Abdullah ibn Aamir Abdullah ibn Aamir ( Arabic : عبدالله بن عامر ) was a governor of Busra ( 647 – 656 ) and an extremely successful military general during the reign of Rashidun Caliph Uthman ibn Affan . He is well known for his administrative and military prowess . Early life . Abdullah ibn Amir was born in Makkah , Saudi Arabia . He belonged to the Umayyad clan of Quraish . His father was a maternal uncle of Caliph Uthman . Abdullah was thus a cousin of Uthman . Appointment as the Governor of Busra . In the year 647 , when Abu - Musa al - Asha ' ari was deposed from the governorship of Basra , Caliph Uthman appointed Abdullah ibn Aamir as the Governor of Basra . Abdullah ibn Aamar was only twenty - five years old that time . Conquest of Abdullah ibn Aamir . Abdullah b ' Aamir , in spite of his young age , was a man of exceptional merits . He was a good administrator and a skillful general . Soon after assuming charge as governor , Abdullah ibn Aamir embarked on a campaign to crush a revolt in Persia . Re - conquest of Fars . The Persian province of Fars was conquered during the reign of Caliph Umar . During Uthman ’ s reign the province broke into revolt like other Persian provinces . Uthman directed Abdullah ibn Aamir to crush the rebellion activities . He accordingly marched with a large force to Persepolis ; the city surrendered and agreed to pay tribute . From here the army marched to Al j bard , where a small resistance of Muslims had captured the city , and citizens agreed to pay tribute . Thereafter the Muslim force advanced to Jor . The Persians gave battle but they were defeated and the city was captured by the Muslims . Peace was made on the usual term of the payment of Jizya . While the Muslim army was still in Jor , Persepolis again broke into revolt ; Abdullah ibn Aamir took the forces to Persepolis and laid siege of the city . After a violent battle the Muslims were able to regain the control of the city once again . All leaders among the Persians who were guilty of instigating the revolt were hunted out and executed . With the fall of Persepolis , other cities in Fars also submitted unconditionally . The Uthman ’ s appointed governor of Fars , after analyzing the situation , sent Islamic missionaries to various cities of the region to convert the people to Islam to avoid a revolt in future , as the cause of revolt was the spirit of nationalism in Persians and discrimination of Persians by Arab rulers . Re - conquest of Kerman . After suppressing revolts in Fars , Abdullah ibn Aamir turned towards Kerman . He sent a force under the command of Mujasshaa ibb Musa Salmi . Kerman was soon re - conquered , with little resistance . Re - conquest of Sistan . The Persian Empire ' s province of Sistan in the 7th century extended from the modern Iranian province of Sistan to central Afghanistan and Baluchistan province of Pakistan . Sistan was captured during the reign of Caliph Umar , and like other provinces of the Persian Empire it also broke into revolt during Uthman s reign in 649 . Uthman directed the governor of Busra , Abdullah ibn Aamir to re - conquer the province . A column was sent to Sistan under the command of Rabeah ibn Ziyad . He re - conquered it up to what is now Zaranj in Afghanistan . Rabeah ibn Ziyad was made governor of Sistan . He remained there for years , then he left for Busra , and the province broke into revolt once again , this time in a much larger area . Abdullah ibn Aamir sent Abdulrehman ibn Sumra to undertake the operation . Abdur Rahman b Sumra led the Muslim forces to Sistan and after crossing the frontier and overcoming resistance in the border towns advanced to Zaranj . Once Zaranj was captured Abdulrehman marched into Afghanistan and conquered it into north up to Kabul and the Hindu Kush mountains . He returned to Zaranj and remained governor until Uthman ' s death in 656 . Re - conquest of Khorasan . Khorasan , a province of the Persian Empire , extended from what is now north eastern Iran to western Afghanistan and southern Turkmenistan . It was conquered during the reign of Caliph Umar , under the command of Ahnaf ibn Qais . After the death of Umar , Khorasan broke into revolt under Persian Emperor Yazdegerd III , but before he could lead the Persians against the Muslims , he was betrayed and killed in 651 . Caliph Uthman in 651 , sent Abdullah ibn Aamir , the governor of Busra , to re - conquer Khorasan . Abdullah ibn Aamir marched with large force from Busra to Khorasan . After capturing the main forts in Khorasan he sent many columns to various directions into Khorasan , the strategy being to prevent the Persians from gathering into a large force . The town of Bayak , in modern Afghanistan , was taken by force , with a Muslim commander falling in the battle . After Bayak , the Muslims marched towards Tabisan , which was captured with little resistance . The Muslim army captured the city of Nishapur after a long siege . The Muslim army continued capturing other small and big towns in the Khurassan region . Afterwards they consolidated their position in Khurassan . The Muslims then marched towards Herat in Afghanistan , which surrendered to Muslims peacefully . After gaining control of the region the Muslims marched towards city of Merv in modern Turkmenistan . The city surrendered along with other towns of the region except one , Sang , which was later taken by force . The campaign in Khorasan ended with conquest of Balkh ( Afghanistan ) in 654 . Campaign in Transoxiana . After consolidating Muslim forces in Khorasan , Abdullah ibn Aamir crossed the Oxus River and invaded Uzbekistan in southern Transoxiana . Details of these campaigns are little known but it is known that a greater part of southern Transoxiana submitted to the suzerainty of the Rashidun Caliphate . Death of Caliph Uthman and its aftermath . After the successful completion of his campaigns , Abdullah ibn Aamir donned the Ahram in Nishapur , and made a pilgrimage to Makkah to perform the Hajj and offer thanks to God . After performing the Hajj , Abdullah b ' Aamir proceeded to Madinah to see Uthman . Before Abdullah ibn Aamir reached Madinah , Uthman had been martyred . That was a great shock for Abdullah ibn Aamir . When Zubayr ibn al - Awwam , Talha and Ayesha raised the call for the vengeance for the blood of Uthman from the rebels , Abdullah ibn Aamir suggested them to come with him to Busra because of his greater influence in the city . The confederates succeeded in capturing Basra because of the influence that Abdullah ibn Aamir commanded over the people of Basra . Along with Talha and Zubayr ibn al - Awwam , Abdullah ibn Aamir arrested and killed around 4000 suspected rebels in connection with the murder of Caliph Uthman . In the Battle of the Camel in December 656 , the confederates were defeated and Busra was captured by Caliph Ali . During Caliph Ali ’ s reign . The reign of Caliph Ali was full of mischief . Though Abdullah ibn Aamir , did not take part in the Battle of Siffin , fought between the forces of Caliph Ali and Muawiyah , he supported the vengeance of Caliph Uthman ' s murder . After the murder of Caliph Ali in 661 , his eldest son Hassan ibn Ali became the caliph . He was pressured by the Syrian governor Muawiyah to resign as caliph . Avoiding another civil war , Hassan ibn Ali resigned in the favor of Muawiyah six months later . During this Abdullah ibn Aamir supported the caliphate of Muawiyah . During Mauwyah ’ s reign . The caliphate of Muawiyah founded the Umayyad dynasty , dissolving the Rashidun empire of Rashidun Caliphs . Abdullah ibn Aamir for some time remained the governor of Busra under the Umayyad dynasty , though later Muawiyah disposed him from the governorship of Busra presumably due to his growing influence in Busra . Death . Abdullah ibn Aamir protested against his dismissal . Abdullah left Busra for Madinah and died there in the year 678 , at the age of 56 . Legacy . Abdullah ibn Aamir ’ s reign as a governor of province of Busra for 9 years ( 647 – 656 ) was extremely successful . Caliph Uthman was accused of nepotism , appointing his cousin Abdullah ibn Aamir , a young man of twenty - five years , as the Governor of Busra . Abdullah ibn Aamir proved to be the most successful of Caliph Uthman ' s governors , as no other governor was able to make conquests on as large a scale . Abdullah ibn Aamir , though not well known , is honored as one of the top ranking generals of Islamic history .