Abu Sahl Hamdawi

Abu Sahl Hamdawi (also spelled Hamduni, Hamdavi and Hamdu'i) was a Persian[1] statesman and military officer of the Ghaznavids, and served briefly as the vizier of Sultan Muhammad in 1030.

[citation needed] Hamdawi, during his youth, served in the Ghaznavid army, and was also a student (or assistant) of Ahmad Maymandi.

In 1033, Hamdawi was appointed as the governor of Jibal, which was then held under the control of the Kakuyid ruler Muhammad ibn Rustam Dushmanziyar, who was a vassal of the Ghaznavids.

[2] During the same period, Hamdawi had to protect Jibal from marauding Oghuz Turks who had arrived in the region from their steppes north to Khwarazm.

In 1038, the Oghuz Turks captured Nishapur, which forced its governor Abu'l-Fadl Suri and Hamdawi to flee to Gurgan.