Yusuf ibn Abi'l Saj had come to…

Yusuf ibn Abi'l Saj had come to power in Azerbaijan 901 by overthrowing his nephew, Devdad Ibn Muhammad.

He had razed the walls of Maragha and moved the capital of the Sajid dynasty to Ardabil.

Shortly afterwards, the Bagratid king of Armenia, Smbat I, had offered to become a direct vassal of the caliph al-Muktafi.

As this threatened the Sajids' interests in Armenia, Yusuf had demanded that Smbat appear before him.

When the Bagratid refused, Yusuf had invaded Armenia.

An agreement was eventually reached between the two sides in 903; Smbat received a crown from Yusuf, acknowledging him as his overlord.

Yusuf had never formalized his relations with the caliph, and they had became hostile toward each other.

In 908 a caliphal army had been sent against Yusuf, but al-Muktafi had died and his successor al-Muqtadir had made peace with the Sajid.

Al-Muqtadir's vizier Ibn al-Furat had been instrumental in the establishment of the peace; from this point forward, Yusuf will consider him to be his protector in Baghdad and often name him on his coinage.

The peace allows Yusuf to be invested with the governments of Azerbaijan and Armenia in 909 by the caliph.