Al-Ta'i was the Abbasid

Abbasid

The Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....

 Caliph

Caliph

The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word   which means "successor" or "representative"...

 in Baghdad

Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

 from 974 to 991. Very little is known about his personal and official life. During his Caliphate, Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

 was torn by contending factions — Fatimid

Fatimid

The Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...

, Turkish, and Carmathian; while the Buwayhid

Buwayhid

The Buyid dynasty, also known as the Buyid Empire or the Buyids , also known as Buwaihids, Buyahids, or Buyyids, were a Shī‘ah Persian dynasty that originated from Daylaman in Gilan...

 dynasyty was split up into parties that were fighting among themselves. To top this all off, the Byzantine Emperor John Tzimisces stormed the east in a victorious campaign in 975. After holding the office for seventeen years, al-Ta'i was deposed and cast into captivity by a Buwayhid ruler who craved al-Ta'i's property.

Assessment

At-Tai ruled for 17 years from 974 to 991 C.E. He was very weak and incapable. He had no hold on power. He was virtually a prisoner in the hands of the Buwayhids. During his rule the Abbasid

Abbasid

The Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....

 dominions further shrunk in extent. Syria and Hijaz were occupied by the Fatimid

Fatimid

The Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...

. The Abbasid

Abbasid

The Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....

 were no longer in the position to make any conquests. The protection of the borders now became the responsibility of the petty states that had come to established on the borders of the dominion.

More information on Ta'i can be found in Hilal al-Sabi's account of the Abbasid court, specifically the interaction between Ta'i and his Buwayhid generalissimo 'Adud al-Daula

'Adud al-Daula

Aḍud al-Dawla or Azod od-Dowleh Panah Khusraw was an emir of the Buyid dynasty in Iran and Iraq...

.