Masrur al-Balkhi

Masrur al-Balkhi (Arabic: مسرور البلخي‎‎) (d. December 26, 893) was a senior military officer in the late-9th century Abbasid Caliphate.

Little is known of Masrur's background; his nisba suggests that he was from Balkh and he may have been either Iranian (Afghan) or Turkish, but this is not known for certain. He is first mentioned by the historian al-Tabari in 870, during the events that resulted in the deposition of the caliph al-Muhtadi. When the revolt of Musa ibn Bugha al-Kabir began, Masrur was one of several officers who remained loyal to the caliph, and he was placed in charge of the administration of the caliph's palace. During the battle against the rebels he was in command of al-Muhtadi's right flank, but the caliph's forces were defeated and the troops fled.

During the reign of al-Mu'tamid (r. 870–892), the caliph's brother and effective regent al-Muwaffaq made Masrur one of the leading officers of the Abbasid army. In 872 he led an expedition against the Jacobite Kurds and succeeded in routing them, and in 872, 874 and 875 he commanded several campaigns against the Kharijite rebel Musawir in al-Jazira. In 875 he replaced Musa ibn Bugha as the commander in charge of suppressing the Zanj Rebellion, and was named as the governor of al-Ahwaz, Basra, the Tigris districts, al-Yamama, and al-Bahrayn. Later that year, as part of al-Mu'tamid's succession arrangements, he was nominally appointed as al-Muwaffaq's governor of all of the eastern provinces of the caliphate.

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