Ahmad ibn Asad in the context of "Samanid"

The Samanid Empire (Persian: سامانیان, romanized: Sāmāniyān) was a Persianate Sunni Muslim empire, ruled by a dynasty of Iranian dehqan origin, from 819 to 999. The empire was centred in Khorasan and Transoxiana, at its greatest extent included northeastern Iran and Central Asia.

Four brothers: Nuh, Ahmad, Yahya, and Ilyas, founded the Samanid state. Each of them ruled territories under Abbasid suzerainty. In 892, Ismail Samani, united the Samanids under his rule, thus effectively putting an end to the feudal system used by the Samanids. It was also under him that the Samanids became independent of the Abbasids. However, by 945, the government had fallen under the de facto control of the Turkic military slave faction, and the Samanid family's authority had become purely symbolic.

Abū Ibrāhīm Ismā'īl ibn-i Aḥmad-i Sāmāni (Persian: ابو ابراهیم اسماعیل بن احمد سامانی; May 849 – 24 November 907), better known simply as Amir Ismail-i Samani (اسماعیل سامانی), and also known as Isma'il ibn-i Ahmad (اسماعیل بن احمد), was the Samanid amir of Transoxiana (892–907) and Khorasan (900–907). His reign saw the emergence of the Samanids as a powerful force. He was the son of Ahmad ibn-i Asad and a descendant of Saman Khuda, the eponymous ancestor of the Samanid dynasty who renounced Zoroastrianism and embraced Islam.

Nuh ibn Asad (نوح بن اسد; d. 841/842) was a Samanid ruler of Samarkand (819-841/2). He was a son of Asad.

In 819, Nuh was granted authority over the city of Samarkand by Caliph Al-Ma'mun's governor of Khurasan, Ghassan ibn 'Abbad, as a reward for his support against the rebel Rafi' ibn Laith. In 839/840, Nuh captured Isfijab and constructed a wall around it to protect the city from the nomadic pagan Turks living near the borders of the Samanid state. Nuh continued to rule over the city until his death in 841 or 842. Abdallah, the governor of Khurasan, then appointed two of Nuh's brothers, Yahya and Ahmad, to jointly rule over Samarkand.

Yahya ibn Asad (died 855) was a Samanid ruler of Shash (819–855) and Samarkand (851/852–855). He was a son of Asad.

In 819, Yahya was granted authority over the city of Shash by Caliph Al-Ma'mun's governor of Khurasan, Ghassan ibn 'Abbad, as reward for his support against the rebel Rafi' ibn Laith. Following the death of his brother Nuh, who ruled in Samarkand, Yahya and another brother Ahmad were given rule over the city by Abdallah, the governor of Khurasan. Yahya's power was subsequently significantly curtailed by Ahmad, and he may have ruled as simply a figurehead until his death in 855. Yahya's line was then superseded by Ahmad's.