In this contest Abu Abdallah and his two brothers manoeuvred between the military commanders Ibn Ra'iq and Bajkam, the Hamdanids of Mosul, the Buyids of Fars, and the ruler of Oman; they twice occupied the Abbasid capital Baghdad, but were never able to hold it for long; and at different times ruled Khuzistan, Wasit and Basra; Abu Abdallah himself was named vizier of the Abbasid caliph four times in the process.