Mansur ibn Jumhur al-Kalbi ( ar, منصور بن جمهور الكلبي) was an 8th-century
Arab commander and one of the main and most fanatical leaders of the south Arab ("Yaman") tribes in the
Qays–Yaman rivalry of the period, playing a major role during the
Third Fitna civil war.
Patricia Crone describes Mansur as "a coarse soldier equally devoid of nobility and piety" who was "shunned by devout contemporaries" as he disregarded religion and was motivated solely by his desire to avenge the torture and murder of the Yaman champion,
Khalid al-Qasri, by the ardently pro-
Qays governor of Iraq,
Yusuf ibn Umar al-Thaqafi, in 743.
A member of the Amir branch of the
Banu Kalb tribe, he began his career possibly in
Iraq, where the tribe had settled, but appears for the first time in
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
as a member of the plot to overthrow Caliph
al-Walid II
Al-Walīd ibn Yazīd (709 – 17 April 744) ( ar, الوليد بن يزيد) usually known simply as Al-Walid II was an Umayyad Caliph who ruled from 743 until his assassination in the year 744. He succeeded his uncle, Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik.
...
in early 744. After Walid's murder, his successor
Yazid III favoured the Yaman faction, and appointed Mansur as governor of Iraq in succession to Yusuf al-Thaqafi, perhaps as a deputy of al-Harith ibn al-Abbas ibn al-Walid. His tenure was brief, as he was soon replaced by the son of Caliph
Umar II,
Abdallah ibn Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz
( ar, عبد الله بن عمر بن عبد العزيز; died 750) was an Umayyad prince, the son of Caliph Umar II (), and briefly governor of Iraq under Yazid III in 744–745. In this capacity he quelled the pro-Alid rebellion of Abd Alla ...
. During his governorship, Mansur tried to dismiss the governor of
Khurasan
Greater Khorāsān,Dabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 or Khorāsān ( pal, Xwarāsān; fa, خراسان ), is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plate ...
,
Nasr ibn Sayyar
Naṣr ibn Sayyār al-Lāythi al-Kināni ( ar, نصر بن سيار الليثي الكناني; 663 – 9 December 748) was an Arab general and the last Umayyad governor of Khurasan in 738–748. Nasr played a distinguished role in the wars agai ...
, nominating his own brother Manzur as replacement, but Nasr managed to hold out and maintain his post until Mansur's replacement.
Mansur returned to Syria, but soon returned to Iraq, where he fought against the
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 ...
rebels under
al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Shaybani. As the Kharijites proved successful, he embraced their doctrine and converted to save his life. He continued fighting alongside the Kharijites until
Marwan II's general
Yazid ibn Hubayra defeated them in 747. Like many opponents of Marwan, he fled to
Fars and joined the forces of the
Alid
The Alids are those who claim descent from the '' rāshidūn'' caliph and Imam ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (656–661)—cousin, son-in-law, and companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad—through all his wives. The main branches are the (inc ...
rebel
Abdallah ibn Mu'awiya
( ar, عبد الله بن معاویه الهاشمي; died 747) was an Alids, Alid leader who led a rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate at Kufa and later Iran, Persia during the Third Fitna.
Early life and rise to the imamate
Abd Allah ibn ...
. When Ibn Hubayra defeated Ibn Mu'awiya shortly after, Mansur fled to India, where he managed to become
governor of Sind, and even obtained recognition of this post from the nascent
Abbasid Caliphate. In 751, however, the Abbasids sent
Musa ibn Ka'b al-Tamimi against him. Defeated in battle, Mansur fled to the desert, where he died.
References
Sources
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{{s-end
Date of birth unknown
751 deaths
Generals of the Umayyad Caliphate
Umayyad governors of Iraq
Arab generals
People of the Third Fitna
Abbasid governors of Sind
Arab rebels
Kharijites
8th-century Arabs
Banu Kalb