I'm currently listening to Lost Enlightenment, by S. Frederick Starr, a really wide ranging and accessible history of medieval central Asia, for anyone who's interested. I highly recommend it. I found the biography of Yaqub ibn-Layth al-Saffar particularly interesting. He seems like a fascinating man of the people and an exceptional military leader.

On realizing that his Saffarid dynasty was founded around 865, I figured he must be a playable character in the popular historical sim, Crusader Kings III. Indeed, he is. The game, which I also highly recommend, of course, starts in 867 just as Yaqub's Saffarid kingdom is at war with the Tahirid emirate to the north. I just started at the time of this writing but it should be a very fun campaign.

But shortly after starting the game, I noticed a curious little detail. For some reason, the developers at Paradox, had made me homosexual. In a game that focuses on dynastic inheritance and the siring of ever more and better offspring, that can add a bit of a fun challenge, but, I can't find out at all if it's historically accurate. It seems most sources make no mention of wives or children of al-Saffar, including Starr, who led me down this rabbit hole in the first place. I don't think that's very good evidence here, though. I'm left with several questions:

First, are there any known sources, friendly, hostile, or otherwise alleging that al-Saffar was gay?

More generally, what do we know about sexuality in medieval Afghanistan? Would the first question even be answerable in that context?

Most generally, does anyone have any thoughts on the running joke among some history enthusiasts (possibly including our friends at Paradox Interactive) that, "if a figure was never known to be in a heterosexual relationship, ipso facto homo?" It's obviously bad history, and bad critical thinking, but has it ever proved "accurate"? Or even just "useful"?