A Historic and Unique Family

The Samii Family

The Samii Family of today's Iran decends from the sons of Hajj Sami' Rashti, our ancestor who settled in Rasht during the reign of Nader Shah Afshar.The northern province of Guilan is a unique micro-climate nestled between the majestic Alborz Mountains and the largest inland sea, the Caspian Sea.

Through the Centuries

The Samii Family has been an active and integral part of Iranian history from the time of the decline of the Moghul Empire up through and beyond the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Originally from Tabriz in what is today's Iranian Azerbaijan, a clan, known as the Sami' Clan, were powerful regional warlords who had been given land for their support of the Saffavid Dynasty in its battle against the Moghul Empire. During the 16th and 17th centuries, The Sami' Clan grew to become a powerful merchants as well as military and political leaders of Iran.

Nader Shah, in the 1730's, founded the Afshar Dynasty. During this period of time, the North-Eastern city of Mashhad, in today's Khorasan, served as the capital of Persia. One of the decendants of the Sami' Clan, known as Hajj Sami', was a powerful leader in Mashhad. Nader Shah was famous for his military vitories over the Afghans, and his successful war against India with the magnificent jewels which he brought back to Persia and which are the centrepieces of the Crown Jewels. Nader Shah also had the notorious habit of bliding his enemies and those he felt posed danger to his rule.

Hajj Sami' was an influential member of the court of Nader Shah. As such, he was powerful and influential. Some members of the court felt that Hajj Sami' was too powerful, and accusations of affairs with ladies of Nader Shah's court began to spread. Nader Shah was lead to believe that Hajj Sami' was a rival of dangerous proportions, and had been having affairs with his court. Although Hajj Sami' protested his inocence of these charges, Nader Shah blinded him.

Having thus been inflicted by Nader Shah's temper, Hajj Sami' left Mashhad. Hajj Sami' decided to return to his ancestral home town of Tabriz. On route to Tabriz, he staed at Qazvin, in the provice of Zanjan, just south of Rasht. There, he met and fell in love with a lady from the Zarrabi family. He married her, and rather than returning to Tabriz, moved to Rasht. Rasht, which had been under Russian rule for some time, had recetly been returned to Persia via the Rasht Accord of 1734.

The Samiis of Today

Hajj Sami' had six sons and one daughter from his marriage. The decendants of his sons are the forefathers of the Samii family, while the Rais and Mansour families herald from the children of Hajj Sami's daughter. The Samiis (along with the Rais' and Mansours) have maintained their dominant position in the province, using their status as one of the oldest and largest families of the area to promote and enrich Guilan and Rasht as a vital cultural, social, economic, and political centers of Iran.

The Family History in Images

As a tribute to the great contributions of the Samiis to Iranian history and culture, and as a recognition of the close-knit bonds that the family has had throughout the years, this site aims to build a pictorial history of the family.

The images that you see in the following pages, and throughout this site, chronical the lives and times of the various Samii families.

The site includes both personal pictures of various Samii families, as well as historic pictures that tell the tale of the Samii family and its contributions to Iran and the world at large.