Abu Hafs ‘Amr ibn Ya'qub ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Amr (born 902/903) was the

Saffarid The Saffarid dynasty () was a Persianate dynasty of eastern Iranian origin that ruled over parts of Persia, Greater Khorasan, and eastern Makran from 861 to 1002. One of the first indigenous Persian dynasties to emerge after the Islamic conque ...

amir of

Sistan Sistān (), also known as Sakastān (, , current name: Zabol) and Sijistan (), is a historical region in south-eastern Iran and extending across the borders of present-day south-western Afghanistan, and south-western Pakistan. Mostly correspond ...

for slightly over a year (912–913). He was the son of Ya'qub, the brother of

Tahir ibn Muhammad ibn Amr Abu'l-Hasan Tahir ibn Muhammad ibn Amr (883 – after 909) was amir of the Saffarid amirate from 901 until 909. He was the son of Muhammad ibn Amr. Biography During Tahir's early life, he served as the governor of Marw during the reign of his gr ...

. In 912, opposition to the

Samanid The Samanid Empire () was a Persianate society, Persianate Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim empire, ruled by a dynasty of Iranian peoples, Iranian ''dehqan'' origin. The empire was centred in Greater Khorasan, Khorasan and Transoxiana, at its greatest ...

governor of

Abu Salih Mansur Abu Salih Mansur (died 915) was a Samanid prince, who served as governor during the reign of his uncle Isma'il ibn Ahmad, his cousin Ahmad Samani, and Nasr II. Biography Abu Salih governed several provinces during the reign of Isma'il ibn Ahm ...

resulted in a revolt. As he was the only surviving member of the Saffarids descended from

Ya'qub ibn Layth al-Saffar Ya'qub ibn al-Layth Saffar (; 25 October 840 – 5 June 879), was a coppersmith and the founder of the Saffarid dynasty of Sistan, with its capital at Zaranj (a city now in south-western Afghanistan). Under his military leadership, he conquered m ...

still in Sistan, the ten-year-old ‘Amr was made the figurehead of the movement. Chief among the leaders of the revolt was

Muhammad ibn Hurmuz Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, ...

, a former

Kharijite The Kharijites (, singular ) were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the conflict with his challeng ...

and Samanid soldier, who enlisted the support of the ''‘ ayyarun'', imprisoned Abu Salih Mansur and wrested control of

Zarang Zaranj (Persian/Pashto/) is a city in southwestern Afghanistan, which has a population of 160,902 people as of 2015. It is the capital of Nimruz Province and is linked by highways with Lashkargah and Kandahar to the east, Farah to the north and ...

from the Samanids. Although ‘Amr was the leader of the rebellion in name, Muhammad b. Hurmuz had no intention of handing power over to him once the Samanids had been driven out of Sistan. He declared himself amir, inserting his name in the

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and minting his own coins. He was soon opposed, however, by the pro-Saffarid party, led by an Ibn al-Haffar, who took over the Ya'qubi palace and proclaimed ‘Amr as amir on May 2, 912. When Muhammad b. Hurmuz attempted to recover his power he was killed. ‘Amr and Ibn al-Haffar were soon forced to deal with a Samanid invasion launched in an attempt to recover Sistan. The Samanids occupied the outskirts of Zarang but were unable to enter the city. For nine months the Samanids and Saffarids fought around the city; at last on May 24, 913 ‘Amr and Ibn al-Haffar surrendered. Abu Salih Mansur was released, and safe conduct was promised for the defenders, but ‘Amr, Ibn al-Haffar and the ''‘ayyar'' leaders were sent to

Herat Herāt (; Dari/Pashto: هرات) is an oasis city and the third-largest city in Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Se ...

and then to

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

. ‘Amr was sent to

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

, while the ''‘ayyar'' leaders were executed. ‘Amr eventually left Samarkand for

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, where the

Abbasids 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 i ...

gave him refuge. Some time later he was invited back to Sistan by Abu Ja'far Ahmad, who had reestablished Saffarid rule over the province. He was given full honors and the position of redresser of grievances.

References

* Bosworth, C.E. ''The History of the Saffarids of Sistan and the Maliks of Nimruz (247/861 to 949/1542-3)''. Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers, 1994. {{DEFAULTSORT:Amr II 900s births Year of death unknown Rulers of the Saffarid dynasty 10th-century monarchs in Asia 10th-century Iranian people