Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn al-Sari () (died January 822) was a governor of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

for the

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes ...

, from 820 until his death.

Career

Abu Nasr was the son of

al-Sari ibn al-Hakam Al-Sari ibn al-Hakam ibn Yusuf al-Zutti () (died November 820), also known as Al-Sari ibn al-Hakam al-Balkhi served twice as the Abbasid Caliphate's governor of Egypt. Career Al-Sari ibn al-Hakam was of Zutt origins. According to al-Kindi, he w ...

, the governor of Egypt in 816 and 817–820, and he inherited that position upon the latter's death in November 820. During his governorship Egypt remained divided among the various factions that had seized control in the midst of the power vacuum created during the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

between

al-Amin Abū Mūsā Muḥammad bin Hārūn al-Amīn (; April 787 – 24/25 September 813), better known by just his laqab of al-Amīn (), was the sixth Abbasid caliph from 809 to 813. Al-Amin succeeded his father, Harun al-Rashid, in 809 and ruled unt ...

and

al-Ma'mun Abū al-ʿAbbās Abd Allāh ibn Hārūn al-Maʾmūn (; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name al-Ma'mun (), was the seventh Abbasid caliph, who reigned from 813 until his death in 833. His leadership was marked by t ...

, and Abu Nasr's actual authority was mainly limited to the southern portion of the province, while much of

Lower Egypt Lower Egypt ( ') is the northernmost region of Egypt, which consists of the fertile Nile Delta between Upper Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, from El Aiyat, south of modern-day Cairo, and Dahshur. Historically, the Nile River split into sev ...

was in the hands of Ali ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Jarawi, the son of al-Sari's former rival Abd al-Aziz ibn al-Wazir al-Jarawi. Following Abu Nasr's appointment he and al-Jarawi continued their fathers' rivalry in an effort to gain mastery over the country. Two battles fought at Shatnuf and

Damanhur Damanhur ( ', ) is a city in Lower Egypt, and the capital of the Beheira Governorate. It is located northwest of Cairo, and E.S.E. of Alexandria, in the middle of the western Nile Delta. Damanhur is a historic city, whose history can be dated ...

reportedly left at least seven thousand dead and ended in losses for Abu Nasr's forces under the command of his brother Ahmad. Al-Jarawi's men subsequently advanced to the capital

Fustat Fustat (), also Fostat, was the first capital of Egypt under Muslim rule, though it has been integrated into Cairo. It was built adjacent to what is now known as Old Cairo by the Rashidun Muslim general 'Amr ibn al-'As immediately after the Mus ...

and threatened to burn the city, but after receiving an appeal from its residents al-Jarawi was convinced to make peace instead. Abu Nasr died in 822 after a term of fourteen months in office and was succeeded by his brother Ubaydallah ibn al-Sari.

Notes

References

* * * {{s-end 822 deaths 9th-century Abbasid governors of Egypt 9th-century Arab people