| Mu'izz al-Dawla | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emir of Iraq Amir al-umara | |||||
 Coin of Mu'izz al-Dawla | |||||
| Reign | 945–967 | ||||
| Successor | Izz al-Dawla | ||||
| Born | 915 Daylam | ||||
| Died | April 8, 967 (aged 52) Iraq | ||||
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| House | Buyid | ||||
| Father | Buya | ||||
| Religion | Shia Islam | ||||
Ahmad ibn Buya (Persian: احمد بن بویه, died April 8, 967), after 945 better known by his laqab of Mu'izz al-Dawla (Arabic: معز الدولة البويهي, "Fortifier of the Dynasty"), was the first of the Buyid emirs of Iraq, ruling from 945 until his death.
The son of a Daylamite fisherman who had converted to Islam, Ahmad ibn Buya was born in the mountainous region of Daylam, and by 928, he along with his two brothers served the Daylamite military leader Makan ibn Kaki. However, they quickly changed their allegiance to the Ziyarid ruler Mardavij; some years later they rebelled against him after finding out that he planned to murder one of them. In 935/6, Ahmad ibn Buya unsuccessfully invaded Kerman, and was later sent to Istakhr. From there he started making incursions into Khuzestan and later Iraq; by 945, he was officially recognized as the ruler of Iraq and Khuzestan and had received the title of "Mu'izz al-Dawla" from the Caliph, while his two brothers were the rulers of other territories, having also received titles from the Caliph.
Throughout his rule, Mu'izz al-Dawla was devoted to conflicts with other dynasties for control over Iraq—in 946, an important battle took place in Baghdad between Mu'izz al-Dawla and the Hamdanid amir Nasir al-Dawla, which lasted several months, with Mu'izz al-Dawla emerging victorious. Mu'izz al-Dawla also fought against the Batihah amirate several times, but was unable to decisively defeat it. Mu'izz al-Dawla also had problems with some of his Daylamite kinsmen, who would sometimes rebel against him, the most dangerous instance being the rebellion of Ruzbahan from 955 to 957. By Mu'izz al-Dawla's death in 967, he had defeated all his foes and was the unchallenged ruler of Iraq. He was succeeded by his son Izz al-Dawla.