Ismoili Somoni Statue

Abū Ibrāhīm Ismā'īl ibn Aḥmad (Persian: ابو ابراهیم اسماعیل بن احمد سامانی‎; May 849 – November 907), better simply known as Isma'il ibn Ahmad (اسماعیل بن احمد), and also known as Ismail Samani (اسماعیل سامانی), was the Samanid emir 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 Asad and a descendant of Saman Khuda, the eponymous ancestor of the Samanid dynasty who renounced Zoroastrianism and embraced Islam.

Isma'il is known in history as a competent general and a strong ruler; many stories about him are written in Arabic and Persian sources.

According to a Bukharian historian writing in 943 stated that Ismail: "Was indeed worthy and right for padishahship. He was intelligent, just, compassionate person, one possessing reason and prescience...he conducted affairs with justice and good ethics. Whoever tyrannize people he would punish...In affairs of state he was always impartial."

The celebrated scholar Nizam al-Mulk, in his famous work, Siyasatnama, stated that Ismail: "Was extremely just, and his good qualities were many. He had pure faith in God (to Him be power and glory) and he was generous to the poor – to name only one of his notable virtues.