Abu Kalijar
Abu Kalijar Marzuban was the Buyid amir of Fars (1024–1048), Kerman (1028–1048) and Iraq (1044–1048). He was the eldest son of Sultan al-Dawla.
The death of Sultan al-Dawla in 1024 prompted a succession crisis within the Buyid state. Not until 1027 did the army in Baghdad pick his brother Jalal al-Dawla as ruler. In the meantime Abu Kalijar had built up his power in Fars, although the first several years of his reign were marked by the oversight of his tutor, a eunuch named Sandal, and entered into a conflict with the Buyid ruler of Kerman, Qawam al-Dawla. The latter's death in 1028 allowed Abu Kalijar to occupy the province. In 1030, Jalal al-Dawla sent a fleet of 1300 ships under his vizier Abu Ali Hasan to capture Basra from Abu Kalijar, but the expedition was a disaster and ended in a complete defeat. Abu Ali Hasan was then taken prisoner, but was soon released. Abu Kalijar shortly sent an army under his vizier Bahram ibn Mafinna, who managed to conquer Khuzistan. Abu Kalijar then made Ahvaz his capital. In 1033 the Ghaznavids invaded Kerman, with the object of overrunning the Buyid states. However, the financial obligations imposed on the people of Kerman convinced them that Buyid rule would be preferable. In the following year, Bahram ibn Mafinna expelled the Ghaznavids from the province.
Imagem: Classical Numismatic Group; [1] · BY-SA · Openverse
Abu Kalijar continued to cement his authority by traveling to Baghdad, where he received the title of senior amir as well as the title "Muhyi al-Din" (Arabic: محي الدین, romanized: Muḥyī al-Dīn, lit. 'Reviver of Religion'). Several minor rulers of Mesopotamia recognized his authority, and even the Kakuyids declared their allegiance. This last act, however, prompted a Seljuk intervention, and Abu Kalijar decided to negotiate and create a marriage alliance. The Buyid governor of Kerman, however, decided to submit to the Seljuk Qavurt. Abu Kalijar marched to reassert his authority, only to be met with an ambassador of the governor, who brought gifts and a promise to renew his allegiance. Shortly afterwards, Abu Kalijar died at the age of thirty-eight. He was succeeded by his son al-Malik al-Rahim, but the Buyids suffered a succession struggle soon after his death, and Kerman entered into the Seljuk orbit.
