Buyids

(also Buwayhids), a Persian (Dailamite) dynasty that ruled from 935 to 1055 in Iraq and western Iran. It was founded by three brothers—Ahmad, Ali, and Hasan Buyid—who had formerly been generals in the Persian dynasty of the Ziyarids. By 935 the Buyids had conquered western Persia, and in 945, after the capture of Baghdad, they ended the political existence of the Abbasid caliphate and became virtually independent rulers of the feudal state which was called the Buyid Kingdom after the patronymic of their dynasty. In the second half of the tenth century they took the ancient Persian title of shahinshah. Adud al-Dawla (ruled from 949 to 983), the most eminent Buyid figure, succeeded for a time in uniting all the appanages of the Buyid state. Under his rule irrigation systems were expanded and major construction works were carried out in Shiraz, the Buyid capital, Baghdad, and other cities. The rule of the Buyids was characterized by the subsequent development of feudalism, which manifested itself in the increase of the ikta (fief) lands. The Buyids lent their protection to Shiism.

The Buyids were weakened by an increase in feudal disintegration and civil dissension at the turn of the 11th century. In 1029 the eastern part of the Buyid state was subdued by Mahmud Ghaznavid. The invasion of the Seljuks in 1055 marked the end of Buyid rule.