Saif od-Dowla (Sword of the State), the founder of the Hamadanid Emirate

Compiled By: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On 17th of the Islamic month of Zil-Hijjah in 303 AH, Ali ibn Abdullah titled Saif od-Dowla (Sword of the State), the founder of the Hamadanid emirate of Aleppo which included northern Syria and western Jazira (parts of Iraq), was born in Iraq to Abdullah Abi’l-Hayja, the ruler of Mosul.
He was the younger brother of Hassan, titled Naser od-Dowla, the ruler of Mosul, and belonged to the Banu Taghlib Arab tribe. The family followed the school of the Prophet's Ahl al-Bayt and was famous for its patronage of scholars. Saif od-Dowla is also famous for his military exploits against the Byzantine Empire, and is considered the epitome of the Islamic- Arab chivalrous ideal.
He began his career as ruler of the city of Waset in central Iraq and became involved in the power struggles of the Abbasid caliph, who ruled from nearby Baghdad. He realized that greater potential lay to the west, in Syria, then under the dominion of the Ikhshidid Turkic dynasty, which ruled Egypt. In 946, with the support of the local Banu Kilab tribe, he captured Aleppo, and in the following year, after two unsuccessful attempts, he took Damascus.
He then marched his army toward Egypt and captured Ramla, but he was unable to make further progress. His most important concern was with the Byzantine Empire. Every year till the time of his death saw some kind of armed conflict with the Byzantines, with Saif od-Dowlah usually leading his army to raids into Asia Minor or present day western Turkey. He won a great victory in 953 near Germanikeia, killing Patrikios Leo Maleinos. This was followed by more victories during the next three years, during which several Byzantine commanders fell.
On November 8, 960 AD, the Battle of Andrassos occurred in the Taurus Mountains in what is now southwestern Turkey, when the Byzantines under Leo Phokas the Younger, ambushed the Muslim forces of the Hamdanid Emir of Aleppo, Saif od-Dowla, while he was returning from a successful expedition to Asia Minor. Despite his surprising defeat he soon regrouped his forces in the following years to push back the Christian invaders. Saif od-Dowla was a bulwark against Christian ambitions to seize Muslim lands.
Saif od-Dowla surrounded himself with prominent intellectual figures such as the celebrated philosopher, Abu Nasr al-Farabi, and noted poets, including al-Mutanabbi and Abu Firas Hamadani – who was his cousin and brother-in-law as well and wrote the famous ode “ar-Rumiyaatâ€‌, while in Byzantine captivity. Saif od-Dowla himself was a poet, and his delicate poem on the rainbow shows high artistic ability.