died 663, Al-Fusṭāṭ, Egypt
Arab conqueror of Egypt.
After accepting Islam (с 630), he led a force to Oman, where he converted the region's rulers. He was a leader in the Muslim force that conquered southwestern Palestine in the 630s but gained fame when, on his own initiative, he set out to conquer Egypt, succeeding (642) after a two-year campaign. A good administrator and politician, late in his career he aided the governor of Syria, Alī , Islam's fourth caliph. He was rewarded with the governorship of Egypt at the beginning of the {{link=Umayyad dynasty">Umayyad dynasty (661).