The founder of the Hamdanid dynasty of Aleppo, Syria. Having captured Aleppo in 946 and Damascus in 947, Sayfuddaulah marched towards Egypt and took Ramla. From 950 till his death, he had military encounters with the Byzantine Empire almost every year. He was successful in most of the times, but in 962. Sayfuddaulah patronised the great poet al Muttanabi and Mualim Sani the philosopher Farabi. He himself was a poet of great ability.