Amr ibn Hurayth ibn Amr ibn Uthman al-Makhzumi (; died 705) was a prominent member of the

Quraysh The Quraysh () are an Tribes of Arabia, Arab tribe who controlled Mecca before the rise of Islam. Their members were divided into ten main clans, most notably including the Banu Hashim, into which Islam's founding prophet Muhammad was born. By ...

Kufa Kufa ( ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates, Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Along with Samarra, Karbala, Kadhimiya ...

and the deputy governor of the city under the

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

governors of Iraq

Ziyad ibn Abihi Abu al-Mughira Ziyad ibn Abihi (; ), also known as Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan (), was an administrator and statesman of the successive Rashidun and Umayyad caliphates in the mid-7th century. He served as the governor of Basra in 665–670 and ultimat ...

(670–673),

Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad () was the Umayyad governor of Basra, Kufa and Khurasan during the reigns of caliphs Mu'awiya I () and Yazid I (), and the leading general of the Umayyad army under caliphs Marwan I () and Abd al-Malik (). He virtually ...

(675–683) and

Bishr ibn Marwan Abu Marwan Bishr ibn Marwan ibn al-Hakam (; –694) was an Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad prince and List of Umayyad governors of Iraq, governor of Iraq during the reign of his brother, Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, Abd al-Malik. Bishr fought at Bat ...

(692–694).

Life

Amr was the son of Hurayth ibn Amr ibn Uthman ibn Abd Allah ibn Umar ibn Makhzum and belonged to the

Banu Makhzum The Banu Makhzum () was one of the wealthy clans of the Quraysh (tribe), Quraysh. They are regarded as being among the three most powerful and influential clans in Mecca before the advent of Islam, the other two being the Banu Hashim (the tribe of ...

clan of the

tribe of

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

.Elad 2008, p. 171. He became the wealthiest person in the Arab garrison town and administrative center of

in Iraq. When Kufa was added to

's governorship by Caliph

Mu'awiya I Mu'awiya I (–April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and immediately after the four Rashid ...

in 670, thereby making Ziyad governor of all Iraq, Ziyad made Amr his deputy governor over Kufa.Elad 2008, p. 172. He remained in this post until Ziyad's death in 673 and was reinstalled by Ziyad's son and ultimate successor,

Ubayd Allah Ubayd Allah (), also spelled or transliterated Obaidullah, Obaydullah, Obeidallah, or Ubaydullah, is a male Arabic given name that means "little servant of God". Given name Obaidullah * Obaidullah (detainee), an Afghan detainee held in Guantanamo ...

who took office in 675. Ibn Ziyad also made him head of his ''

shurta ''Shurṭa'' () is the common Arabic term for police. Its literal meaning is that of a "picked" or elite force. The ''shurṭa'' or police force were established in the early days of the Caliphate, perhaps as early as the caliphate of Uthman (644 ...

'' (security forces). Ibn Ziyad was expelled from

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

after the death of Caliph

Yazid I Yazid ibn Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan (; 11 November 683), commonly known as Yazid I, was the second caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from April 680 until his death in November 683. His appointment by his father Mu'awiya I () was the first ...

() and Amr was similarly toppled by the Kufans, who replaced him with

Amir ibn Mas'ud al-Jumahi Emir (; ' (), also transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremonial authority. The title has ...

. The Umayyad governor of Iraq,

appointed Amr his deputy in Kufa in 692–94.Rowson 1985, p. 5, note 25. He is credited by

Ahmad ibn Hanbal Ahmad ibn Hanbal (; (164-241 AH; 780 – 855 CE) was an Arab Muslim scholar, jurist, theologian, traditionist, ascetic and eponym of the Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence—one of the four major orthodox legal schools of Sunni Islam. T ...

for introducing the ceremony marking the

Day of Arafat The Day of Arafah () is an Islamic holiday that falls on the ninth day of Dhu al-Hijjah of the lunar Islamic calendar. It is the second day of the Hajj pilgrimage and is followed by the holiday of Eid al-Adha. At dawn of this day, Muslim pilgr ...

in Kufa, though this has also been ascribed to

Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr Mu'sab ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam al-Asadi (; died October 691) was the governor of Basra in 686–691 for his brother, the Mecca-based counter-caliph Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, during the Second Fitna. Mus'ab was a son of al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam ...

. He died in 705.

References

Bibliography

* * * * *{{cite book , last1=Shaban , first1=M. A. , title=Islamic History: Volume 1, AD 600-750 (AH 132): A New Interpretation , date=1971 , publisher=Cambridge University Press , location=Cambridge , isbn=0-521-08137-8 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TEFMYRxteB4C 705 deaths 7th-century Arab people 7th-century people from the Umayyad Caliphate Banu Makhzum Umayyad governors of Kufa