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

Saffarid The Saffarid dynasty ( fa, صفاریان, safaryan) was a Persianate dynasty of eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian origin that ruled over parts of Persia, Greater Khorasan, and eastern Makran from 861 to 1003. One of the first indigenous Persians, ...

amir of

Sistan Sistān ( fa, سیستان), known in ancient times as Sakastān ( fa, سَكاستان, "the land of the Saka"), is a historical and geographical region in present-day Eastern Iran ( Sistan and Baluchestan Province) and Southern Afghanistan (N ...

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 g ...

. In 912, opposition to the

Samanid The Samanid Empire ( fa, سامانیان, Sāmāniyān) also known as the Samanian Empire, Samanid dynasty, Samanid amirate, or simply as the Samanids) was a Persianate Sunni Muslim empire, of Iranian dehqan origin. The empire was centred in Kho ...

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 Ahmad a ...

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

Ya'qub ibn Layth al-Saffar Ya'qūb ibn al-Layth al-Saffār ( fa, یعقوب لیث صفاری; 25 October 840 – 5 June 879), was a son of a coppersmith named Laith (coppersmith), Laith and he himself was also a coppersmith before rosing to the power , he was the founder of ...

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 ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

, a former

Kharijite The Kharijites (, singular ), also called al-Shurat (), 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 c ...

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

Zarang Zaranj or Zarang (Persian/Pashto/ bal, زرنج) is a city in southwestern Afghanistan, near the border with Iran, 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 ...

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

Friday prayer In Islam, Friday prayer or Congregational prayer ( ar, صَلَاة ٱلْجُمُعَة, ') is a prayer ('' ṣalāt'') that Muslims hold every Friday, after noon instead of the Zuhr prayer. Muslims ordinarily pray five times each day according ...

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 (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of 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 (''Selseleh-ye Safēd ...

and then to

Bukhara Bukhara (Uzbek language, Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara ...

. ‘Amr was sent to

Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...

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

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

, where the

Abbasids The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

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 rulers in Asia 10th-century Iranian people