' Izz al - Dawla ' Izz al - Dawla ( died 978 ) was the Buyid amir of Iraq ( 967 – 978 ) . Biography . ' Izz al - Dawla was born as " Bakhtiyar " , and was the son of Mu ' izz al - Dawla . In the spring of 955 , Mu ' izz al - Dawla became very ill and decided to name his son as his successor . Five years later , the caliph officially recognized this by granting Bakhtiyar the title of " ' Izz al - Dawla " . During his father ' s military expeditions , ' Izz al - Dawla ruled in Baghdad . Mu ' izz al - Dawla died in 967 , leaving behind several pieces of advice for his son . He recommended keeping the services of the Turkish commander Sebük - Tegin , respecting the wishes of the Turks , recognizing his uncle Rukn al - Dawla , who ruled northern Persia , as senior amir , and respecting his cousin ' Adud al - Dawla , who ruled from Fars . He also gave a strategy for dealing with the Hamdanid emir of Mosul , Abu Taghlib . ' Izz al - Dawla continued his father ' s policy of fighting the Shahinids who ruled the Iraqi marshlands , but he was unable to overcome them . At the same time , he ignored the border with the Byzantine Empire , considering this to be a matter for the caliph to handle . When the Byzantines under John I Tzimisces overran much of northern Mesopotamia in 971 , he did not even return to Baghdad . The person who took it upon himself to defend Iraq was Sebük - Tegin , who felt himself to be increasingly alienated from the Buyid . ' Izz al - Dawla also had financial problems ; in 973 he invaded the Amirate of Mosul , against the advice his father had left him . The campaign was a disaster ; the Hamdanids under Abu Taghlib marched on Baghdad , while Sebük - Tegin was probably secretly supporting them . The Buyid amir then tried to solve his financial difficulties by seizing the Turkish fiefs , most of which were in Khuzestan . At the same time , he dismissed Sebük - Tegin from his post . The Turk revolted , forcing ' Izz al - Dawla to entrench himself in Wasit . He rejected Sebük - Tegin ' s offer to relinquish Baghdad in exchange of southern Iraq . The Turk then marched on Wasit , and laid siege to the city . At this point , Rukn al - Dawla ordered ' Adud al - Dawla to march on Wasit and relieve ' Izz al - Dawla . The choice of ' Adud al - Dawla was somewhat curious ; he had earlier advocated the removal of ' Izz al - Dawla due to the latter ' s perceived incompetence , and had granted asylum to a brother of the Iraqi amir that had launched a failed rebellion in Basra . Despite this , ' Adud al - Dawla complied with the order , although he travelled as slow as possible in order to give Sebük - Tegin the chance to overpower Wasit . ' Izz al - Dawla , however , managed to hold out , and Sebük - Tegin died during the siege . ' Adud al - Dawla therefore eventually decided to restore him in Baghdad . Shortly afterwards however , a revolt launched by ' Izz al - Dawla ' s Daylamite mercenaries gave ' Adud al - Dawla the opportunity to overthrow his cousin . Having done so , he would have ruled Iraq directly , but Rukn al - Dawla vehemently opposed this . ' Izz al - Dawla was therefore made ' Adud al - Dawla ' s viceroy to Iraq . The latter ' s departure for Shiraz prompted ' Izz al - Dawla to immediately revoke his subservience . Death . Rukn al - Dawla died in 976 , throwing the Buyid empire into chaos . ' Izz al - Dawla refused to recognize ' Adud al - Dawla ' s succession to the position of senior amir . He took new titles for himself , and married one of the caliph ' s daughters , signifying the caliph ' s assent to his policy . ' Adud al - Dawla then prepared to invade Iraq . Despite having prepared his army and his allies , ' Izz al - Dawla was defeated in Khuzestan in 977 and was forced to retreat to Wasit . There he raised a new army , but the two cousins then entered into negotiations . After a long while , ' Izz al - Dawla was granted freedom of passage to Syria , in exchange for a promise not to ally with the Hamdanids . When he broke that agreement , hostilities were resumed . Both ' Izz al - Dawla and the Hamdanids were defeated in Samarra in the spring of 978 , and the Buyid was captured . He was put to death soon after with ' Adud al - Dawla ' s consent .