'ADUD AD-DAWLAH

born 936 died 983 greatest ruler (949-983) of the Iranian Buyid dynasty. Becoming ruler of Fars province in southern Iran in 944, 'Adud ad-Dawlah did not actually reign on his own until almost a decade later. But by 979 his authority extended, through inheritance and conquest, over all southern Iran and most of what is now Iraq. He became famous for his public works, which included a dam still standing near Shiraz, and he also consolidated the internal security and administrative order of the dynasty and patronized arts and letters. See also Buyid dynasty.