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Uqba ibn Amir
Uqba ibn Amir
Governor of Egypt
	In office; 665–667
Monarch	Mu'awiya I
Preceded by	Utba ibn Abi Sufyan
Succeeded by	Maslama ibn Mukhallad
Personal details
Died	677/678; Fustat
Parent	Amir al-Juhani (father);

Uqba ibn Amir al-Juhani (Arabic: عقبة بن عامر الجهني‎, romanized: ʿUqba ibn ʿĀmir al-Juhanī; died 677/78) was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the Umayyad governor of Egypt in 665–667 and died in the province.

Life

Uqba ibn Amir hailed from the Juhayna tribe, a branch of the Quda'a confederation resident across Syria and northwestern Arabia.^[1]^[2] He became a well-known companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and had been the latter's muleteer.^[3]^[4] Uqba was also a poet and became known for his writing skills.^[3] He developed a reputation as an early reader of the Quran and possessed a version of the Muslim holy book that was different than the version descended from Caliph Uthman (r. 644–656).^[1]^[3] His recension of the Quran fell into oblivion after the Umayyad governor of Egypt, Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan, had another codex produced in accordance with the Uthmanid canon.^[5] Uqba is credited with the transmission of several hadith (traditions of Muhammad).^[3]

During the First Fitna, he was an active supporter of his friend Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan against Caliph Ali (r. 656–661).^[3] Mu'awiya became caliph in 661 and appointed Uqba the governor of Egypt,^[1] replacing the caliph's deceased brother, Utba ibn Abi Sufyan, in 664.^[4] According to the 9th-century historian al-Tabari, in 668/69, Uqba led the Arab troops of Egypt alongside the troops of Medina in a naval raid against Byzantine territory.^[6] He was replaced as governor by Maslama ibn Mukhallad al-Ansari in 669.^[4] He died in Egypt in 677/78.^[1] An honorary tomb was built on his grave in the cemetery of Qarafa al-Kubra near Fustat. During the Mamluk period in the 14th century, it was one of several ziyarat (Muslim pilgrimage sites) visited by Egyptian Muslims.^[7]