Bajkam Abū al - Husayn Bajkam al - Mākānī ( ) , referred to as Bajkam , Badjkam or Bachkam ( from " Bäčkäm " , a Persian and Turkish word meaning a horse - or yak - tail ) , was a Turkish military commander and official of the Abbasid Caliphate . A former " ghulam " of the Ziyarid dynasty , Bajkam entered Abbasid service following the assassination of the Ziyarid ruler Mardavij in 935 . During his five - year tenure at the Caliphate ' s court at Baghdad , he was granted the title of " amir al - umara " , increasing his influence over the Caliphs al - Radi and al - Muttaqi and giving him absolute power over their domains . Bajkam was challenged throughout his rule by various opponents , including his predecessor as " amir al - umara " , Ibn Ra ' iq , the Basra - based Baridis , and the Buyids of Iran ; he succeeded in retaining control . He was murdered by a party of Kurds during a hunting excursion in 941 , shortly after the accession of al - Muttaqi as Caliph . Bajkam was known both for his firm rule and for his patronage of Baghdad intellectuals , who respected and in some cases befriended him . His death led to a void in central power , resulting in a brief period of instability and fighting in Baghdad . Early military career and service under Ibn Ra ' iq . Details of Bajkam ' s early life are unknown . He was one of the " ghilman " ( military slaves , usually of Turkish origin ) of the Daylamite warlord Makan ibn Kaki in northern Iran . Makan took care of the young Bajkam ' s training and education , something for which the latter showed his gratitude by adopting his patron ' s name as his " nisba " ( surname ) . After Makan , Bajkam entered the service of Mardavij , founder of the Ziyarid dynasty , who came to control Daylam , Jibal and Tabaristan . Mardavij mistreated his " ghilman " , who consequently murdered him at Isfahan in January 935 , an act in which Bajkam may have been complicit . After Mardavij ' s death , most of the " ghilman " in Ziyarid service dispersed . Bajkam and his fellow officer Tuzun assumed the leadership of a large group and , after first offering their services to the new governor of Jibal , Hasan ibn Harun , proceeded to the Abbasid court at Baghdad . At first , their offers were rejected by the court , where the Caliph ' s Hujari bodyguards jealously guarded their prerogatives , but the " ghilman " were eventually taken into the service of Muhammad ibn Ra ' iq , governor of Basra and Wasit in southern Iraq . Now known as " Bajkam Ra ' iqi " , Bajkam created a large military force under his command consisting of his own followers as well as additional Turks and Daylamites summoned from Jibal . In early November 936 , the Caliph al - Radi ( reigned 934 – 940 ) bestowed the newly created title of " amir al - umara " ( " commander of commanders " ) on Ibn Ra ' iq , who was effectively granted absolute control over the Caliphate . This provoked the reaction of various provincial governors as well as that of powerful interest groups in Baghdad itself , such as the caliphal bodyguards . Against them , Ibn Ra ' iq employed Bajkam and his Turkish supporters . With their aid , he managed to neutralize the Hujari and Saji guard units , after which , in February 937 , Bajkam was rewarded with the posts of " sahib al - shurta " ( chief of police ) and governor of the eastern provinces . Far more difficult and protracted was the war against the ambitious governor of Ahwaz , Abu Abdallah al - Baridi , who aimed to supplant Ibn Ra ' iq . Al - Baridi ' s family was of Basran origin , and had served the Abbasids in various roles as officials before managing to assert a weak hold over Khuzistan . Ibn Ra ' iq himself was defeated and forced to leave Basra to the Baridis , but Bajkam saved the situation by scoring two major victories , despite being outnumbered , that allowed him to take possession of Khuzistan . The hard - pressed al - Baridi now turned to his powerful neighbour , the Buyid ruler of Fars , Ali ibn Buya , for help . Ali ' s brother Ahmad soon took over Khuzistan , and Ibn Ra ' iq was forced to offer possession of the province as an independent domain if Bajkam would recover it . Bajkam however was repulsed by the Buyid forces , and fell back to Wasit . Ignoring Ibn Ra ' iq ' s orders to retake Khuzistan , Bajkam remained at Wasit , and began plotting to depose Ibn Ra ' iq himself . To this end , Bajkam began seeking allies : he offered the governorship of Wasit to the Baridis , and through the former vizier Ibn Muqla , who wished to avenge himself on Ibn Ra ' iq for his own downfall and confiscation of his property , gained the covert support of Caliph al - Radi himself . In September 938 , Bajkam led his troops from Wasit to Baghdad . Ibn Ra ' iq tried without success to impede his advance by destroying the great dams of the Nahrawan Canal and flooding the plain , but Bajkam ' s army entered the Abbasid capital without opposition , and al - Radi immediately transferred Ibn Ra ' iq ' s title of " amir al - umara " to Bajkam . " Amir al - umara " . Despite the continued relegation of al - Radi to a ceremonial role , the relationship between the Caliph and Bajkam was strong , with al - Radi praising Bajkam for his harsh discipline and referring to the latter as his " protégé " . Al - Radi was appreciative of Bajkam ' s respect for his position as Caliph , and promised his support for the " amir al - umara " . In October – November 938 , Bajkam and the Caliph campaigned against the influential Hamdanid emir of Mosul , Hasan ibn Abdallah , who had taken advantage of the turmoil in Iraq to cease forwarding his province ' s revenue to Baghdad . Although Bajkam ' s army captured Mosul , Hasan fled before him to the remotest corners of his domain , where Bajkam ' s forces pursued him in vain . In the meantime , the local population resented the presence of the caliphal troops and launched guerilla warfare against them , while Ibn Ra ' iq used Bajkam ' s absence to take control of Baghdad at the head of a Carmathian force . These developments forced Bajkam to negotiate with his rivals : the Hamdanids were restored in their province in exchange for the payment of the tax arrears , and Ibn Ra ' iq was bought off with the governorship of the provinces of Tariq al - Furat , Diyar Mudar , Qinnasrin and al - ' Awasim , which were also claimed by the Ikhshidids of Egypt . This arrangement allowed Bajkam and the Caliph to return to Baghdad in February 939 . Bajkam , having consolidated his control over Baghdad , now turned to face the threat posed by the Buyids . To this end , he strengthened his ties with the Baridis of Basra , by handing over Wasit , as previously agreed , appointing Abu Abdallah al - Baridi as vizier of the Abbasid court ( although the latter remained at Wasit and did not visit Baghdad ) , and , finally , by marrying himself to one of al - Baridi ' s daughters . Bajkam ' s success against the Buyids was mixed : Wasit was saved from Buyid attack , and the Baridis led a successful campaign in Susiana , but an expedition into Jibal was crushed by the third Buyid brother , Hasan . The alliance with the Baridis quickly soured , however , as al - Baridi still maintained his ambition of replacing Bajkam , and ajkam was aware of this . In late August 940 , Bajkam removed al - Baridi from the vizierate and launched an attack on Wasit , which the Baridis abandoned without resistance . In the meantime , the Baghdad was in turmoil as religious violence had become commonplace , with fanatical members of the Hanbali school imposing their tenets on the general populace . In December 940 , al - Radi died . Bajkam remained at Wasit , but sent his secretary to Baghdad to convene a council of Abbasid aristocrats , who selected al - Muttaqi ( r . 940 – 944 ) , al - Radi ' s brother , as Caliph . Bajkam also sent a slave named Takinak to the deceased Caliph ' s palace , the Dar al - Sultan , to procure various items , including the valuable al - Yatimah pearl . He also obtained three female slaves from al - Radi ' s palace , whose singing he remembered from his earlier visits to the Caliph . Among al - Muttaqi ' s first actions as Caliph was the confirmation of Bajkam as " amir al - umara " . Despite al - Muttaqi ' s gesture of support , Bajkam still faced opposition among the semi - autonomous provincial governors , including al - Baridi . Death and ensuing anarchy . Bajkam opened a campaign against al - Baridi in early spring 941 . His lieutenants were at first defeated by the Baridis , whereupon Bajkam himself left Wasit to take the field . On his way to join his army , however , he was informed that his generals had achieved a major victory over the Baridis , and decided to return to Wasit . On 21 April 941 , while travelling , he took part in a hunting excursion , during which he and his party inadvertently encountered a band of Kurdish brigands . During a brief skirmish , Bajkam was slain when one of the Kurds stabbed him in the back with his lance . Bajkam ' s unexpected death created a power vacuum in Baghdad , with disagreements between Daylamite and Turkish forces prompting the former to join the defeated al - Baridi . With their assistance , he marched on Wasit and Baghdad , capturing them , but was soon forced to flee due to the disorder that followed his usurpation of power . A Daylamite chief named Kurankij replaced him as " de facto " ruler of Baghdad , but he imposed tyrannical rule , and al - Muttaqi appealed to the former " amir al - umara " Ibn Ra ' iq for assistance . Ibn Ra ' iq soon retook control of Baghdad , but political turmoil did not cease with his re - installation as " amir al - umara " . Once again , al - Baridi captured the city , and Ibn Ra ' iq fled with the Caliph to Mosul , from where the Hamdanid rulers launched a successful attempt to restore them . The Hamdanid emir Hasan , after ordering the assassination of Ibn Ra ' iq , was made " amir al - umara " and given the " laqab " of Nasir al - Dawla ( " Defender of the Dynasty " ) . In 943 , the Hamdanids were forced to retreat to Mosul when Tuzun , one of Bajkam ' s officers , seized power with military support ; the following year , Tuzun captured , blinded , and deposed al - Muttaqi , assuming the role of " amir al - umara " . The Caliph ' s brother , al - Mustakfi ( r . 944 – 946 ) , was appointed as his successor . The competition for control of the Caliph ended in 945 , when the Buyid Ahmad took over the position of " amir al - umara " with the title of Mu ' izz al - Dawla . This begun the period of undisputed Buyid control over Baghdad and Iraq , which lasted until the Seljuk conquest in the 1050s . Character . Despite his slave origin , Bajkam was educated in Arabic ( although he reportedly did not speak it for fear of making mistakes ) , respected by intellectuals and was known to seek the company of such men as al - Suli and the physician Sinan ibn Thabit . It is in their writings that glimpses of his character survive . According to the researcher Marius Canard , Bajkam was " covetous of power and money , he did not hesitate to resort to dissimulation and ruse , corruption and torture to attain his ends ; he was at times cruel , though his bravery was legendary , and was more upright in character than Ibn Ra ' iq " . Bajkam was also solicitous for the welfare of his subjects , and especially the inhabitants of Wasit cherished his memory .