Amr ibn al-Zubayr

Background and lineage

Amr was the son of al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and Umm Khalid Ama bint Khalid, a member of the Umayyad clan who had returned from the Migration to Abyssinia in 628. He belonged to the Banu Asad branch of the Quraysh. His siblings included Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr, Urwa ibn al-Zubayr, Hamza, Ja'far, Al-Mundhir, Khalid, and Ramla bint al-Zubayr. His paternal aunt was Aisha, wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was named in honor of Amr ibn Sa'id ibn al-As, who died at the Battle of the Yarmuk.

Biography

Under Ali and Mu'awiya I

During the caliphate of Ali (r. 656–661), Amr joined the expedition to Basra alongside his father Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and others seeking to avenge the assassination of Caliph Uthman, who had been killed by rebels, though Zubayr ultimately left him and his brother behind in accordance with the wishes of Asma bint Abi Bakr, the wife of Zubayr. During the reign of Mu'awiya I r. 661–680, Amr was granted 100,000 dirhams to clear his debts, but he fraudulently altered the official letter to read two hundred thousand dirhams; when discovered, Mu'awiya imprisoned him until his brother Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr paid the debt, an incident that prompted Mu'awiya to establish the department of the seal.

Under Yazid I and conflict with Abd Allah

During the early reign of Yazid I, Amr refused to pledge allegiance to the caliph. In 60 AH (680 CE), the Umayyad governor of Medina, Amr ibn Sa'id al-Ashdaq, appointed him head of the city’s shurta (security forces). His mandate included enforcing Umayyad authority and suppressing supporters of his brother Abd Allah, who had refused to recognize Yazid.

Amr reportedly punished Quraysh and Ansar suspected of supporting Abd Allah with lashes, reinforcing his position as the central Umayyad enforcer in Medina. He famously flogged several prominent individuals, including his own brother al-Mundhir, his nephew Muhammad ibn al-Mundhir, another nephew named Khubayb ibn Abd Allah, and the sons of other prominent companions of Muhammad.

With Umayyad authorization, Amr led an expedition of approximately 2,000 men from Medina to Mecca to suppress his brother’s rebellion. His forces encountered resistance from Zubayrid loyalists, including two opposing contingents led by Mus'ab ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf and Abd Allah ibn Safwan. Amr's troops were defeated and his commander, Unays ibn Amr al-Aslami, was killed.

Amr himself was wounded and captured. When brought before Abd Allah and asked about his bloodied condition, he reportedly replied in verse:

We are not wounded upon our heels, but upon our feet does blood drip.

Capture and death

Sources differ on the exact circumstances of his death, though accounts overlap regarding his captivity and execution. While Julius Wellhausen states that he was captured following an ambush near Mecca and subsequently killed, early reports detailed by al-Tabari state that after his expedition was defeated outside Mecca, he sought refuge under his brother Ubaydah, who granted him protection. Brought before Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, who rebuked him and brushed aside Ubaydah's guarantee, Amr was imprisoned in a cell known as Arim and subjected to severe flogging by those he had previously punished, eventually dying from the lashes before his body was exposed on a gibbet.