Of these Ahmad and his second son Isma`il overthrew the Saffarids (q.v.) and the Zaidites of Tabaristan; and thus the Samanids established themselves with the sanction of the caliph Motamid in their capital Bokhara.
Meanwhile, reinforcements under General Ahmad Feizi Pasha reached Hodeda, Manakha was retaken, Sana relieved, and by the end of January 1893 the country with the exception of the northern mountainous districts was reconquered.
But when Ahmad Shah returned to Kabul the Sikhs rose once more and re-established their religion.
Syracuse has been a place of comparatively little importance since the year 878, when it was destroyed by the Saracens under Ibrahim ibn Ahmad.
Ahmad Feizi Pasha, in command of the Basra column, 4200 strong, crossed the desert and reached the wells of aina, 200 m.