Amr ibn al-As

‘Amr ibn al-‘As
Emir of Palestine
Monarch	Umar Ibn al-Khattab
In office 637–640
Preceded by	None (Conquest of the Levant from the Byzantine Empire)
Succeeded by	Muawiyah I (as Governor of the Levant)
Governor of Egypt
In office 640–644
Monarch	Umar Ibn al-Khattab
Preceded by	None (Conquest of Egypt from the Byzantine Empire)
Succeeded by	Abdallah ibn Sa'ad
In office 658–664
Monarch	Muawiyah I
Preceded by	Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr
Succeeded by	Utba ibn Abi Sufyan
Personal details
Born	14 February 585 Mecca, Arabia
Died	664 Egypt.
Military service
Allegiance	Rashidun Caliphate Ummayad Caliphate
Service/branch	Rashidun army Ummayad Army
Years of service	634–636
Rank	Commander Governor of Egypt (642–644), (657–664)
Commands	Conquest of Palestine Conquest of Egypt, First Muslim Civil War

‘Amr ibn al-‘As (Arabic: عمرو بن العاص‎‎; c. 585 – January 6, 664) was an Arab military commander who is most noted for leading the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 640. A contemporary of Muhammad, and one of the Sahaba ("Companions"), who rose quickly through the Muslim hierarchy following his conversion to Islam in the year 8 AH (629). He founded the Egyptian capital of Fustat and built the Mosque of Amr ibn al-As at its center.

ʻAmr belonged to the Banu Sahm clan of the Quraysh. Assuming he was over eighty years old when he died, he was born before 592. 'Amr ibn al-'As was born in Arabia in the city of Mecca and died in Egypt.

al-'As ibn Wa'il (Arabic: العاص بن وائل) was the father of 'Amr ibn al-'As and Hisham ibn al-A'as. He was a part of Hilf al-Fudul[1]. Before his military career, ʻAmr was a trader, who had accompanied caravans along the commercial trading routes through Asia and the Middle East, including Egypt.

'Amr was a shrewd, highly intelligent man who belonged to the nobility of the Quraysh. He fought with the Quraysh against Islam in several battles. As he went to fight the Muslims, he saw them praying, got highly interested and tried to find out more about Islam. He was determinedly hostile to Islam. In fact he was Quraysh’s envoy to the Negus, the ruler of Abyssinia. Once he converted to Islam with Khalid ibn al-Walid, he became a great commander fighting for the Islamic cause. The first mosque to be built in Africa was erected under his patronage and is still known as The Mosque of Amr ibn al-As. He came to Egypt as the commander in chief of the Muslim Arab troops in 640 AD.

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