[3] However, Muhammad ibn Zayd managed to defeat Abu'l-Husayn after ten months, and then attacked Rustam and forced him to flee Tabaristan.
[1] Like his brother, Muhammad tried to expand his domain by military means, and campaigns occupied a large part of his reign.
Rafi', along with Rustam, launched a major invasion of the Zaydi domains and conquered most of them, forcing Muhammad, like his brother before him, to seek shelter in the mountain fortresses of the western districts.
Fearful of Rafi's power, the Caliph stripped him of the governorship of Khurasan and gave it to his rival, the Saffarid Amr ibn al-Layth.
In response, Rafi' concluded a peace with Muhammad, returned Tabaristan (but not Gurgan) to him and even pledged allegiance to the Zaydi cause.