Then the year 345 AH began.
In this year al-Ruzbahan rose in rebellion against Muʿizz al-Dawlah, retreated to Ahwaz, and was joined by most of the men who had previously fought him under al-Muhallabi. When word of this reached Muʿizz al-Dawlah he refused to believe it, for he had shown Ruzbahan favor and raised his rank after a period of insignificance and obscurity. It soon became clear to him, however, that the report was true (1). He therefore set out to fight Ruzbahan, and the caliph al-Muṭiʿ li-llah accompanied him for fear of Nasir al-Dawlah ibn Ḥamdān, from whom he had heard that an army led by his son Abū al-Murajjaʾ was on its way to Baghdad to seize the city once Muʿizz al-Dawlah had left it. Muʿizz al-Dawlah dispatched his chamberlain Subuktakin to Baghdad to safeguard it, while he himself marched against Ruzbahan. A fierce battle ensued; Muʿizz al-Dawlah routed him, scattered his troops, took him captive, and entered Baghdad in great pomp with Ruzbahan in chains. He imprisoned him and later, by night, had him drowned, for the Daylam had planned to break him out of prison by force. Thus the name of Ruzbahan and his brothers was erased—though it had once blazed like fire. The Turks thereafter found favor with Muʿizz al-Dawlah, whereas the standing of the Daylam fell, for their treachery in the affair of Ruzbahan and his brothers had become evident to him.
In the same year Sayf al-Dawlah invaded the Byzantine territories, killing and taking captives before returning to Adana and then to Aleppo. The Byzantines were enraged; they gathered their forces and advanced on Mayyafariqin, killing, capturing, and burning. They then—may Allah curse them—sailed by sea to Tarsus, where they killed 1,800 of its inhabitants (2), carried off captives, and burned many villages.
That year a devastating earthquake struck Hamadhan: houses collapsed, the palace of Shirin split apart when it was struck by lightning, and countless people perished beneath the rubble. Truly, we belong to Allah and to Him we return.
A severe conflict also broke out between the people of Isfahan and the people of Qumm because the latter reviled the Companions. The people of Isfahan rose against them, killing many and plundering the merchants’ wealth. Rukn al-Dawlah, a Shiʿite, became incensed on behalf of Qumm and imposed heavy fines on the people of Isfahan.
Among the notable deaths of this year was Ghulam Thaʿlab: Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn Abī Hāshim, Abū ʿAmr, the ascetic, known as Ghulam Thaʿlab (3).