to Naṣir al-Dawlah ibn Ḥamdān, whereupon the troops were thrown into turmoil. Ibn Shīrzād nonetheless assumed the supreme command for himself, and on the first of Ṣafar he entered Baghdad. All the soldiers came out to meet him and swore allegiance, as did the caliph, the judges, and the notable men. He then waited upon the caliph, who addressed him as Amīr al-Umarāʾ (Commander of Commanders). He increased the soldiers’ stipends and sent to Naṣir al-Dawlah demanding the land-tax; Naṣir responded with five hundred thousand dirhams and provisions, which Ibn Shīrzād distributed among the people. For three months and twenty days he issued commands and prohibitions, appointed and dismissed, cut off and bestowed, delighting in his own authority.

Presently word arrived that Muʿizz al-Dawlah ibn Būyah was marching on Baghdad at the head of his forces. Ibn Shīrzād went into hiding, as did the caliph, while most of the Turkish troops set out for Mosul to join Naṣir al-Dawlah ibn Ḥamdān.

Account of the Rise of the Banū Būyah and Their Rule in Baghdad

Muʿizz al-Dawlah Abū al-Ḥusayn Aḥmad ibn Būyah advanced with ⦗1⦘ vast hosts toward Baghdad. When he drew near, the caliph al-Mustakfī bi-llāh sent him gifts and supplies, instructing the envoy: “Tell him that I rejoice at his arrival, and that I hid myself only from the mischief of the Turks who have gone off to Mosul.” He also forwarded robes of honor and other presents.

Muʿizz al-Dawlah entered Baghdad on the eleventh of Jumāda I that year and encamped at Bāb al-Shammāsiyyah. The next day he came before the caliph and pledged allegiance. Al-Mustakfī invested him and conferred upon him the title Muʿizz al-Dawlah; he granted his brother Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī the title ʿImād al-Dawlah and his brother Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥasan the title Rukn al-Dawlah, and their honorifics were struck on the dirhams and dinars. Muʿizz al-Dawlah took up residence in the house of Muʿnis al-Khādim, while his Daylamite troops were quartered in people’s homes, imposing great hardship on them. He guaranteed the safety of Ibn Shīrzād; when the latter emerged, he appointed him secretary of the land-tax and allotted the caliph an allowance of five thousand ⦗1⦘ dirhams each day for his expenses. Affairs thereafter settled into this arrangement.

Account of the Seizure and Deposition of the Caliph al-Mustakfī

On the twenty-second of Jumāda II, Muʿizz al-Dawlah came to the palace and sat upon a throne before the caliph. Two Daylamites approached, seized the caliph, pulled him from his chair, and dragged him away so that his turban tightened around his neck ⦗2⦘. Muʿizz al-Dawlah then rose, confusion raged through the palace until he reached the women’s quarters, and the situation became critical. The caliph was led on foot to Muʿizz al-Dawlah’s residence and detained there. Abū al-Qāsim ibn al-Muqtadir was summoned and given the oath of allegiance, while al-Mustakfī’s eyes were put out and he was consigned to prison, where he remained