In 326/937 Lashkari b. Mardi, a Gllite formerly serving Makan and the Ziyarids Mardavij and Vushmglr, with an army composed of Gilites and some Dailamites invaded Azarbaljan and expelled Daisam, who recovered his dominion, however, with the aid of Vushmglr. As Daisam's Kurdish warriors became unruly and laid their hands on some of his domains, he began to employ Dailamites, among them Saluk (Ar. Su'luk), a son of the Sallarid Muhammad b. Musafir, in order to counterbalance their strength and arrested some Kurdish chiefs. Daisam's vizier Abu'l Qasim Ja'far b. 'AH, who had been finance administrator under the Sajid Yusuf and was also active as an Isma'IlI missionary, fled in 330/ 941-2 because of intrigues against him to Tarum, where Muhammad b. Musafir was overthrown by his sons Vahsudan and al-Marzuban. He encouraged al-Marzuban to conquer Azarbaljan and by secret correspondence he gained the allegiance of many chiefs of Daisam's army, especially the Dailamites, to al-Marzuban. When the latter invaded Azarbaljan in 330/941-2 and gave battle to Daisam, the Dailamites went over to him. Daisam was forced to flee and found refuge with the Ardzrunid king Gagik of Vaspurakan, with whom he had previously had friendly relations.
Al-Marzuban, himself an Isma'ili initiate, appointed Ja'far b. 'AH as his vizier and allowed him to teach Isma'llism openly. Soon, however, he gave him reason to fear for his position. Ja'far requested permission to go to Tabriz, where he invited Daisam to join him and with the aid of the inhabitants killed the Dailamite chiefs. As Daisam arrived in Tabriz, all the Kurds, whom al-Marzuban had offended, gathered around him. Al-Marzuban with his Dailamite army defeated them and besieged Tabriz. He made overtures to Ja'far, who once more went over to him and on his own wish was permitted to live freely in his house without official position. Before al-Marzuban occupied Tabriz, Daisam and his supporters escaped to Ardabll. Al-Marzuban, aided by his brother Vahsudan, besieged him there and after bribing his new vizier succeeded in forcing him to surrender in 331/942-3. Daisam was treated well by the Sallarid and on his own request put in charge of al-Marzuban's castle in Tarum. The prominent people of Ardabil, on the other hand, were punished for their support of Daisam by the imposition of a heavy tribute and the demolition of the town wall, which they had to carry out with their own hands. Ja'far later returned to the vizierate, before 344/955 when Ibn Hauqal was visiting Azarbaijan. His missionary activity was evidently successful, for Ibn Hauqal notes the presence of many Isma'llls in the province.
Al-Marzuban now held sway over all of Azarbaijan and eastern Transcaucasia. By 333/945 he also took possession of Dvin according to numismatic evidence. In the spring of that year the Russians (Rus) came by boat on the Kur river and occupied Barda'a after defeating an army under al-Marzuban's governor consisting mainly of local volunteers. At first the inhabitants were treated well by them, but as the mob openly aided the Muslim armies against the invaders many of them were massacred and others were compelled to surrender all their property. Muslim volunteers from everywhere flocked to join al-Marzuban in fighting the infidel intruders. Despite the great numerical superiority of his army al-Marzuban was several times beaten. Finally after the ferocious enemy had been weakened by an epidemic caused by their overindulgence in fresh fruit he laid a successful ambush in which 700 men and their chief were slain. The rest withdrew into the citadel of Barda'a. As al-Marzuban besieged them he learned that al-Husain b. Sa'Id had been sent by his uncle, the Hamdanid al-Hasan Nasir alDaula of Mosul, to conquer Azarbaijan and had reached Salmas, wherhe was joined by the Hadhbani Kurds under Ja'far b. Shakuya. Al-Husain in 331/942, when al-Marzuban and Daisam were still at war over the control of Azarbaijan and Nasir al-Daula was in charge of the government in Baghdad, had been invested by the caliph al-Muttaqi with the governorship of Armenia and Azarbaijan. Al-Marzuban marched against the Hamdanid, leaving only a small troop to face the Russians, and defeated him in winter 334/945-6. Al-Husain shortly afterwards was recalled by his uncle for a campaign to Baghdad. About the same time the Russians departed carrying off much booty and captives.
Afterlife in Rabbinic Judaism
