Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Zakariyya ibn Shirzad, commonly known as Ibn Shirzad, was an official of the Abbasid Caliphate, serving various warlords during the Caliphate's dissolution in the 940s, and himself briefly ascending to the supreme office of in 945.
12 Facts About Ibn Shirzad
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Ibn Shirzad entered service as a scribe at a young age through his father, who was in charge of the fiscal bureau overseeing the former estates of Gharib al-Khal.
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Ibn Shirzad is first mentioned by the 10th-century historian Miskawayh in 927, as secretary and supervisor of affairs for Gharib's son, Harun, a companion of the Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadir.
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At that time, Ibn Shirzad's brother, Abu'l-Hasan Zakariyya, was a secretary to an aunt of the caliph.
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Harun lodged a complaint against Ibn Shirzad, aiming to have him thrown in prison and his wealth confiscated; but the examination of the case by the vizier, Ali ibn Isa ibn al-Jarrah, brought about not only Ibn Shirzad's acquittal, but his entry into government service as Ibn al-Jarrah's secretary.
6.
In 935, Ibn Shirzad became head of the bureau of alms after the death of the previous incumbent.
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When Ibn Ra'iq became and de facto ruler of Baghdad in 936, he sent Ibn Shirzad as envoy to the Baridis, a clan that ruled Basra and Ahwaz.
8.
In 939, Ibn Shirzad mediated the appointment of the head of the Baridi clan, Abu Abdallah al-Baridi, as vizier under Bajkam as.
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Ibn Shirzad then entered the service of the Baridis, but fled to Wasit when Yusuf ibn Wajih, the ruler of Oman laid siege to Basra in 943.
10.
Ibn Shirzad accepted the post only reluctantly; as a bureaucrat, he lacked Tuzun's authority with both the Turkish troops, as well as the caliph.
11.
Ibn Shirzad's position deteriorated quickly: the governor he appointed over Jibal was ousted by the Samanids, his governor of Tikrit defected to Nasir al-Dawla, and finally the governor of Wasit defected to the advancing Buyid warlord, Mu'izz al-Dawla.
12.
Ibn Shirzad immediately entered into Buyid service as of the new, now elevated de facto to a position similar to vizier.