Mu'izz al-Dawla

Ahmad ibn Buya (Persian: احمد بن بویه, died April 8, 967), after 945 better known by his laqab of Mu'izz al-Dawla (Arabic: المعز الدولة البويهي‎, "Fortifier of the Dynasty"), was the first of the Buyid emirs of Iraq, ruling from 945 until his death.

The son of Dailamite fisherman who had converted to Islam, Ahmad ibn Buya was born in the mountainous region of Daylam, and by 982, he along with his two brothers served the Dailamite military leader Makan ibn Kaki. However, they quickly changed their allegiance to the Ziyarid ruler Mardavij, but some years later rebelled against him after founding out that he planned to murder one of the brothers. In 935/6, Ahmad ibn Buya unsuccessfully invaded Kerman, and was later sent to Istakhr. From there he started making incursions into Khuzestan and later Iraq; by 945, he was officially recognized as the ruler of Iraq and Khuzestan and had received the title of "Mu'izz al-Dawla" from the Caliph, while his two other brother were the rulers of other territories and had also received titles from the Caliph.

IZZ

IZZ is a New York based progressive rock band. Its music is inspired by such classic progressive groups as Genesis, Yes, King Crimson, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and Renaissance and is often infused with pop hooks à la The Beatles. The band's name comes from the nickname of baseball relief pitcher Jason Isringhausen, who was once on the New York Mets, a team favored by John Galgano.

The group has performed at American progressive rock festivals RoSfest, NEARfest, The Rogue Independent Music Festival, CalProg, and ProgDay.

IZZ’s album Crush of Night, was released in May 2012, and serves as Part 2 of a 3-part series of thematic albums that began with The Darkened Room in 2009. Featuring a guest appearance by Gary Green of Gentle Giant on Words and Miracles (electric guitar, guitar solos and backing vocals) and The Crush of Night (guitar solo). Their latest album, Everlasting Instant was released in April 2015.

Current members