Maurice Pomerantz, "Al - Ā Ib B. Abbād: A Political Biography" Journal of The American Oriental Society

Journal of the American Oriental Society 134.
1 (2014) 1
A Political Biography of al-ib
Isml b. Abbd (d. 385/995)
MAURICE A. POMERANTZ
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
In the medieval Islamic world, eloquent expression was an important skill for
statesmen to acquire, such that many of the leading viziers were often prominent
belletrists. Among the most well known of these literary fgures was the Byid
vizier Ibn Abbd (d. 385/995). Drawing from a wide range of historical and liter-
ary sources, this article compiles and corroborates the many accounts relating to
Ibn Abbds political career, beginning with his family background and early edu-
cation as a scribe, to his experiences in the Byid courts of Baghdad, Ifahn, and
Rayy and his two decades as vizier to the Byids Muayyid al-Dawla (d. 373/983)
and Fakhr al-Dawla (d. 387/997) in western Iran.
Among the many intellectuals and statesmen of the fourth/tenth century there are few who
rival al-ib Ab l-Qsim Isml b. Abbd for fame and infuence among his contempo-
raries. The son of a Byid vizier, Ibn Abbd became one of the centurys most prominent
political fgures, serving as vizier for two Byid amrs of western Iran, Muayyid al-Dawla
(d. 373/983) and Fakhr al-Dawla (d. 387/997). Under Ibn Abbds careful management of
afairs from 366/976 until his death in 385/995, the Byid amrs won several decisive mili-
tary victories, reaching the apogee of their power in the region. Culturally, too, Ibn Abbds
tenure as a patron was signifcant. His courts in Rayy, Ifahn, and Jurjn were major centers
of patronage for poets, littrateurs, scholars of the Arabic language, and theologians, rivaling
in size and quality those of the famed Ab Muammad al-Muhallab (d. 352/963) in Baghdad
and Sayf al-Dawla al-amdn (d. 356/967). Among the many renowned literary fgures
who attended his court were Ab ayyn al-Tawd (d. 414/1023), Ab Bakr al-Kh
w
razm
(d. 384/994), and Bad al-Zamn al-Hamadhn (d. 398/1008).
As a result of Ibn Abbds fame in the fourth/tenth century, there is a wide range of liter-
ary source materials available to the researcher. Over the course of his lifetime Ibn Abbd
authored a great number of letters, poetry, and other works that shed some light on his activ-
ities.
1
Similarly, reports about Ibn Abbd are featured in histories of the Byid period, such as
Tajrib al-umam of Miskawayh (d. 421/1030) and Dhayl Tajrib al-umam of al-Rdhrwr
(d. 488/1095), which provide the chronological framework for Ibn Abbds reign as vizier.
2

Later biographical compendia and anthologies, such as Muart al-udab of al-Rghib
Authors note: I extend my thanks to the anonymous reviewers, whose comments were most helpful in improv-
ing the article.
1. For a list of Ibn Abbds works, see Encyclopaedia Iranica (henceforth, EIr), s.v. Ebn Abbd (Maurice
Pomerantz), online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ebn-abbad-esmail-al-saheb-kaf (accessed March 18,
2012). For a study of Ibn Abbds letter collection (dwn), see Maurice Pomerantz, Licit Magic and Divine Grace:
The Life and Letters of al-ib b. Abbd (d. 385/995), Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Chicago, 2011.
2. Miskawayh, Tajrib al-umam, ed. H. F. Amedroz (Cairo, 1919); al-Rdhrwr, Dhayl Tajrib al-umam, ed.
H. Amedroz and D. Margoliouth (Oxford: Blackwell, 1921).
2 Journal of the American Oriental Society 134.1 (2014)
al-Ifahn (d. early ffth/eleventh century) and Mujam al-udab of Yqt al-amaw
(d. 626/1229), also provide important details on Ibn Abbds early life and literary activities.
3
However, the literary works written by Ibn Abbds contemporaries provide the most inter-
esting accounts of the vizier. In particular, there are the numerous reports (akhbr) concerning
Ibn Abbd included in the works of two important men of letters: Ab Manr al-Thalib
(d. 429/1039) and Ab ayyn al-Tawd.
4
Al-Thalib compiled accounts from individu-
als at Ibn Abbds court, and his work was shaped in part by several individuals known to
have been close to the famed vizier. By contrast, the majority of al-Tawds reports about
Ibn Abbd issue from a single work produced during the years (367370/977980) that he
spent at the viziers court in Rayy.
5
Al-Tawd wrote Akhlq al-wazrayn with the intention
to defame Ibn Abbd when he was in Baghdad at the court of the Byid vizier Ibn Sadn
sometime before the year 373/983, while Ibn Abbd was still a major political fgure.
6
Although there has been research on various aspects of Ibn Abbds literary and intellec-
tual contributions, there are no systematic treatments that compile and corroborate accounts
from the large variety of historical and literary sources relating to his life.
7
This article aims
to provide a detailed account of Ibn Abbds origins, education, rise to power as the Byid
vizier of Rayy, and subsequent career as vizier.
3. Al-Rghib al-Ifahn, Muart al-udab wa-muwart al-shuar wa-l-bulagh, ed. A. Murd (Bei-
rut: Dr dir, 2006); Yqt al-amaw, Mujam al-udab, ed. I. Abbs (Beirut: Dr al-Gharb al-Islm, 1993).
4. For an excellent overview of al-Thalibs works, see Bilal Orfali, The Works of Ab Manr al-Thalib
(350429/9611039), Journal of Arabic Literature 40 (2009): 271318.
5. Al-Tawd, Akhlq al-wazrayn, ed. M. al-anj (Beirut: Dr dir, 1992).
6. For a comparison of the views of al-Thalib and al-Tawd on Ibn Abbd, see Maurice Pomerantz, Rayn
f wazr al-buwayhiyyn al-ib ibn Abbd, al-Mashriq 86,1 (2012): 195210.
7. Charles Pellat, Al-ib b. Abbd, in The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature: Abbsid Belles-Lettres,
ed. J. Ashtiany et al. (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1990), 96111, is a useful introduction to Ibn Abbds
works in English; see also Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Edition (henceforth, EI2), s.v. Ibn Abbd (Cl. Cahen and
Ch. Pellat), 3: 671; Joel L. Kraemer, Humanism in the Renaissance of Islam (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1986); Badaw
abbna, al-ib ibn Abbd: Al-wazr, al-adb, al-lim (Cairo: al-Muassasa al-Miriyya al-mma, 1964); M. l
Ysn, Al-ib ibn Abbd: aytuhu wa-adabuhu (Baghdad: Mabaat al-Marif, 1957). For a comprehensive
overview of the literature on Ibn Abbd, see Mohammad Rea Zdhsh, Rhnamy-e mualiah dar bra-i hib
ibn Abbd Ifahn (326385 A.H.), in Nuskha pazhuh, ed. Ab l-Fal Bbul (Qom: Muassasa-i Iilrasn-i
Islm-i Marji, 2005), 33580. On the literary court of Ibn Abbd, see Erez Naaman, Literature and Literary
People at the Court of al-ib Ibn Abbd, Ph.D. diss., Harvard Univ., 2009.
Fig. 1. The Byid dynasty during the life of Ibn Abbd (d. 385/995)
Buya
Imd al-Dawla Rukn al-Dawla Muizz al-Dawla
(r. 322338/932948) (r. 329966/939976) (r. 334356/945967)
Aud al-Dawla Fakhr al-Dawla Muayyid al-Dawla Izz al-Dawla
(r. 338372/948983) (r. 373387/983997) (r. 366373/976983) (r. 356367/966978)
Sharaf al-Dawla amm al-Dawla Bah al-Dawla
(r. 372379/982989) (r. 372380/982990) (r. 379388/989998)
3 POMERANTZ: A Political Biography of al-ib Isml b. Abbd
BIRTH, FAMILY, AND EARLY EDUCATION OF ISML B. ABBD
Ibn Abbd was born on 16 Dh l-Qada 326/14 September 938 in western Iran.
8
There
is much confusion in the sources over the origins of his nisba al-Tlaqn. Most scholars,
medieval and modern, believe that it referred to the city of laqn located near the source of
the river Shhrdh, in the vicinity of Qazvn, distinguishing it from the city of the same name
in Khursn.
9
Many scholars seem to prefer this explanation of Ibn Abbds origin because
it provides a geographical connection to the Daylam amrs. However, al-Thalib states that
he was from a town called laqn in the vicinity of Ifahn,
10
for which there is evidence in
support, viz., Ibn Abbd chose Ifahn as the location for his own burial, eschewing Rayy,
which had been his place of residence for the previous two decades, and he often voiced his
attachments to the city of Ifahn in ways that suggest it was his city of birth.
11
It is pos-
sible that the nisba relates to his family members having lived in the village of laqnchah,
located approximately twenty miles to the south of Ifahn.
12
Ibn Abbd must have spent his early years in western Iran. Although details of the rise of
the family to prominence in Ifahn are unknown,
13
his grandfather, Abbs b. Abbd (d. ca.
end of the third/ninth century), seems to have been one of its small cadre of local ofcials;
14

and his father, Ab l-asan Abbd b. Abbs (d. 335/946), was an important bureaucrat and
scholar there, who in his youth traveled to Baghdad to further his education. There he studied
the Quran and important anaf texts with some of the citys most renowned savants.
15
Among
his teachers was Ab Khalfa al-Fal b. al-ubb al-Juma (d. 305/916-7), a noted littra-
teur, traditionist, and theologian of Bara.
16
After he returned from Baghdad Abbd devoted
8. On the problems of establishing his date of birth, see l Ysn, al-ib ibn Abbd, 1215. For the birth
date of 16 Dh l-Qada 326, see al-Tawd, Akhlq al-wazrayn, 12627.
9. See al-Tawd, Akhlq al-wazrayn, 82, where the father of Ibn Abbd is said to have been a teacher
(mualliman) in one of the towns (min qur) of laqn al-Daylam. On this town, see EI2, s.v. lan (C. E.
Bosworth and J. L. Lee), 10: 157; al-Muqaddas, Asan al-taqsm f marifat al-aqlm, ed. M. de Goeje (Leiden:
E. J. Brill, 1906), 360; Ibn Khurraddhbih, al-Maslik wa-l-mamlik, ed. M. de Goeje (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1889),
175, where the city is described as laqn al-Rayy.
10. Al-Thalib, Yatmat al-dahr, ed. M. Abd al-amd (Cairo: Mabaat al-Sada, 1956), 3: 237.
11. See Mfarrkh, Kitb-i Masin-i Ifahn (Tehran: Mabaat-i Majlis-i Mill, 1933), 13, written after
Muayyid al-Dawlas conquest of Jurjn in 371/981: O Ifahn, may you be watered by rain by proximity, for
you are the meeting place for my desires and my homes (y Ifahnu suqt l-ghaytha min kathabin fa-anti
majmau awr wa-awn). The same poem is also found in a letter of Ibn Abbd (Rasil al-ib ibn Abbd,
ed. Abd al-Wahhb Azzm and Shawq ayf [Cairo: Dr al-Fikr al-Arab, 1947], 144), written upon the passing
of Ab l-Qsim Al b. Amad al-arwayn (?). The vizier also had a home in Ifahn: Yqt al-amaw (Mujam
al-udab, 2: 704) records a poem that the Ifahn poet Ab l-Qsim b. Ab l-Al related on the authority of Hill
b. al-Muassin al-bi describing the home of Ibn Abbd near bb al-dhriya in that city.
12. Amad Bahmanyr, Shar-i awl va-asr-i ib ibn-i Abbd (Tehran: Dnishgh-i Tehran, 1965), 3536.
13. From Ibn Abbds lineage it is possible to trace six generations back to Idrs, who appears to have been the
frst of the clan to convert to Islam in the middle of the third/ninth century. Ab Nuaym al-Ifahn, Kitb Dhikr
akhbr Ibahn, ed. S. Dedering (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1934), 2: 138.
14. See al-Thalib, Yatmat al-dahr, 3: 190, where this is suggested in a poem by the Ifahn poet Ab Sad
al-Rustam (d. end of the fourth/tenth century). Likewise Ibn Abbd stated that his grandfather was the source of
the wealth that he spent on ahl al-ilm; see Ibn al-Jawz, al-Muntaam f trkh al-umam wa-l-mulk, ed. N. Zarzr
(Beirut: Dr al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya, 1992), 14: 376.
15. For a list of those with whom Abbd studied in Baghdad, see al-Samn, al-Ansb, ed. A. al-Yamn
(Hyderabad: Mabaat Majlis Dirat al-Marif al-Uthmniyya, 1978), 9: 11.
16. Al-Juma was a nephew of the scholar Muammad b. Sallm al-Juma (d. 232/846-7); see Yqt, Mujam
al-udab, 5: 217277; Ibn al-Nadm, al-Fihrist, 126. It is likely that he was a Mutazil. He related poetry in
the presence of the famed Mutazil scholar Ab Al al-Jubb (d. 303/915), met his son Ab Hshim al-Jubb
(d. 321/932-3), and debated with the Mutazil scholar Ab Umar Sad b. Muammad al-Bhil (d. 300/912); see
Abd al-Jabbr al-Hamadhn, Kitb Fal al-itizl wa-abaqt al-mutazila, 29394, 310, and al-Jishum, Shar
himself further to religious study. Known as al-shaykh al-amn (the trusted shaykh), Abbd
was a well-respected member of the majority anaf madhhab in Ifahn.
17
Similarly to many
scholars who followed the anaf school at this time, Abbd favored the free-will theolog-
ical doctrines of the Mutazila,
18
authoring a worknow lostthat championed them. The
work on the rulings (akm) of the Quranin which discipline Abbd was examined by the
famed adth scholar Ab l-Shaykh (d. 369/980)
19
was apparently of such great value that
Ibn Abbd was reported to have a copy in his library, praised by all who saw it. Abbd also
believed in the excellence and precedence of the family of Al b. Ab lib, leading some to
surmise that he was a Zayd Shiite.
20
When the Byid amr Rukn al-Dawla entered Ifahn in 323/934,
21
he chose Abbd as
his vizier on account of his administrative skills. Abbd proved himself to be a valuable asset
to the Byid government of central Iran, achieving such a level of refnement in the scribal
arts that Yqt mentions that certain letters and correspondence (muktabt wa-mursalt)
between him and the q of Rmhurmuz, al-asan b. Abd al-Ramn b. ammd, were
well known and recorded (madhkra wa-mudawwana).
22
Scholars of the next genera-
tion recalled Abbd as one of the most exceptional people of his time [on account of his]
knowledge, piety, abstemiousness, grace, and perfection [as well as] trustworthiness, resolve,
savvy, and competence.
23
When Abbd died in 335/946 it was said that the entire city of
Qumm mourned his loss.
24
Ibn Abbd revered his father and looked to him as a model of both leadership and piety.
Literature from his court written between the years 360385/970995 refers to his relation-
ship with his father on several occasions. For example, the courtier and poet Ibn Bbak
(d. 410/1020) reported that Ibn Abbd said, I was not so pleased with any poets work so
much as with that which the poet Ab Sad al-Rustam al-Ifahn said: He [Ibn Abbd]
Uyn al-masil, 304, both in Fal al-itizl wa-abaqt al-mutazila, ed. F. Sayyid (Tunis: al-Dr al-Tnisiyya
li-l-Nashr, 1974).
17. Abd al-Qdir al-Qarash, al-Jawhir al-muiyya f abaqt al-anayya, ed. M. al-ulw (Giza: Muassasat
al-Risla, 1993), 3: 286. On the spread of the anaf madhhab in western Iran, see Nurit Tsafrir, The History of
an Islamic School of Law (Cambridge, Mass.: Islamic Legal Studies Program, Harvard Law School, 2004), 6176.
18. Al-Samn, al-Ansb, 9: 11.
19. Ab l-Shaykh was an expert in akm al-Qurn; al-Ifahn, Kitb Dhikr akhbr Ibahn, 2: 138. The
expression for the examination (yukharriju lahu) is explained in Richard W. Bulliet, The Patricians of Nishapur: A
Study in Medieval Social History (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, 1972), 56.
20. Al-Tawd, Akhlq al-wazrayn, 82: He used to champion the madhhab of al-Ushnn in piety and desiring
proximity to his Lord (al-amn kna yanuru madhhab al-Ushnn tadayyunan wa-alaban li-l-zulf inda rabbihi).
According to the editor of Akhlq al-wazrayn, M. al-anj (p. 82 n. 3), this was Ab l-usayn Umar b. al-asan
b. Mlik al-Shaybn al-Ushnn (d. 338/949), citing Ibn al-Nadm (al-Fihrist, 127), who records the titles of three
works by al-Ushnn afrming that he was a Zayd Shiite: Kitb Maqtal Zayd ibn Al, Kitb Maqtal usayn ibn
Al, and Kitb Fail amr al-muminn (i.e., Al b. Ab lib). Although these works are presumed to be lost,
quotations from them have passed into the Zayd tradition. See, for example, al-Murshid bi-llh (d. 479/1086), Kitb
al-Aml (Beirut: lam al-Kitb, 1983), 133, 135, 137, 153, 154.
21. Miskawayh (Tajrib al-umam, 1: 296) dates the seizure of Ifahn to the following year.
22. Yqt, Mujam al-udab, 2: 663.
23. Al-Qumm, Kitb-i Trkh-i Qumm, ed. J. al-ihrn (Tehran: Mabaat-i Majlis, 1934), 9. Al-Qumm cred-
its Abbd with the restoration of fscal order in the year 335/946-7, following the predatory tax collection of the
Daylam chieftains. In An Account of the Trkhi Qumm (Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies
12 [1948], 594), Ann K. S. Lambton incorrectly attributes the action to Ibn Abbd, who would have been only nine
years of age.
24. Al-Qumm, Kitb-i Trkh-i Qumm, 9.
inherited the vizierate from one great man to the next (waritha l-wizrata kbiran an
kbirin). . . .
25
In the years following his fathers death, Ibn Abbd, his mother, and possibly one sis-
ter remained resident in Ifahn, living from the inheritance that Abbd had bequeathed to
them.
26
One account relating to this period reported that when Ibn Abbd desired to go to
study at the mosque, his mother would give him one dinar and one dirham for him to donate
to the frst poor person that he met along his route.
27
Ibn Abbd must have learned to speak Persian as a child and he developed in this lan-
guage a refned sensitivity that he displayed on occasion later in life at his court.
28
However,
Ibn Abbd also received education in the Arabic language and spoke this language with
fuency as well. In his childhood Ibn Abbd related adth and other historical and literary
reports from his father.
In Ifahn Ibn Abbd attended the study circle of the local teacher Ab Amr al-abbgh.
29

It is reported that discord soon arose between teacher and student such that one day Ibn
Abbd departed in anger from one of his lessons. He then allegedly wrote the following lines
and sent them to his teacher:
You entrusted me with knowledge,
so you know how many a tongue harmed a vulnerable body part!
And if you taught me coarsely,
the sword will not [forever] remain with the polisher!
30
According to al-Rghib al-Ifahn, these words came to the attention of the local man of
letters Ab l-usayn Amad b. Sad. Astonished by Ibn Abbds poetic skill he reproduced
the verses, adding, a man of eighty has recorded the poetry of a ten-year-old! He then
recited Q 19:12, We have given him wisdom even as a boy. Perhaps because he saw Ibn
Abbds promise, Amad b. Sad hoped to cultivate his talents efectively, and since he had
previously worked in the citys dwn, his support may have helped Ibn Abbd attain his
frst administrative appointment.
31
Ibn Abbd began to receive training in the basic skills
of an administrator, such as letter-writing and accounting, and was appointed scribe in the
26. For a reference to Ibn Abbds sister, see Ab Bakr al-Kh
w
razm, Rasil (Istanbul: Mabaat al-Jawib,
1880), 82. Her death must have occurred shortly after the year 367/977. For Ibn Abbds private inheritance from
his father and grandfather, see al-afad, Kitb al-Wf bi-l-wafayt, vol. 9, ed. J. van Ess (Wiesbaden: Franz
Steiner, 1973), 128.
27. Al-afad, al-Wf bi-l-wafayt, 9: 129.
28. See al-Awf, Lubb al-albb (ed. E. G. Browne [Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1903]), 1: 18 for odes written to Ibn
Abbd in Persian by the poet Manr b. Al al-Maniq. On Ibn Abbds patronage of al-Maniq and Persian poets
in general, see E. G. Browne, A Literary History of Persia (London: T. F. Unwin, 1906; repr. Bethesda, Md.: Iran-
books, 1997), 1: 453, 463.
29. Al-Rghib al-Ifahn, Muart al-udab, 1: 114. See also EI2, s.v. al-Rghib al-Ifahn (E. K. Row-
son), 8: 389.
30. Al-Rghib al-Ifahn, Muart al-udab, 1: 156:
Awdatan l-ilma fa-l tajhal
kam miqwalin yajn al l-maqtal
wa-anta in allamtan sqatan
wa-l-sayfu l yabq al l-ayqal
31. According to amza l-Ifahn (d. before 360/970), Amad b. Sad was appointed tax collector of the city
of Ifahn in 321/932; Yqt, Mujam al-udab, 1: 263. As in other major cities of Byid Iran, younger members
of Ifahns prominent families (ahl al-buytt) often received their ofces through familial connections. See,
for example, al-Iakhr, Maslik al-mamlik, ed. M. J. de Goeje (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1927), 147. For discussion
dwn of Ifahn. There he became the protg (ana
32
) of the Byid vizier Ab l-Fal
Muammad b. al-usayn Ibn al-Amd, who like Ibn Abbd gained his position by virtue
of the proximity of his father to the Daylam soldiers of fortune who frst established Byid
control over western Iran.
33
Ab l-Fal served for seven years in Ifahn as a subordinate to Ibn Abbds father. After
Abbds death he became sole vizier for Rukn al-Dawla in Ifahn.
34
Ab l-Fal was an
impressive fgure, learned and accomplished in many felds.
35
In addition to being a states-
man, he was a poet, belletrist, patron, and scholar. In a poem of praise that Ibn Abbd recited
before his master Ab l-Fal, written early in their relationship, he expressed joy at having
been included in the viziers retinue.
Indeed, how many a man is jealous of me whom I used to envy
now says out of his anger and his pain,
Ibn Abbd attained all of his hopes
When Ibn al-Amd counted him among his servants!
36
IBN ABBD STUDIES IN RAYY WITH AB L-FAL IBN AL-AMD
During the period that Ibn Abbd was his apprentice, Ab l-Fal extended Byid rule
northwards from Ifahn in the direction of the Caspian Sea. As a result of numerous mili-
tary successes, Rayy replaced Ifahn as the central court of the Byids in the year 335/946,
and the city soon became a chief Byid stronghold in western Iran as well as an important
capital of the Islamic world.
37
Shortly after Ab l-Fal moved to the new capital with Rukn al-Dawla, Ibn Abbd
appears to have gone to Rayy for further study and training as a scribe (ktib). With Ab
l-Fal he studied the so-called Arabic sciences. Filled with admiration for the viziers mas-
tery of Arabic, he seems to have modeled himself to some degree on Ab l-Fals depth and
breadth of linguistic knowledge.
38
of a comparable situation in the chancery of Baghdad, see Dominique Sourdel, Le Vizirat abbside de 749 936
(Damascus: Institut Franais de Damas, 19591960), 2: 569.
32. For the term ana, translated above and elsewhere in this study as protg, see Roy Mottahedeh, Loyalty
and Leadership in an Early Islamic Society (Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1980), 8283.
33. Al-Tawd, Akhlq al-wazrayn, 360: His grandfather [i.e., of Ab l-Fal], despite all of this, was a nobody
(sqi) who was nicknamed Kulah (kulah). It was a metaphor for something disgusting according to his assertion.
He was a date-palm seller in the market of the wheat sellers, or a porter, or one who prepared the grains for sale. He
used to guard the marketplace at night. Al-Thalib (Yatmat al-dahr, 3: 156) cites poetry in which kulah clearly
referred to Ab l-Fals father, al-usayn b. Muammad, and not his grandfather.
34. Ibn al-Athr, al-Kmil f l-trkh, ed. C. Tornberg (Beirut: Dr adir, 1967), 8: 606. There is a discrepancy
concerning the date of Ab l-Fals accession to the vizierate of Rayy. While Ibn al-Athr states that it took place in
328, following the death of Ab Abd Allh al-Qumm, in his death notice of Ab l-Fal he indicates that the begin-
ning of Ab l-Fals vizierate was in 336. Since Abbd died in 335, the later date would appear to be more plausible.
35. For Ab l-Fal, see H. Amedroz, The Vizier Abu-l-Fal Ibn al-Amd from the Tajrib al-Umam of Abu
Al Miskawaih, Der Islam 3 (1912): 32351; K. Mardam Bek, Ibn al-Amd (Damascus: n.p., 1931); M. Fzil,
Ibn al-Amd va-athr-i , Revue de la Facult des Lettres et Sciences Humaines de lUniversit Ferdowsi Mach-
had 9 (1973): 44670; Kraemer, Humanism in the Renaissance of Islam, 24159; Hans Daiber, Naturwissenschaft
bei den Arabern im 10. Jahrhundert n. Chr.: Briefe des Ab l-Fal ibn al-Amd (gest. 360/970) an Audaddaula
(Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1993), 116.
36. Al-Thalib, Yatmat al-dahr, 3: 157.
37. For a detailed account of the city of Rayy, utilizing both literary and numismatic evidence, see George C.
Miles, The Numismatic History of Rayy (New York: American Numismatic Society, 1938), 14960.
38. For a guide to the division and extent of essential knowledge required of a secretary in the middle of the
fourth/tenth century at another court of the Islamic east, see al-Kh
w
razm, Maft al-ulm, ed. G. van Vloten
(Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1895).
One of Ab l-Fals areas of distinction was an astonishing capacity to memorize poetry.
His courtier, the famed historian and philosopher Ab Al Miskawayh (d. 421/1030), states
that in seven years of being the viziers closest confdant, he never heard him recite a line of
poetry for which he had not learned the poets entire corpus (dwn) by heart.
39
Ibn Abbd
might have been encouraged by this to further refne his innate talent and knowledge of
Arabic poetry.
40
In the area of poetic criticism, too, Ab l-Fal was infuential. Ibn Abbd would say later
that while he had studied with all of the greatest grammarians of Ifahn, Rayy, and Baghdad,
he had benefted most from the knowledge that he acquired from his master Ab l-Fal.
41

Indeed, many of Ibn Abbds writings concerning poetry betray knowledge that he must
have frst gained from Ab l-Fal.
42
In his work al-Kashf an maswi shir al-Mutanabb,
Ibn Abbd said of his former mentor: I have never seen anyone who knows poetry as it
ought to be known and criticizes it as it ought to be done as al-ustdh al-ras Ab l-Fal
Ibn al-Amd.
43
Ab l-Fal also provided Ibn Abbd with his earliest model for prose composition. As
a scribe in his court, Ibn Abbd would have studied the letters of Ab l-Fal along with
other exemplars of artistic prose from famed viziers of the Umayyad and Abbsid periods.
A collection of 207 choice examples (ful) from Ibn Abbds early letters demonstrates
the extent to which he had mastered from a young age many of the conventions of courtly
writing.
44
Despite much evidence for Ibn Abbds study of Arabic language and literature with Ab
l-Fal, there is a surprising lack of information about his studies in the so-called foreign sci-
ences.
45
One of the great polymathic minds of his era, Ab l-Fal was a passionate devotee
of all of the branches of Greek sciences, from philosophy, science, astronomy, and medicine
to the mechanics of siege engines, and had attained notoriety for his knowledge of them;
46

under his patronage Rayy reached its zenith as a center of study in many of these felds.
47

39. Miskawayh, Tajrib al-umam, 2: 286.
40. For an indication of the depth of Ibn Abbds knowledge of pre-Islamic poetry and lore, see al-Brn,
Chronologie orientalischer Vlker, ed. C. E. Sachau (Leipzig: Harrassowitz, 1923), 6162, where he versifed a
list of the archaic names of the Arabian months in chronological order. See also Yqt, Mujam al-udab, 4: 1708,
for Ibn Abbds esteem for Ab l-Faraj al-Ifahns (d. 356/968 or 362/972) collection of poetry: My shelves
(khazin) contain over 206,000 volumes (mujallad). But there are none that is my nightly companion (samr) as
[the Kitb al-Aghn] and none that pleases me as much as it.
41. Al-Amd, al-Ibna an sariqt al-Mutanabb, ed. Ibrhm al-Bis (Cairo: Dr al-Marif, 1961), 223.
42. For an example of Ibn Abbds critical evaluation of the contemporary poets Ab Sad b. al-Rustam and
Ab l-asan Al b. Muammad al-Badh, see al-Thalib, Yatmat al-dahr, 3: 301, 339.
43. In al-Amd, al-Ibna an sariqt al-Mutanabb, 223. If this statement was made during the lifetime of Ab
l-Fal (viz., prior to the year 360/970), then Ibn Abbd was younger than ffteen when he began his study with Ab
l-Fal.
44. Ibn Abbd, al-Ful al-adabiyya wa-l-mursalt al-Abbdiyya, ed. M. l Ysn (Damascus: Manshrt
Wizrat al-Thaqfa wa-l-Irshd al-Qawm, 1982).
45. For this distinction, see al-Kh
w
razm, Maft al-ulm, 5.
46. See Kraemer, Humanism in the Renaissance of Islam, 24749. His mind was even occupied by musical
theory although he apparently knew nothing about its practice; al-Tawd, Akhlq al-wazrayn, 328. For an anec-
dote involving the removal of a large tree from the ground illustrating the viziers knowledge of simple mechanics,
see al-Hamadhn, Takmilat trkh al-abar, ed. A. Kann (Beirut: al-Mabaa al-Kthlkiyya, 1961), 207.
47. Astronomical observations were conducted by Ab Jafar al-Khzin (d. 350/971) and his protg Ab
l-Fal al-Haraw. For biographies of the former assessing his scientifc contributions, see his entries in EI2, 4: 1182
(J. Sams) and EIr, 1: 32627 (D. Pingree). Cf. F. Sezgin, Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums (Leiden: Brill,
19671984) (henceforth, GAS), 5: 298. For al-Haraw, see GAS, 4: 218. Logic and geometry were also important at
the court of Ab l-Fal. In these felds studies were guided by the poet and logician Ibn Ab l-Thiyb al-Baghdd
In addition to engaging in disputation with scholars and experts, Ab l-Fal also appears to
have taught many of these disciplines at his court, and by the time Ibn Abbd arrived he had
already provided some instruction in many of these subjects to the young Byid amr Aud
al-Dawla (d. 372/982) in Shrz.
48
Miskawayh reports that Aud al-Dawla was so impressed
with the viziers knowledge and tuition that he referred to him as ustdh throughout the
remainder of his life.
49
Although surrounded by such intellectual activity Ibn Abbd does not appear to have
devoted his energies in the study of philosophy and the foreign sciences during his time in
Rayy. One wonders whether his early sense of identity with the rationalist theology of the
Mutazila, whose followers often displayed a distinct hostility to certain aspects of the philo-
sophical canon, gave him a distaste for the foreign sciences. Moreover, in addition to provid-
ing him with an education Ibn Abbds experiences in Rayy shaped his ideas concerning a
vizier and his court. Ab l-Fals notion of the court as a place of serious intellectual inquiry
was perhaps the most important lesson that Ibn Abbd learned from him.
IBN ABBD AS SCRIBE AND SCHOLAR IN BAGHDAD
When Ibn Abbd reached the age of twenty Ab l-Fal gave him his frst important task.
Demonstrating his faith in his capacities he selected him to accompany the son of Rukn
al-Dawla, Ab Manr Bya, the future Muayyid al-Dawla, and his vizier, Ab Al b. Ab
l-Fal al-Qshn, to Baghdad as a scribe (al sabl al-tarassul).
50
The embassys purpose
was the marriage of Ab Manr Bya to the daughter of Muizz al-Dawla, which provided
an important connection between the two branches of Byid rulers.
In addition to being a sign of his increased status Ibn Abbds visit to Baghdad provided
him with an opportunity to meet many of the renowned scholars of the great city, and to
explore new topics with which he was eager to acquaint himself. He recorded his experiences
in Baghdad in al-Rznmaja (The Diary) that he later sent to Ab l-Fal in Rayy.
51
If extant
portions of al-Rznmaja provide any guide to the contents and scope of the original work,
Ibn Abbd devoted most of his writing to a description of occasions spent in the presence
(d. end of the fourth/tenth century) and the mathematician Ab Ysuf al-Rz (fourth/tenth century), for whom see
al-Tawd, Akhlq al-wazrayn, 347; GAS, 4: 300. Ab l-Fal also sponsored the collation and editing of the impor-
tant medical compilation al-w l-ibb authored by Ab Bakr Muammad b. Zakariyy al-Rz (d. 323/935),
the famed physician and philosopher of Rayy (ed. Hyderabad: Mabaat Majlis Dirat al-Marif al-Uthmniyya,
1955). For two general accounts of al-Rzs impressive scientifc and intellectual contributions, see his entry in EI2,
8: 474 (L. Goodman) and M. Mohaghegh, Faylasf-i Rayy: Muammad ibn Zakariyy al-Rz (Tehran: Silsila-yi
Intishrt-i thr-i Mill, 1973).
48. Eight extant letters of Ab l-Fal to the amr attest to the viziers continued encouragement of Aud al-
Dawlas education in meteorology, physics, cosmology, mechanics, and psychology. See Daiber, Naturwissenschaft
bei den Arabern, 116.
50. Ibn al-Jawz (Mirt al-zamn f tarkh al-ayn, ed. H. al-Hamawnd [Baghdad: al-Dr al-Waaniyya,
1990], 100) dates the wedding to 2 Jumd I 347/22 July 958.
51. Fragments of the Rznmaja are preserved in eleven excerpts in the frst three volumes of the Yatmat al-
dahr. The text of all of the fragments was collected and published in reconstructed order in Ibn Abbd, al-Rznmaja,
ed. M. l Ysn (Baghdad: Dr al-Marif li-l-Talf wa-l-Tarjama wa-l-Nashr, 1958). According to al-Kh
w
razm
(Maft al-ulm, 54), the term rznmaja (N. Pers. rznma) was in use in the dwns of Bukhr. In later medi-
eval Persian the word was also used for the written record of the events in the court of a ruler; asan Anvr, ed.,
Farhang-i buzurg-i Sukhan (Tehran: Sukhan, 2002), 4: 3730, citing Nim al-Mulk, Guzdah-i siysatnma (ed. J.
Shar [Tehran: Qara, 1994], 60).
of Ab Muammad al-Muhallab (d. 352/963), the vizier of the amr of Baghdad, Muizz al-
Dawla.
52
The vizier was one of the most powerful men in the Byid administration, having
acted as the sole administrator of the afairs of Muizz al-Dawla since the year 339/949, and
had already made a name for himself in the capital of the Abbsids. In the opening sections
of al-Rznmaja Ibn Abbd intimated to Ab l-Fal that al-Muhallab had shown him every
kindness during his stay in Baghdad, and then related the details of pleasant evenings spent
in his company with enthusiasm. The fgure of al-Muhallab and his cultivated manner seem
to have greatly appealed to Ibn Abbdhe wrote that through all of the elaborate ceremony
he saw the excellence of his [al-Muhallabs] court and the charm of his literary culture.
53
Ibn Abbd also described the details of the literary exchanges between himself and
al-Muhallab, highlighting his own literary performance for his mentor in Rayy. Focusing
on the courtly setting Ibn Abbd related that during his frst evening with al-Muhallab the
vizier recited lines of the poet al-anawbar (d. 334/945) and poets contemporary to him,
which Ibn Abbd said gladdened the time and was gently received by the soul.
54
At the
end of the meeting al-Muhallab recited some of his own verses. The following day Ibn
Abbd responded with elegiac lines of his own, describing his longing for the viziers idyllic
court.
55
Already at this young age Ibn Abbd appears not only as a sensitive critic of court
manners but also as a competent performer of the complex rituals of the court.
In addition to a description of his performances in court Ibn Abbds narratives in
al-Rznmaja also reveal a twenty-year-old possessed of signifcant intellectual depth and
maturity. At a time when he was probably burdened with numerous scribal tasks in Bagh-
dad, he nevertheless sought out several important scholars such as Ab Bakr Muammad b.
al-asan b. Miqsam (d. 354/965) and Ab Bakr Amad b. Kmil (d. 350/961) in order to ben-
eft from their knowledge. Clearly he appreciated the value of such scholars rare learning.
56
Ibn Abbd was not so single-mindedly devoted to his work and studies that he failed
to notice the trends occurring around him. For example, he reported to Ab l-Fal that the
bands of youths in the city of Baghdad (adth Baghdd) were constantly extolling the
reputation of the Suf shaykh Ab l-ayyn Ibn S(h)amn (d. 387/997). Ibn Abbd then
desired to meet this renowned anbal mystic and hear his lessons.
57
An ardent opponent of
what he perceived as the irrational speech of such preachers, Ibn Abbd asked Ibn Samn a
52. For al-Muhallab, see EI2, 7: 358 (K. V. Zettersten and C. E. Bosworth); J. Donohue, The Buwayhid
Dynasty in Iraq (Leiden: Brill, 2003), 13848; EIr, s.v. Mohallabi, Abu Moammad (Maurice Pomerantz).
53. Al-Thalib, Yatmat al-dahr, 2: 227: usn majlisihi wa-khifat r adabihi.
54. Al-Thalib, Yatmat al-dahr, 2: 227: m ba bihi al-waqt wa-hashshat lahu al-nafs.
56. Ibn Miqsam was one of the last students of the famed Kfan grammarian Ab l-Abbs Thalab (d. 291/902)
alive in Baghdad at the time. Ibn Abbd must have considered himself fortunate to relate traditions from him; Yqt,
Mujam al-udab, 5: 2503. Amad b. Kmil was a companion of the great historian and early adherent of the school
of Muammad b. Jarr al-abar (d. 310/921). From this learned scholar Ibn Abbd could have learned adth, qh,
and grammatical traditions of both the Kfan and Baran schools. It was also from him that Ibn Abbd appears to
have related the works of the courtier Ab l-Ayn (d. 282/895); Ibn al-Nadm, al-Fihrist, 35.
57. Ibn al-Khab (Trkh al-Baghdd, 1: 27478) gives evidence of his wondrous deeds (karmt) as well as
sayings ascribed to him. For an interesting description of Ibn Samns political role in opposition to the Byids, see
Louis Massignon, The Passion of al-Hallj: Mystic and Martyr of Islam, tr. H. Mason (Princeton: Princeton Univ.
Press, 1984), 2: 13435. According to Massignon, who utilized Ibn Samns unpublished dictations (aml), Ibn
Samn acted in opposition to the rule of the Shiite dynasty of the Byids during both of Aud al-Dawlas entries
into the city in 364/974 and 367/978. Well known apparently to the Byid authorities were his recitations on the
martyrdom of al-allj (d. 309/922) at the hands of the political authorities of his day, preserving the great mystics
legacy as a symbol of opposition to the government. See also Kraemer, Humanism in the Renaissance of Islam, 17.
question so that he might confound him.
58
He asked, O shaykh, what do you say about the
things that might happen in knowledge (f qad sayakniyyt al-ilm) if they occurred prior
to [their] imagining? Apparently the old man sat for a while with his head lowered, for the
question raised was clearly something he had not heard of before. Then he said, I did not
delay answering your question on account of incapacity; rather, instead, to make you thirst
for a response. Then according to Ibn Abbd, he began to madly babble (akhadha f arb
min al-hadhayn). When he was fnally quiet, Ibn Abbd said, That [answer was about]
what came after imagining (tawahhum); I asked about what was before it! While this cer-
tainly did not reveal a generous impulse in his character, it showed that he already possessed
enough intellectual confdence to allow him to provoke controversy in a large meeting of
scholars of a very diferent orientation from his own.
It was at this time in Baghdad as well that Ibn Abbd frst became acquainted with Bagh-
dads underworld poetry.
59
He reported his discovery of the poet al-Anaf al-Ukbar to Ab
l-Fal with excitement, transcribing one of his poems for him. Al-Ukbars poem described
the underworld lives of rogues and robbers, the so-called Ban Ssn, with great humor
and spirit. Here Ibn Abbds lifelong fascination with the poetry, speech, and dialect of the
underworld might have begun.
60
Al-Rznmaja reveals that Ibn Abbd had become a refned courtier, able student, and
perceptive observer of local customs. However, his descriptions also bear witness to the fact
that his scant years had not yet taught him restraint in his criticism of others. The frst target
of his pen was the seventy-one-year-old poet Al b. Hrn b. al-Munajjim (d. 352/963), the
last in a line of courtiers whose illustrious service began at the early days of the Abbsid
dynasty.
61
In al-Rznmaja, Ibn Abbd mocked the vacuous pride of the venerable poets
manner of poetic recitation before al-Muhallab.
62
With great sarcasm he recounted to Ab
l-Fal how he was rebufed without warrant by this poet, who demonstrated nothing but false
learning and inordinate pride in his ancestry.
63
Even in his account of the famed grammarian
Ab Sad al-asan b. Muammad al-Srf (d. 368/978), Ibn Abbd was unkind. At the time
of Ibn Abbds visit al-Srf had earned a reputation throughout the Islamic world for his
mastery of Arabic language and grammar.
64
After frst praising the ffty-year-old scholar for
being singular in literary cultivation and having a great share of the ancient sciences (fard
al-adab wa-usn al-taarruf wa-wr al-a min ulm al-awil), Ibn Abbd then related
how his own knowledge of certain matters of grammar and lexicography had impressed Ab
Sad himself.
65
According to his description, his mastery of grammar had even caused ten-
sion between the two of them, which was only resolved by recourse to the opinions of other
58. Yqt, Mujam al-udab, 2: 701. Ibn Samn was later taken as model of eloquence in preaching by Ab
l-Qsim al-arr (d. 515/1122) in his al-Maqma al-rziyya; al-arr, Maqmt al-arr (Beirut: Dr dir,
n.d.), 176.
60. Ibid., 11718. For a translation of the episode, see C. E. Bosworth, The Mediaeval Islamic Underworld: The
Ban Ssn in Arabic Society and Literature (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1976), 1: 63. Al-Ukbars al-qada al-ssniyya
concerning the underworld served as the model for Ab Dulaf al-Khazraj. For Ibn Abbds later expressions of
interest in the poetry of the Ban Ssn, see al-Thalib, Yatmat al-dahr, 3: 353.
61. See EI2, 7: 558 (M. Fleischhammer) for the history of this important family.
64. For a biography of al-Srf, see EI2, 9: 668 (G. Humbert).
scholars.
66
According to Ibn Abbd, those scholars decided the point of contention in his
favor.
To contemporaries al-Rznmaja appeared to be the product of juvenile sensibility.
Indeed, when scholars learned of the boasts that Ibn Abbd committed to writing, they were
appalled at his wanton display of pride. Ab ayyn al-Tawd, himself a former student
and great admirer of al-Srf, reports from a disapproving courtier, al-Musayyib, that Ibn
Abbd boasted that al-Muhallab was astonished by me, Muizz al-Dawla knew my grace
and cultivation such that he reached the most extreme limit in praising me.
67
Al-Tawd
likewise recounts objections voiced against Ibn Abbd from another courtier, al-Khatham,
who parodied his specious claims of intellectual supremacy in al-Rznmaja.
68
Thus, it
seems al-Rznmaja did little to promote Ibn Abbds reputation within the learned classes
of Rayy or Baghdad as he perhaps had wished.
RIVALRY WITH AB L-FAT FOR SUCCESSION TO THE VIZIERATE OF RAYY
After the marriage of Muayyid al-Dawla in Baghdad Ibn Abbd returned with the
young prince to Ab l-Fals court in Rayy. When asked his opinion of the city he is said
to have responded, Baghdad is among the cities as al-ustdh [viz., Ab l-Fal] is among
the believers!
69
In addition to its clever rhyme (bildibd), the line was also intended as
fattery of the man upon whom Ibn Abbds future career depended. For although Ibn Abbd
had risen to a high position in the Byid state, he nevertheless hoped to succeed Ab l-Fal
to the vizierate of Rayy.
But Ab l-Fal had two sons, Ab l-Qsim and Ab l-Fat, who were also potential
candidates to succeed him to the vizierate of Rayy. Both received training in the scribal arts
from the grammarian Amad b. Fris al-Qazwn (d. 391/1000-1).
70
After the death of Ab
l-Qsim, in the 350s/970s, Ab l-Fal appears to have placed his hopes for a successor in the
younger Ab l-Fat. A cautious man, Ab l-Fal was reported to have contracted a group of
his confdants to secretly watch over the conduct of Ab l-Fat.
71
Several stories recount the pleasure of Ab l-Fal upon learning of Ab l-Fats early
mastery of epistolary style, one of the most important skills for a vizier.
72
Other stories
66. Yqt, Mujam al-udab, 2: 705. Ibn Abbd and al-Srf disagreed about passages from the lexicographi-
cal work of al-Mubarrad (d. 286/900), al-Muqtaab, which work was apparently a concern of al-Srf at the time of
Ibn Abbds visit from the date (347/958) of the extant unique ms of it that he compiled, preserved at Kprl no.
15078; ed. H. amad (Beirut: Dr al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya, 1999).
67. Al-Tawd, Akhlq al-wazrayn, 174: wa-la-qad taayyara al-Muhallab minn wa-arafa Muizz al-Dawla
fal wa-adab wa-akbara qadr wa-balagha al-add al-aq f amr.
68. Ibid., 164.
69. Al-Tawd, Akhlq al-wazrayn, 445; al-Thalib, Yatmat al-dahr, 3: 154.
70. Al-Tawd, Akhlq al-wazrayn, 387.
72. Ibid. On one occasion Ab l-Fat had arranged a gathering for young men in the greatest of secrecy and in
precaution from their parents. The boy sent a letter to one of his drinking companions whom he had designated to
bring the wine and accompaniments. When one of the fathers spies acquired a copy of the boys letter, which was
written in an elegant fashion, Ab al-Fal was so excited that he exclaimed, Now the trace of his excellence has
become clear to me, and I am certain of his following in my path and taking my place! The vizier allegedly gave
1,000 dinars to the young man. Al-Thalib (ibid.) also relates an account on the authority of the boys tutor, Ibn
Fris al-Qazwn, recounting Ab l-Fals delight at the comportment of his son and his literary juvenalia.
reveal that knowledge of the intimate details of his sons life brought disappointment to Ab
l-Fal.
73
While grooming Ab l-Fat to succeed him, Ab l-Fal did little to dispel Ibn Abbds
hopes that he would become the next vizier of Rayy. Rather, it would seem that Ab l-Fal
used the uncertainty over his succession to his own advantage. Favoring Ibn Abbd or his son
Ab l-Fat in court sessions was how Ab l-Fal spurred the two young men in their studies.
Sources at the court would later describe to al-Tawd how Ab l-Fal often appeared to
treat Ibn Abbd with contempt: He would goad him on and then laugh at him; Ibn al-Amd
[Ab l-Fal] was never angered by Ibn Abbd because he was under his control.
74
At other
times, desiring to wound the confdence of his son, Ab l-Fal would instead praise Ibn
Abbd or the philosopher Miskawayh.
75
Despite Ab l-Fals desire to hold the question of succession over his two protgs
heads, Ibn Abbd perceived signs of his own declining status over time. In 354/965, hear-
ing word that the poet al-Mutanabb had ofered poems of praise to Ab l-Fal in Arrajn,
he was eager to receive verses from the famed panegyrist as well. According to al-Thalib,
Ibn Abbd wrote a fattering letter to the poet and ofered him a portion of his sizeable
fortune if he would pay him a visit. Al-Mutanabb did not respond.
76
He visited the court
of Aud al-Dawla in Shrz instead, considering Ibn Abbd not yet to be of signifcant
weight.
77
Adding insult to injury, while in Shrz al-Mutanabb received a similar letter
from the seventeen-year-old Ab l-Fat and responded to it by composing an ode in praise
of him.
78
The sign was clear: Ab l-Fats star was on the rise.
79
73. Yqt, Mujam al-udab, 4: 1891. According to a story related by Ab l-Fat Manr b. Muammad b.
al-Muqaddir al-Ifahn, Ab l-Fal informed a close confdant of his of his distaste for Ab l-Fats manners after
the young Ab l-Fat walked into his sleeping chambers with his distinctive Daylam turban and swaggering stride.
Ab l-Fal decided against the confdants ofer to speak with Ab l-Fat on the viziers behalf, hoping that the
young boy would change his afected ways with the passage of time. Another glimpse into his sons early character
occurred when Ab l-Fal found verses of homoerotic poetry written by Ab l-Fat. On this occasion Ab l-Fal
confronted him, saying, Who is my son to write something like this obscenity and depravity (al-fush wa-l-fujr)?
By God, were it not the case! Although Ab l-Fal restrained himself, he spoke as if he were hinting at the fact
that his son would sufer a bad end and a short life (kaannahu yushru il m ukima lahu min s al-qiba
wa-qiar al-umr). Such accounts were written as attempts to explain the later demise of Ab l-Fat.
74. Al-Tawd, Akhlq al-wazrayn, 125: kna yastarqiuhu wa-yaaku minhu wa-l yaghtu li-annahu kna
tat tadbrihi.
75. For the accusation that Ab l-Fal used Miskawayh to denigrate Ab l-Fat, see al-Tawd, Akhlq
al-wazrayn, 346. For a similar allegation regarding Ab l-Fals use of Ibn Abbd, see ibid., 125.
76. In the biography of al-Mutanabb included in al-Baghdd, Khiznat al-adab wa-lubb lubb lisn al-arab,
ed. M. Hrn (Cairo: Dr al-Kitb al-Arab, 1968), 3: 347, and drawn from a lost work on him, al-mushkil
li-shir al-Mutanabb, by Ab l-Qsim Abd Allh b. Abd al-Ramn al-Ifahn (f. end of the fourth/tenth century),
there is no mention of Ibn Abbds alleged invitation of al-Mutanabb.
77. Al-Thalib, Yatmat al-dahr, 1: 122: lam yuqim lahu al-Mutanabb waznan.
78. Al-Mutanabb, Dwn al-Mutanabb (Beirut: Dr dir, 1958; repr. 1994), 531; al-Baghdd, Khiznat al-
adab, 3: 361 (omitting verses 2 and 3). Describing the prose of Ab l-Fat, al-Mutanabb wrote:
Among the letters of the people there arrived a letter;
every hand should be sacrifced to its authors hand.
bi-kutbi l-anmi kitbun warad
fadat yada ktibihi kullu yad
79. In response to this slight Ibn Abbd wrote the highly critical al-Risla l-kashf an maswi shir
al-Mutanabb (The Treatise on the Revelation of the Faults of al-Mutanabbs Poetry) (in al-Amd, al-Ibna an
sariqt al-Mutanabb, 22150). This work, devoted to exposing the linguistic faws of the poets early famed odes
for the amdnid prince Sayf al-Dawla, was among the frst wave of works critical of that poets growing reputa-
tion. According to al-Thalib (Yatmat al-dahr, 1: 122), it was Ibn Abbds animosity over this early rebuf that
made him cast the arrows of slander at al-Mutanabb, be attentive to his slips and oversights in poetry, and reproach
In 356/966 Ab l-Fal appointed Ibn Abbd as vizier to the crown prince Muayyid
al-Dawla, then residing in Ifahn.
80
Given the growing rivalry between Ab l-Fat and
Ibn Abbd, the appointment demonstrated Ab l-Fals confdence in him. Moreover, Ab
l-Fal appears to have written a letter of appointment that referred to the fne vizieral lineage
of Ibn Abbds family in the Byid dynasty by praising his father, Abbd.
81
Signifcantly,
Ab l-Fal also described his relationship to Ibn Abbd in this letter as one between father
and son: . . . he believes me to be a lord and a father, just as I consider him a singular son
(fa-innahu yauddun sayyidan wa-wlidan kam audduhu waladan widan).
82
With Ibn Abbd in Ifahn in the service of Muayyid al-Dawla, Ab l-Fat positioned
himself to succeed his father Ab l-Fal in Rayy. According to Miskawayh, Ab l-Fat had
for some time attempted to gain the support of members of the Daylam army through the
granting of favors, to the apparent displeasure of his father. In 359/969 this tension led Ab
l-Fal to order Ab l-Fat to accompany him on a campaign to the Jibl province, fearing
that Ab l-Fat would take control of Rayy in his absence.
83
Ab l-Fal died on the joint campaign with his son in the area near Hamadhn on 6 afar
360/9 December 970.
84
Ab l-Fat was left with a large contingent of troops in the city of
him for his faults, despite the fact that [Ibn Abbd] was the most knowledgeable of its excellences, had committed
the most of it to memory, and employed it the most in his speech and writing. Not wishing perhaps to provoke Ab
l-Fal who had shown great generosity to the poet, Ibn Abbd praised his talents as a literary critic profusely in the
proem to his treatise.
80. The actual date of Ibn Abbds appointment is not found in the sources. However, it probably coincided
with Rukn al-Dawlas naming of Muayyid al-Dawla as crown prince in Rayy in 356/966. This move was likely
precipitated by Rukn al-Dawla receiving word of the ailing health of his brother Muizz al-Dawla; Miskawayh,
Tajrib al-umam, 2: 231. The title Muayyid al-Dawla frst appeared on coinage minted in Ifahn the following
year; Luke Treadwell, Byid Coinage: A Die Corpus (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2001), 179, Is356a and Is356b.
81. In a move destined to confound future historians, al-Tawd supplies the text of Ab l-Fals appointment
letter, but states that the letter was a forgery perpetrated knowingly by Ibn Abbd. Several members of the chan-
cery of Rayy alleged that the letter was the speech of Ibn Abbd that he falsely attributed to Ibn al-Amd (min
kalm Ibn Abbd iftaalah an Ibn al-Amd il nafsihi); al-Tawd, Akhlq al-wazrayn, 41820. Such informa-
tion would, of course, only have been available to the cadres of scribes to whom al-Tawd belonged. On technical
grounds it is difcult to afrm or deny the authenticity of the letter. Its author states that the appointment was made
after consultation with Rukn al-Dawla in a majlis, which appears to have been standard practice in letters of this
kind; see, for example, Ibn Abbd, Rasil, 52, letter 2.6. Moreover, the author is similarly careful with regard to
maintaining the proper titles of addressRukn al-Dawla is referred to as our lord (mawln), while Muayyid
al-Dawla is described as his crown prince (wal al-ahd), which would have been correct at the alleged time. A
thorough examination of the contents also yields little that would distinguish it from a similar document of this
kind. The acknowledgement of Ibn Abbds familial relationship to the dynasty and lavish praise of his superior
skills were expected tropes. Signifcantly, the author defnes the vizierate for Muayyid al-Dawla as not simply one
of executing certain tasks, but rather also of the sophisticated management of the moral education and political
afairs of Muayyid al-Dawla. This is consonant with the philosophical worldview of Ab l-Fal. Even in extraneous
details the letter is accurate. Its description of the gout (niqris) sufered by Ab l-Fal, mentioned at the letters close
(p. 420), is alluded to in al-Thalib, Yatmat al-dahr, 3: 160.
82. In the letters opening lines, which is the only passage to be suspect; cf. Yqt, Mujam al-udab, 2: 683.
Here I prefer the reading waladan widan of Yqt over the similarly plausible text of al-Tawd (ed. anj)
waladan wa-widan. I fnd the frst reading not only more interesting on rhythmic grounds (and hence more dif-
fcult) but also a more meaningful expression when coupled with the verb. It could equally be translated as just as
I number him a singular son.
84. Ibid. Miskawayh portrays the vizier as dying of heartbreak as much as from any physical ailment. Angry
at Ab l-Fats insubordination and unwillingness to heed his counsel and fearing that his own son had divided his
troops and disgraced his fathers honor, the aged vizier said to his close confdants in Hamadhn, This boy ended
the family of al-Amd and erased its traces from the earth! He also said, The only thing that kills me are the
angers that I swallowed [i.e., suppressed] on his account (m qatalan ill jura l-ghay allat tajarratuh minhu).
Hamadhn. Promptly curtailing military action, he returned to Rayy to assume his fathers
position. Shortly after Ab l-Fals burial, Rukn al-Dawla handed over control of the vizier-
ate and the leadership of the army to Ab l-Fat.
85
Learning of these developments in Ifahn Ibn Abbd realized that he lacked both the
military resources and proper pretext in order to prevent Ab l-Fats assumption of the
vizierate in Rayy. He was thus obliged to perform his duty as a servant of the Byid dynasty
and support Ab l-Fat as the new vizier. As was customary Ibn Abbd wrote a letter of
congratulations to the young vizier on the receipt of ofce.
86
Without the presence of Ab l-Fal, who had been for so long the guarantor of Ab
l-Fat and Ibn Abbds obedience, political tension between the two seemed on the verge of
descending into violence. One courtier, al-Khall, asserted that it was only Rukn al-Dawlas
power that prevented the outbreak of armed hostility between them.
87
For although the two
men wrote kind letters of praise to one another, in secret their souls boiled at this, and their
chests overfowed (nufsuhum al dhlik taghl wa-udruhum tafu) in the others
presence. In the face of this tension, courtiers tongues concealed, eyebrows furled, lips
twisted, eyes trembled, and rumormongers gained ground (al-alsina tukann wa-l-awjib
tataghmazu wa-l-shifh taltaw wa-l-ayun takhtaliju wa-l-wushh tadibbu).
88
IBN ABBD BECOMES VIZIER IN RAYY
Rukn al-Dawlas death in the year 366/976 and the assumption of rule by Muayyid al-
Dawla in Rayy fnally seem to have given Ibn Abbd the opportunity he was waiting for to
take revenge on his rival. According to a well-placed source in the court of Rayy, Aud al-
Dawla, Muayyid al-Dawla, and Ibn Abbd hatched a plot to remove Ab l-Fat from power
under false pretense in the weeks immediately following Rukn al-Dawlas death. Details of
these fgures active involvement in the arrest and subsequent murder of Ab l-Fat, their
fabrication of a cover story, and Ab l-Fats futile eforts to save himself were related in
one long account written by al-Tawd, relying upon sources he met in the chancery of Rayy
during the time he spent in Ibn Abbds employ in 368370/978979.
89
Ibn Abbd appears to have secretly made plans with Muayyid al-Dawla for his installa-
tion as the next vizier in Rayy. However, believing afairs to be particularly uncertain and
unstable Muayyid al-Dawla no longer trusted the usual means of written communication to
give Ibn Abbd news of details surrounding the progress of their plan to arrest Ab l-Fat.
For one month Ibn Abbd remained sequestered in Ifahn awaiting a sign from Rayy.
90
85. For a letter of condolence written to Ab l-Fat by the famed scribe Ab Isq al-bi describing the mer-
its of his father, see al-Shayzar, Jamharat al-Islm dht al-nathr wa-l-nim, ed. F. Sezgin (Frankfurt: Institut fr
Geschichte der Arabisch-Islamischen Wissenschaften, 1986), 12931.
86. Ibn Abbd, Rasil, 13233.
87. Al-Tawd, Akhlq al-wazrayn, 132.
88. Ibid.
89. The unique and highly detailed account of the plot is recorded by al-Tawd in the concluding portions of
Akhlq al-wazrayn (pp. 53246) without isnd. The source for his report is al-Khatham, identifed by al-Tawd
as the ktib of Al b. Kma.
90. Muayyid al-Dawla instructed Ibn Abbd not to heed any letter that appeared to be written by his own hand
or carried by his highest ranking chamberlains or confdants inviting him back to Rayy. Rather he stipulated that
Ibn Abbd should remain in Ifahn until a certain rider came who would act as sign (alma) between them
indicating that Muayyid al-Dawla had been able to fnd a means to arrest Ab l-Fat; Yqt, Mujam al-udab,
4: 1893. The information of Ibn Abbds involvement in the plot is related by Ab Sad al-b, who allegedly
related the story from Ibn Abbd himself.
When the messenger fnally came Ibn Abbd hurried to Rayy to assume the position of
vizier for Muayyid al-Dawla. There he learned that their cover story about the removal of
Ab l-Fat had been convincing. Most accepted Ibn Abbds appointment to the vizierate
of Rayy as a legitimate expedient. More importantly, in Baghdad Izz al-Dawla, whose
opposition to the arrest of Ab l-Fat might have been the greatest obstacle to the plotters,
seemed convinced that neither Aud al-Dawla nor Muayyid al-Dawla had any part in Ab
l-Fats arrest.
91
IBN ABBD AND THE RISE OF AUD AL-DAWLA
After the death of Rukn al-Dawla Aud al-Dawla attempted to fnally consolidate his
power over the Byid dynasty. He quickly moved to attack his cousin Izz al-Dawla and take
control of Baghdad. Fearing the attack Izz al-Dawla gathered a coalition of Fakhr al-Dawla
in Hamadhn, the Kurdish leader of the Jibl, Badr b. asanawayh, and Imrn b. Shhn,
the ruler of the Marsh.
92
However, the forces of Aud al-Dawla quickly routed Izz al-Dawla
and his allies at the battle of Sq al-Ahwz on 11 Dh l-Qada 366/1 July 977.
93
Aud
al-Dawla returned to Baghdad as a triumphant military champion receiving titles from the
caliph.
94
On 12 Shawwl 367/22 May 978 Aud al-Dawlas forces killed Izz al-Dawla at
the battle of Qar al-Ju, establishing his sole primacy over the Byid dynasty.
95
Ibn Abbd had been fortunate in joining the coalition of Aud al-Dawla and Muayyid
al-Dawla. In the following year Aud al-Dawla put an end to the amdnid dynasty, whose
rulers had long attempted to control Baghdad,
96
and in 369/979-80 Aud al-Dawla con-
solidated his rule over the Kurdish regions to the east in the Jibl. He unseated his younger
brother Fakhr al-Dawla because he had been a chief supporter of Izz al-Dawla.
97
After the expulsion of Fakhr al-Dawla from Hamadhn, Aud al-Dawla summoned Ibn
Abbd to Hamadhn in order to supervise the transfer of the former domains of Fakhr al-
Dawla in the Jibl to Muayyid al-Dawla. According to al-Rdhrawr, Aud al-Dawla met
Ibn Abbd a distance from the city and ordered his own scribes and consorts (kuttbihi
wa-abihi) to praise the vizier.
98
Ibn Abbd described in two letters in his collection
99

how his meeting with Aud al-Dawla was beyond all expected hopes (fawq kull amal
maml) and how his administration of the land enabled him to restore order to the regions
of the Jibl after the expulsion of Fakhr al-Dawla.
100
92. For the caliphal appointment decree of Fakhr al-Dawla, written in the caliphs name and dated to 10 Jumd
I 366/4 January 977, see Ibrhm b. Hill al-b, al-Mukhtr min rsail Ab Isq Ibrhm b. Hill b. Zahrn
al-b, ed. S. Arsaln (Beirut: Dr al-Naa al-adtha, 1966), 14167.
93. J. Christoph Brgel, Die Hofkorrespondenz Aud al-Daulas (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1965), 94.
94. According to Donohue (The Buwayhid Dynasty in Iraq, 6568), on 9 Jumd I 367/23 December 977 the
caliph al-i proclaimed Aud al-Dawla amr al-umar and granted him the title the crown of religion (tj
al-milla).
95. Ibid., 69. Donahues date for the seizure of the vizier of Ibn Baqiyya is incorrectly stated as 386/996. The
event took place in 367/977.
96. Ibid.; see also Ibn Abbd, Rasil, 1113; EI2, s.v. amdnids (M. Canard), 3: 126.
97. Fakhr al-Dawla had ruled Hamadhn since his appointment by Rukn al-Dawla in 365/975; al-bi (Kitb
al-Mukhtr, 141) records his decree of appointment over Astarbdh, Dnawar, Qarmsn, al-Ayrayn [?], and the
regions of Azarbayjn, al-Sann, and Mqn.
98. Al-Rdhrwar, Dhayl Tajrib al-umam, 10.
99. Ibn Abbd, Rasil, 24142.
100. Ibn Abbd (ibid., 205 [16.5]) refers to the management of the tax collection in Mh al-Kfa in the Jibl,
which must date to this period. Other letters of Ibn Abbd relate to the period in which he was resident in Hamadhn
Ibn Abbd played an important role in military matters during this period, signaling his
increased prominence in the Byid dynasty and the personal trust that Aud al-Dawla placed
in him. In particular, Ibn Abbd was an important accessory in the Byids attempts to secure
their eastern territories. Aud al-Dawla was especially concerned that Fakhr al-Dawlawho
had fed to Jurjnwould unite with Qbs b. Wushmgr and together challenge his rule in
the east;
101
and he sent letters to Qbs b. Wushmgr to persuade him to deliver his fugitive
brother Fakhr al-Dawla.
102
Perceiving Qbss unwillingness to cooperate, Aud al-Dawla
wrote to the caliph al-i requesting that his brother Muayyid al-Dawla be given the com-
mand over the territories of Jurjn and abaristn that had been ruled by Qbs. The caliph
responded sending a decree of appointment (ahd), standard (liw), and robes of honor
(khila) to Muayyid al-Dawla, indicating that he was the new lawful ruler. Ibn Abbd then
led the amrs forces to abaristn in order to take custody of the territory from Qbs b.
Wushmgr at the beginning of 371/981.
103
In Jumd II 371/December-January 981-2 Ibn
Abbd wrote a letter from the city of Astarbdh near the Caspian Sea asserting the military
victory of Byid forces.
104
After gathering some of the treasure from his fortresses in Jurjn,
Qbs b. Wushmgr fed to Nshpr along with Fakhr al-Dawla.
105
Ibn Abbd subsequently played a prominent role in the negotiations between the Byids
and their main rivals in the east, the Smnids. In 372/982-3 the Smnid ruler N b.
Manr (r. 366387/977997) sent an envoy to Aud al-Dawla to renew their peace agree-
ment that had been initially negotiated with the aid of the leader of the army in Khursn, Ibn
Smjr, and concluded in 361/971.
106
In the interim Ibn Smjr had been replaced by usm
al-Dawla Tsh, and Aud al-Dawla would not agree to the treaty as long as the Smnids
were harboring Qbs b. Wushmgr and Fakhr al-Dawla.
107
At the same time Fakhr al-
Dawla and Qbs b. Wushmgr sought the aid of usm al-Dawla Tsh and Fiq Kha,
an important commander, in order to take back the territory they had lost to the Byids. The
four leaders marched toward Jurjn in Raman 371/February-March 982 and began a siege
of Astrbdh that lasted more than two months. During this long siege Muayyid al-Dawla
and Ibn Abbd wrote to Fiq Kha and attempted to sway him to the Byid side. The
strategy was efective, the Byid forces were victorious, and on 22 Dh l-Qada 371/19 May
982 they were poised to make an attack on Smnid territory.
108
The attack did not occur,
arranging the afairs of Fakhr al-Dawlas former lands. As al-Rdhrawr (Dhayl Tajrib al-umam, 11) notes, Ibn
Abbd was joined in this process of rectifying the afairs of this region by Aud al-Dawlas scribe, Abd al-Azz b.
Ysuf, and the military inspector (ri) Ab Abd Allh b. Sadn.
101. See Donohue, The Buwayhid Dynasty in Iraq, 70; Brgel, Die Hofkorrespondenz Aud al-Daulas, 140
41. Wilferd Madelung (Ab Isq al-b on the Alids of abaristn and Gln, Journal of Near Eastern Studies
26 [1967]: 51) has established that Fakhr al-Dawla sought refuge with the Zayd d Ab l-asan Al b. usayn in
Hawsam after leaving Hamadhn in 369/980.
103. Ibid.
104. Ibn al-Athr, al-Kmil f l-trkh, 9: 1011.
105. Al-Rdhrwar, Dhayl Tajrib al-umam, 1718. Al-Rdhrwar includes some verses by Qbs lamenting
his fate. In the fnal verse he includes a clever play on his title Sun of the Excellences (shams al-mal):
In the skies there are countless stars
but only the sun and moon are subject to eclipse!
fa- l-sami nujm
un
l idda lah
wa-laysa yuksafu ill al-shamsu wa-l-qamar
106. Donohue, The Buwayhid Dynasty in Iraq, 71.
108. Ibn Abbd wrote three long letters on the occasion of this victory: Rasil, 2230 [1.8] announces the vic-
tory over the Smnids and discusses the history of the relationship between the two states; 3032 [1.9] announces
however, because Ad al-Dawla, who had been ailing for some time, died on 8 Shawwl
372/26 March 983.
109
The amrs death was concealed for two months until shr,
10 Muarram 372/24 June 983. In the interim his son Ab Kljr amm al-Dawla was
publicly announced as his fathers successor (wal al-ahd); political machinations behind
the scenes sent another son, Ab l-Fawris Sharaf al-Dawla, to Kirmn when his fathers ill-
ness became grave while one of his younger brothers received an appointment in Shrz.
110
In Rayy Ibn Abbd was instrumental in managing the transition of rule. Muayyid al-
Dawla was also seriously ill, sufering from diphtheria (khawnq). Realizing that the amr
did not have much longer to live, Ibn Abbd acted as his counselor, encouraging him to
delegate his command to one whom he believed would be trusted by the army, until such a
time as God would grant his recovery and his return to the supervision of the afairs of his
kingdom.
111
The amr did not make any provisions, and Ibn Abbd encouraged Muayyid
al-Dawla to seek repentance and instructed him in the Mutazil doctrine of repentance in the
moments prior to his death.
112
IBN ABBD AS VIZIER OF FAKHR AL-DAWLA
After Muayyid al-Dawla passed away in 372/982, Ibn Abbd immediately wrote to
Fakhr al-Dawla, who had been resident in Nshpr at the Smnid court.
113
This move may
have been the viziers own plan and may have been an attempt to secure further power for
himself through the installation of an amr who would be dependent upon his own author-
ity and high standing within the dynasty.
114
Muayyid al-Dawlas son, Ab Nar, who must
have had the support of the army, made his own attempt to succeed his father, heading to
Jurjn. However, when he learned of Ibn Abbds plan to install Fakhr al-Dawla in Rayy he
immediately wrote him a letter ofering his allegiance, clearly believing the vizier to have a
greater control over the situation.
115
Ibn Abbd was the central player in the transfer of the emirate of Rayy to Fakhr al-Dawla.
His agents (thiqt) contracted a written oath (yamn) from Fakhr al-Dawla to fulfll the ofce
of amr.
116
Ibn Abbd then devoted himself to the payment of the army and arranged for Ab
l-Abbs Khusra Frz, the son of Rukn al-Dawla, to serve as the temporary amr in Rayy
in order to prevent unrest in the army.
117
He also had the notables of the court (al-ns) send
letters to Fakhr al-Dawla pledging their obedience.
118
to the people of Ifahn the removal of illegal tarifs and taxes; and 33 [1.10] is a short letter (khib) that was
appended to the longer letter [1.8] written on the same day.
110. Ibid., 78.
111. Ibid., 91.
112. For the doctrinal signifcance of this action, see Maurice A. Pomerantz, Mutazil Theory in Practice: The
Repentance (tawba) of Government Ofcials in the Fourth/Tenth Century, in A Common Rationality: Mutazilism
in Islam and Judaism, ed. Camilla Adang et al. (Wrzburg: Ergon, 2007), 46393.
114. Mottahedeh, Loyalty and Leadership, 153. Mottahedeh states that this act was contrary to the will and
testament of Muayyid al-Dawlahowever, he provides no evidence for this claim.
116. For the translation of yamn as written oath, see Mottahedeh, Loyalty and Leadership, 49.
117. Ab l-Abbs Khusra Frz minted coins in mul from 373383/983993 and in al-Ryn in 383384/993
994: Treadwell, Byid Coinage, 23536, 244.
118. Al-Rdhrwar, Dhayl Tajrib al-umam, 93. For the translation of al-ns as people of the court, see
Mottahedeh, Loyalty and Leadership, 47.
Heeding Ibn Abbds request Fakhr al-Dawla headed to Jurjn without negotiating any
concessions on behalf of his former ally, Qbs b. Wushmgr, the prior ruler of this region.
119

As Fakhr al-Dawla neared Jurjn Ibn Abbd informed the army that the oath that they had
pledged to Ab l-Abbs Khusra Frz was only that of a deputy (khalfa) to the amr Fakhr
al-Dawla, his brother, who would be the new amr of Rayy. Army leaders then pledged their
obedience to Fakhr al-Dawla in an elaborate ceremony culminating in an oath of allegiance
(baya).
120
At this time Ibn Abbd reportedly wished to abdicate the vizierate so that he could devote
himself to religious study. Al-Rdhrwar relates the viziers words to Fakhr al-Dawla thus:
God has informed you, my lord (mawly), as He has informed me about you, concerning that
which you hoped for yourself and that which I hoped for you, [both] of the obligations of my
service for you and the substance of my response: that I prefer to remain in my residence, staying
out of contact with the military and devoting myself to the afairs of the Hereafter.
The amr Fakhr al-Dawla replied:
Do not say this, ib! For I do not desire kingship but for you, and my afair will not be straight
except with your support. If you hate to be closely involved in the afairs [of state] then I will
hate this too with your hatred and I will remove myself from pursuing them as well.
121
Al-Thalib also refers to the fact that Ibn Abbd wished to resign, but that Fakhr al-
Dawla insisted that he had in this dynasty an inheritance in the vizierate identical to that
of his own inheritance of the emirate, and it was the path for everyone of us to protect that
which is due him.
122
Al-Rdhrwar reports that Ibn Abbd then kissed the ground in front
of Fakhr al-Dawla and agreed to serve as his vizier. Fakhr al-Dawla gave a cloak of honor to
Ibn Abbd and showered him with gifts the like of which had not been ofered to any vizier
before him.
123
While it is, of course, impossible to know the motivations of Ibn Abbd in wishing to
abdicate the vizierate, chroniclers viewed his actions with skepticism, as a way to cover his
naked political ambition with a cloak of religious piety. Indeed, al-Rdhrwar states that one
of the frst actions of Ibn Abbd and Fakhr al-Dawla was the poisoning of the wealthy and
powerful former supporter of Muayyid al-Dawla, Al b. Kma, suggesting that Ibn Abbd
was not a man motivated by religious scruple.
124
During the next years Ibn Abbd appears to have used his political leverage over Fakhr
al-Dawla to extend his political ambitions towards ruling the Byid dynasty as a whole. In
Baghdad Ab Kljr amm al-Dawla (d. 388/998), the successor to Aud al-Dawla in
Baghdad, was from early in his rule locked in a struggle for control over Iraq with his half-
brother Ab l-Fawris Sharaf al-Dawla (d. 379/989), who had become the ruler of Shrz.
125

Because he feared his brothers power, amm al-Dawla sought support from the new Byid
ruler in western Iran, Fakhr al-Dawla. In Muarram 374/June-July 984 amm al-Dawlas
vizier, Ab Abd Allh Ibn Sadn, wrote to Ibn Abbd attempting to create ties of mutual
support. The letter, drafted by Ab Isq al-b, called upon Ibn Abbd to restore the Byid
dynastic tradition in which the branches of the family cooperated with one another, as they
120. Ibid., 94.
124. Ibid., 95.
125. Treadwell, Byid Coinage, 46.
had done during the frst generation of Byid rule.
126
In return for military aid amm al-
Dawla would arrange to have Fakhr al-Dawlas insignia of ofce (viz., robes of honor, the
appointment decree, and the banner) sent to acknowledge the legitimacy of Fakhr al-Dawlas
rule.
127
Ibn Abbd responded on Dh l-ijja 374/April-May 985 with a letter that afrmed
the amicable bond (mawadda) between the two branches of the Byid family as well as the
hereditary right to the position of amr in Rayy.
128
Al-Rdhrwar reports that as a result of
this letter exchange Ibn Abbd became intent upon aiding the interests of amm al-Dawla
in any way he could.
129
By negotiating in this way Ibn Abbd was showing himself to be a
central player in the politics of the Byid dynasty.
Ibn Abbd also strengthened his position by securing the area of western Iran. He nego-
tiated another peace agreement (ul), in which the Smnids agreed to acknowledge the
Abbsid caliph al-i, who had come to power in 363/974, and not to attempt to reinstall
Qbs b. Wushmgr in Jurjn.
130
At the same time, 373377/983987, Ibn Abbd and Fakhr
al-Dawla solidifed their rule over the Caspian region. The two campaigned in abaristn,
conquering a large number of fortresses in 377/987, including that belonging to the Bavdnids
of Firm on Mount Shahriyr.
131
During this period, the relationship between Ibn Abbd and
Fakhr al-Dawla was quite close. On the frst of Muarram 379/989, Ibn Abbd presented
Fakhr al-Dawla with an overweight gold dinar of 1,000 mithqls minted in Jurjn. The coin
had on one side the verses of a six-line poem and on the other the text of Q 112 (srat
al-ikhl), the title of Fakhr al-Dawla and the caliph al-i. The poem suggested the strong
links between Ibn Abbd and Fakhr al-Dawla.
132
126. For a copy of this letter, see al-b, Rasil al-b, ms Paris 3314, f. 203b4a.
127. Al-Rdhrwar, Dhayl Tajrib al-umam, 97. Donohue (The Buwayhid Dynasty in Iraq, 166) states that
these robes were sent in Jumd I 374/September-October 984, citing Sib Ibn al-Jawzi, Mirt al-zamn f trkh
al-ayn, vol. 9, ms Kprlzde 1157, f. 126.
128. Al-bi, Rasil al-b, ms Paris 3314, f. 205b7b.
129. As Donohue notes (The Buwayhid Dynasty in Iraq, 166), the entente between the two branches of the fam-
ily did not last. In Shawwl 376/February-March 987, when Sharaf al-Dawla marched on Baghdad, Fakhr al-Dawla
did not lend any aid to amm al-Dawla.
131. For the history of this minor dynasty with its fortress on the Shahriyrkh, see Wilferd Madelung, The
Minor Dynasties of Northern Iran, in The Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 4: The Period from the Arab Invasion to
the Saljuqs, ed. Richard N. Frye (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1975), 217; the dynastys entry in EIr, 1: 747
53 (Richard N. Frye). For one of Ibn Abbds letters addressed to the ruler of this dynasty, Ifahbad al-Marzubn b.
Sharvn, see Ibn Abbd, Rasil, 79 [5.3].
132. Ibn al-Athr, al-Kmil f l-Trkh, 9: 59. Yqt (Mujam al-udab, 2: 700) reports that Ibn Abbd pre-
sented this coin during the expedition to al-Ahwz. However, he provides this account on the authority of al-Tawd,
who relates it from al-Shbsh. Since most of al-Tawds accounts of Ibn Abbds court are based on events some
seven years prior to this coins issue, Ibn al-Athrs report seems more reliable. The poem supplied in both versions
is as follows:
Red like the sun in form and shape, for its [the suns] attributes are taken from its description.
If it was called a dinar, its name would be correct; if it was called one thousand, it would be part of its
descriptors.
Unique (bad), for nothing else was minted in time like it, nor were its likenesses ever struck for the nobles
(surtihi).
Its relationship was made with the shhnshh, despite the fact that it is inferior to those who seek his favor
(uftihi).
I believed it [the coin] to be a favorable omen that his reign would last as long as its weight, that the world would
delight in his long life.
His servant and the son of his servant applied himself in it, the seedling of his benefts and the most competent
of his servants (kf kuftihi).
While Fakhr al-Dawla and Ibn Abbd were solidifying their rule over the Caspian and
securing the borders with the Smnids, Sharaf al-Dawla in Shrz was contesting the rule
of amm al-Dawla in Baghdad, whom he was able to overthrow in 377/987.
133
Sharaf
al-Dawla died on 2 Jumd II 379/7 September 989, having only ruled Baghdad for two
years.
134
After learning of the death of Sharaf al-Dawla, Ibn Abbds ambitions came out
into the open. He began encouraging Fakhr al-Dawla to conquer Baghdad. According to
al-Rdhrawar, al-ib b. Abbd loved Baghdad both from long ago and from recently
and the possibility of leadership (riysa) [there], and he stealthily waited for the opportunity
to arise.
135
Ibn Abbd placed men at Fakhr al-Dawlas court who would subtly convince
him of the importance of Baghdad and the ease of conquering the city. When Fakhr al-Dawla
fnally asked Ibn Abbd about the possibility of such a military mission, the vizier said with
feigned innocence:
The command belongs to the king of kings (shhnshh), that which is mentioned of these
regions [viz., Iraq] is well known and is not hidden, and its good fortune is ascendant,
136
so if
he [the amr] is desirous, I will serve him in it and I will aid him in reaching the most extreme
of his goals.
137
Believing that he had gained the support of Ibn Abbd for his own plan, Fakhr al-Dawla
set out for Hamadhn. The Kurdish leader of the Jibl, Ab l-Najm Badr b. asanawayh
(d. 405/1014), met him there.
138
After consulting with one another, Ibn Abbd and Badr
b. asanawayh decided that they would march along the main road (jda) toward Bagh-
dad while Fakhr al-Dawla would head toward al-Ahwz. After Ibn Abbd had marched the
distance of one stage (marala), Fakhr al-Dawla summoned him to return. According to
al-Rdhrwar, the amr worried that if left to his own devices Ibn Abbd might plot against
him with his nephew Bah al-Dawla.
139
Ibn Abbd was able to restore Fakhr al-Dawlas confdence and the two set of again on
military campaign. However, the amrs fears of his viziers ambitions were only misplaced.
Ibn Abbd managed all aspects of the conquest of Baghdad. He arrived in al-Ahwz frst,
taking control of the city and making the appropriate preparations. Fakhr al-Dawla met him
there two weeks later with the remainder of the army. The army soon grew restless and
desired further payments.
140
Moreover, the Tigris river overfowed its banks in al-Ahwz,
fooding the encampments of the army. Some of the soldiers reportedly believed that this was
Treadwell (Byid Coinage, xii) notes that the Byids minted epigraphic donatives in Jurjn and Muammadiyya
and thus far only coins from the reign of Fakhr al-Dawla are extant. He (p. 210) describes an overweight dirham
struck in Muammadiyya in 377/987 for some exceptional purpose. Similar to the coin described by Ibn al-Athr,
Q 112 was on one side of the coin while the titles of Fakhr al-Dawla were on the other. That Ibn Abbd ordered the
minting of coins can be seen from the octagonal silver dinar minted in al-Muammadiyya, Mu380a (p. 211), also
bearing Q 112 on one side and the titles of Fakhr al-Dawla and the caliph al-i. Its border carries the inscription:
In the name of God, kf al-kuft Ab l-Qsim ordered the minting of this coin in al-Muammadiyya in the year
380. Such commemorative coins were signifcant ways in which a vizier showed his allegiance to an amr.
133. Donohue, The Buwayhid Dynasty in Iraq, 93.
134. Ibid., 96.
136. Reading liya for ghliba.
138. EI2, s.v. asanwayh (Cl. Cahen), 3: 258.
139. Al-Rdhrwar, Dhayl Tajrib al-umam, 164; EI2, s.v. Bah al-Dawla wa-Diy al-Milla, Ab Nar Frz
(C. E. Bosworth), 12: 118.
a plan of Ibn Abbd to destroy Fakhr al-Dawlas army, because he had been in secret com-
munication with Bah al-Dawla.
141
When Bah al-Dawla learned of the approach of Ibn Abbds forces he deputized
al-usayn b. Al al-Farrsh to manage the afairs of the army (tadbr al-arb). According
to al-Rdhrwar, Bah al-Dawla gave him the title al-ib in order to anger Ibn Abbd,
and outftted him with a large army equipped with weapons and other equipment led by Ab
Jafar b. al-ajjj b. Hurmuz and Alftakgn.
142
Fakhr al-Dawlas army, made up of 3,000 Daylams, 4,000 Kurds, and many Arabs from
the region of Khzistn, outnumbered that of Bah al-Dawla and seemed certain to defeat
the forces of Bah al-Dawla. However, as they set out against the opposing forces the Tigris
River again overfowed its banks, confusing much of Fakhr al-Dawlas army and stranding
many others. Al-Rdhrwar comments that it might have been Fakhr al-Dawlas earlier
suspicions about Ibn Abbds plotting with the sons of Aud al-Dawla that contributed to
the poor performance of his army.
143
Al-Rdhrwar describes how Ibn Abbd ofered sound advice to Fakhr al-Dawla when
the remnants of his army regrouped after their loss. He counseled the amr to satisfy the
armys demands by providing them with greater pay (a). His argument was that the money
that the amr paid to the troops now would be more than compensated by the earnings from
this region that they would receive in less than a years time with the conquest of Baghdad.
However, Fakhr al-Dawla did not listen to Ibn Abbd, because of what al-Rdhrwar claims
was a basic frugality (shu) in his nature. Meanwhile the remainder of Fakhr al-Dawlas
army abandoned the camp.
The failure of this mission to take Baghdad was allegedly a great disappointment to Ibn
Abbd. He reportedly fell ill in al-Ahwz and was weakened to the point of death. When
he recovered he allegedly gave away as alms all of that which he possessed in his palace
(taaddaqa bi-jam m kn f drihi).
144
In a report from the lost history of Rayy, written
by Ab Sad al-b, Ibn Abbd stopped in the city of al-aymara upon his return from
al-Ahwz. One of the ascetics of the Mutazila, a certain Abd Allh b. Isq, entered into
the court and Ibn Abbd stood up in his presence, saying, I have not stood for any man in
this way for twenty years. Al-b stated that Ibn Abbd honored the shaykh in this way on
account of his asceticism.
145
After their return from the failed attempt to take control of Iraq, Ibn Abbd focused his
attention on the politics of the Caspian region and eastern Iran and gave up his ambitions
with regard to Baghdad. Fakhr al-Dawla did not recognize al-Qdirs appointment as caliph
in Baghdad in 381/991.
146
The Byids of western Iran continued to mint coinage in the name
of the caliph al-i as late as 391/1001, signaling their lack of cooperation with the Byids
of Iraq.
147
141. Ibid., 166.
142. Ibid., 168. However, soon after he appointed al-usayn b. Al as the leader of this army, Bah al-Dawlas
other generals plotted against him and he was killed.
143. Ibid., 16970.
144. Ibid., 171.
146. Treadwell, Byid Coinage, 224 [Qa391].
147. This policy signifcantly brought them closer to their neighbors to the east, the Smnids, who also
refused to acknowledge al-Qdirs legitimacy until 389/999; see C. E. Bosworth, The Ghaznavids: Their Empire in
Afghanistan and Eastern Iran (Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univ. Press, 1963), 2829; idem, The Titulature of the Early
Ghaznavids, Oriens 15 (1962): 217.
Despite the frustration of his military campaigns, the Daylam military commanders in
Rayy greatly respected Ibn Abbd. The historian al-b recounts with apparent astonish-
ment how Fakhr al-Dalwa came to ofer his condolences to Ibn Abbd personally when Ibn
Abbds mother passed away in Ifahn during the month of Muarram 384/February-March
994, and spoke with him at length in Arabic (yubassi al-kalm bi-l-arabiyya).
148
Then
the remainder of the leading amrs and army commanders (quwwd), such as Manuchihr
b. Qbs (d. 423/1031-2),
149
Fldh b. al-Mandhir,
150
Ab l-Abbs Frzn,
151
all came
toward Ibn Abbd barefoot and with their heads uncovered to pay their respects. Each
man kissed the ground upon seeing him and would stay in this position until Ibn Abbd
approached and ordered him to sit.
152
Toward the end of his life Ibn Abbd began to fear that the legacy of his accomplishments
would not continue after his death. Perhaps he sensed that so many of his achievements
were the result of his own personal power. As the amr and the leading Daylam command-
ers came to visit him in his last days, Ibn Abbd still retained a sense of his own personal
role in politics. Al-Rdhrwar reports a dramatic scene in which Ibn Abbd warned Fakhr
al-Dawla to take care lest he stray from the practices of government that he had established:
O amr, I have served you exhausting all of my powers and I have conducted myself in a way
that has gained for you a fne reputation. Thus if the afairs after me are conducted according to
the previously established order and the rules fxed according to the previous practice, whatever
excellence to come will be attributed to you, and I will be forgotten in the many praises that will
come to you, and the good speech concerning you. But if you change [my system], I will be the
one who is thanked for the prior system, and you will be accountable for the innovations, and
the blame will come in your rule from that which you have initiated.
153
THE END OF AN ERA
Ibn Abbd died on 24 afar 385/30 March 995 in Rayy; at his funeral there was a scene
of great collective grief, described by Hill b. al-Muassin al-b (d. 444/1052):
No one had ever seen anyone granted such glorifcation and exaltation after his death as that
given to Ibn Abbd. After his body was prepared for burial and placed in the casket it was taken
out upon the shoulders of those who were carrying him for prayer upon him. The entire populace
kissed the ground before his body and tore their clothes. They slapped their faces, crying and
lamenting as loud as they could for him.
154
Ibn Abbds body was placed in a box suspended by chains in a home in Rayy until it was
transported to Ifahn, where it was interred.
155
149. Manuchihr b. Qbs (r. Jurjn 402419/10121028) was the son of the amr of Jurjn, Qbs b. Wushmgr.
He replaced his father, who ruled from 388/998 as the independent ruler of Jurjn, one year before Qbss death
in 403/1013.
150. Ab Nar Fldh b. al-Mandhir was designated as the chief of the army (ifahsalr) by the caliph al-i
in 375/985; al-Rdhrwar, Dhayl Tajrib al-umam, 107.
151. Ab l-Abbs Frzn b. asan Frzn was a maternal cousin of Fakhr al-Dawla, whose mother was the
daughter of al-asan b. Frzn, himself the cousin of Mkn al-Kk; EI2, s.v. Fakhr al-Dawla (Cl. Cahen), 2: 748.
155. Al-Rdhrwar, Dhayl Tajrib al-umam, 262. The unusual practice of suspending a casket (tbt) from
chains is known from several other examples in early Islamic Iran. The most interesting case is that of Qbs b.
Wushmgr, who was reportedly suspended by chains in a glass casket inside of his tomb tower Gunbad-i Qbs.
Ibn Abbd was born at the beginning of Byid control in the central lands of Islam and
lived to see the Byid state at the high point of territorial expansion and power. As one of
the leading fgures of state Ibn Abbd had personally witnessed the transformation of the
Byids from mercenary soldiers to the legitimate rulers of one of the largest Muslim states
of the time. Even as Byid power began to falter in the beginning decades of the next cen-
tury, generations of administrators, courtiers, and intellectuals remembered this statesmans
achievements.
For a description of this tower and speculation on the possible pre-Islamic origins of this practice, see Robert Hil-
lenbrand, Islamic Art and Architecture (London: Thames and Hudson, 1999), 1045 (note to illustration 78), who
emphasizes the Zoroastrian associations of the burial shrine. Richard Ettinghausen and Oleg Grabar (The Art and
Architecture of Islam 6501250 [New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1987], 22122) suggest that the structure may bear
resemblance to a Mazdean monument. My thanks to Niall Christie for his help with this suggestion.

Maurice Pomerantz, "Al - Ā Ib B. Abbād: A Political Biography" Journal of The American Oriental Society

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