Abu Taher (died 1021), better known by his regnal name Shams Al-Dawla ("Sun Of The State"), was the

Buyid The Buyid dynasty or Buyid Empire was a Zaydi and later Twelver Shi'a dynasty of Daylamite origin. Founded by Imad al-Dawla, they mainly ruled over central and southern Iran and Iraq from 934 to 1062. Coupled with the rise of other Iranian dyna ...

ruler of

Hamadan Hamadan ( ; , ) is a mountainous city in western Iran. It is located in the Central District of Hamadan County in Hamadan province, serving as the capital of the province, county, and district. As of the 2016 Iranian census, it had a po ...

from 997 to 1021. He was the son of Fakhr al-Dawla.

Biography

Fakhr al-Dawla died in 997; his elder son Abu Taleb Rostam ("Majd al-Dawla") took power in the bulk of his father's possessions in

Jibal Jibāl (), also al-Jabal (), was the name given by the Arabs to a region and province located in western Iran, under the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates. Its name means "the Mountains", being the plural of ''jabal'' ("mountain, hill"), highlight ...

. Abu Taher himself gained the governorships of Hamadan and Kirmanshah, and was hence known as Shams al-Dawla. Since both sons were still minors their mother, the " Sayyida", assumed the regency. Both sons originally took the title of '' Shâhanshâh'', implying that they were subordinate to no one. They abandoned the title, however, when they accepted their cousin Baha' al-Dawla's authority by 1009 or 1010 at the latest. In 1006 or 1007, Majd al-Dawla tried to throw of the Sayyida's regency. However, she gained the support of the Kurdish ruler Badr ibn Hasanwaih and Shams al-Dawla. Their forces laid siege to Ray and fought several battles with Majd al-Dawla's forces. When Ray was finally taken, Majd al-Dawla was imprisoned for a year, and Shams al-Dawla ruled in the city during that time. When the Sayyida released Majd al-Dawla, Shams al-Dawla returned to Hamadan. Around 1013, following the death of the Badr ibn Hasanwaih, Shams al-Dawla occupied part of the former ruler's territory. Sometime in the later part of his reign, he tried to replace Majd al-Dawla as the ruler of Ray, but the Sayyida foiled his plans. In 1015, Shams al-Dawla called upon the prominent Persian scholar

Avicenna Ibn Sina ( – 22 June 1037), commonly known in the West as Avicenna ( ), was a preeminent philosopher and physician of the Muslim world, flourishing during the Islamic Golden Age, serving in the courts of various Iranian peoples, Iranian ...

in order to treat him. During Avicenna's stay at Shams al-Dawla's court, the latter became his ''

vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

''. Shams al-Dawla later died in 1021 and was succeeded by his son Sama' al-Dawla.

References

* * * 1021 deaths Buyid emirs 10th-century monarchs in the Middle East 11th-century monarchs in the Middle East Year of birth unknown 10th-century Iranian people 11th-century Iranian people {{Iran-royal-stub