and Hamdani tribes against the northern Arab Ma'addis and Thaqafis. Among the rebels were also the fanatical zealots known as qurrāʾ (Quran readers). al-Ashath's army is reported to have by now numbered 33,000 cavalry and 120,000 infantry.

17. He defeated al-Hajjaj's army in several battles and forced him to flee. But in March 701, al-Hajjaj's Syrians, under Sufyan ibn Abrad, defeated al-Ashath. Al-Ashath retreated to Kufa. Al-Hajjaj took over Basra, executing 11,000 of its people, despite his pledge of pardon.

18. Yet more rebels joined al-Ashath in Kufa, and his army swelled up to 200,000. Caliph Abd al-Malik proposed dismissal of al-Hajjaj & appointment of Ibn al-Ash'ath as governor. Al-Ash'ath was inclined to accept, but more radical of his followers, especially the qurrā, refused.

19. In Sep, in Battle of Dayr al-Jamajim ('Battle of the monastery of Skulls' after a nearby Nestorian monastery), Syrians won a decisive victory. Al-Hajjaj entered Kufa, where executed many rebels, but also pardoned those who admitted that by revolting they had become infidels.

20. Al-Ash'ath fled east towards Zaranj where his own agent (ʿāmil) arrested him. Zunbīl however, true to his word, came & forced Ibn al-Ash'ath's release, took him to to Zabulistan & treated him with honor. Al-Hajjaj, fearing another revolt, sent threatening letters to Zunbīl.

21. Finally, in 704 the Zunbīl gave in, in exchange for lifting the annual tribute for 7 or 10 years. Accounts of Ibn al-Ash'ath's end differ: he was killed by Zunbīl, or his head was chopped & sent to al-Hajjaj, or he was confined to a remote castle and jumped to his death.

22. In response to the revolt, there was a reform of the salary (aṭā) system by al-Hajjaj, so far salary had been calculated based on the role of one's ancestors in the early Muslim conquests, it now became limited to those actively participating in campaigns.

23. OTOH since most of the army was now Syrian, this was a loss to Iraqis. In addition, extensive land reclamation & irrigation works were undertaken in lower Iraq but profits went to Umayyads and their cleints. In 720, the Iraqis rebelled once again, under Yazid ibn al-Muhallab.

24. But were defeated again. Eventually, in 755, Iraqis won with the help of Khorasanis, & reportedly catered a Red Wedding to Umayyads killing all but one -who ran to Al-Andalus. Until Abbasids in 9th century started hiring as slave soldiers the same Turks who fought for Zunbils

25. It was Ya'qūb-i Layth-i Saffārī, born Rādmān pūr-i Māhak, a Persian coppersmith, & founder of the Saffarid dynasty of Sistan, who finally defeated Zunbils, & conquered for Islam much of modern-day Iran, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan & portions of Pakistan.

26. Ya'qub was born in 840 in a small town east of Zaranj. In 864, he led an army to Zamindāvar, killing the Zunbil, & securing a huge booty. He then defeated Kharijites in 865 in Sistan, killing their leader Ammar ibn Yaser. After defeating Ammar, Ya'qub held a big celebration.

27. During the celebration, one of the members of the court made a speech in Arabic. Ya'qub asked him why he made a speech in a language he could not understand. One of Ya'qub's secretaries, Muhammad ibn Vasif, then made a qasida in Persian. Ya'qub sought to revive Persian glory.

28. He then conquered Ghazna, Kabul, & Bamyan, then moved to north of the Hindu Kush, and by 870 the whole of Khorasan was under his control along with the Panjshir Valley. In 873, he ousted the Tahirids from their own capital of Nishapur which led to conflicts with the Abbasids.

29. During one of Ya'qub's many battles, his face was so disfigured that he could only eat through a pipe (Bane). In 876, Abbasids offered Yaqub the post of head of security of Baghdad along with governorship of Fars & Khuristan but he refused.

30. Caliph al-Mu'tamid decided upon war & pronounced a formal curse upon Yaqub. Finally, on April 8, Abbasids defeated Yaqub. The caliph had flooded the lands behind the Saffarids before the battle, this made a retreat difficult; most men drowned attempting to escape the Abbasids

31. Ya'qub also had colic disease & refused treatments. He died on June 5, 879 in Gundeshapur. It was reported that he did not smile much & was called "the anvil" by his enemies. During Yaqub's rule Persian became an official language again. He is still a Persian folk hero. End.