Abu Shuja lived in
Baghdad during his youth. Shortly before Baha' al-Dawla's death, he named Abu Shuja as his successor. Upon succeeding his father, he took the title '''Sultan al-Dawla wa 'Izz al-Milla''' ("
Power of the Dynasty and Glory of the Community"). Travelling to his father's capital in
Shiraz, he did seek for the traditional investiture by the
Abbasid caliph, but instead had the required materials sent to him. He entrusted his oldest brothers
Jalal al-Dawla and
Qawam al-Dawla with the governorships of
Basra and
Kerman, respectively. He stayed in
Persia for a long time; when he returned to Iraq three years later, he only went to
Ahvaz to meet with his governor. In 1018 Sultan al-Dawla again came to Iraq, in an attempt to maintain friendly terms with the neighboring Amirate of
Mosul. Qawam al-Dawla, taking advantage of his brother's presence in the west, invaded Fars with the support of the
Ghaznavids. The attack failed, but Qawam al-Dawla's attempt marked the division of the Buyid state. After repulsing Qawam al-Dawla's attack, Sultan al-Dawla returned to Iraq in order to solidify his rule there. The marchlands of the region, which had long resisted Buyid authority, were finally subjugated. The
Turkic mercenaries, however, became discontented over the presence of Sultan al-Dawla's
Daylamite troops. They therefore raised a brother of the amir,
Musharrif al-Dawla, as their ruler in 1021. After a long series of negotiations, Sultan al-Dawla recognized his brother as "King of Iraq", in exchange for the latter's submission as a vassal. Sultan al-Dawla, however, wanted to retain direct rule over the region, and he invaded with his army. His defeat by Musharrif al-Dawla's forces put an end to this plan, and Iraq became fully independent. The concept of the senior amir temporarily died; each region of the Buyid state was now ruled independently of one another. Having overseen the fragmentation of the Buyids, Sultan al-Dawla died in Shiraz in December 1024. He was succeeded in
Fars by his son
Abu Kalijar. ==References==