The Role of Ibn Bakkiya
in the Changes in Buwaihid Government

Mohsen Morselpoor[1]
Arman Foroohi[2]

Abstract

The Buwaihids government was expanded to Fars, Jibal, and Iraq shortly after its formation.  In Iraq, after death of Mu'izz al-Dawla, his son, Izz al-Dawla, reached to power. During his time, the Buwayhid government in Iraq lost its power, partly because of the ineffectiveness of the agents in charge. Muhammad Ibn Bakkiya was one the administrative and political figures of the Iraq's Buwayhids that was appointed as minister of Izz al-Dawla. He lacked any experiences in official bureaucracy and reached to ministry from Ayyari. His skill in tax collection and presenting gifts to Izz al-Dawla helped him in obtaining this position. However, his lack of experience in official bureaucracy influenced his ministerial operations and eventually led to some problems. Research findings show that his failure in ministry was both the result of his inexperience in official bureaucracy and the weakness of Izz al-Dawla in Iraq.    This descriptive - analytic study aims at investigating the socio-political conditions in the life of Ibn Bakkiya, his ministerial activities, and his role in the political developments of Buwaihid government.