The 'Uqailids, descended from the Banu Uqayl Bedouins, had first come to power in the city of Diyarbakr when they had been granted land there by the Buyids of Baghdad, who had hoped that they would serve as a buffer against the Kurdish rebel Badh.

Soon afterwards, the 'Uqailids, drawn into the struggle between the Hamdanids and Marwanids, a Kurdish dynasty in Northern Mesopotamia and Armenia, centered around Diyarbakır, for possession of Mosul, had forged an alliance with the Hamdanids, who had been expelled from Mosul by the Buyids in 979.

Together, the two dynasties had moved against the Buyids and Mosul had been occupied in 989.

The 'Uqailid leader, Muhammad b. Musayyib, then fights against the Kurdish rebel Badh, which eventually results in the death of the latter.

Following this, Muhammad turns against the Hamdanids and defeats them as well.

He also forces the Buyid governor of Mosul to grant him half of his dependencies.

Abu adh-Dhawwud Muhammad, the first 'Uqaylid, succeeds the Hamdanids as emir of Mosul, though remaining nominally subject to the Buyids.