Ziyad ibn Abih

Ziyad ibn Abih (Arabic: زياد بن أبيه‎‎) (622 AD – 673 AD) was a Muslim general and administrator from the clan of Umayyah. He was a great orator, a formidable warrior and one of the four 'shrewds of the Arabs' (Duhat al-Arab) with Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, 'Amr ibn al-'As and al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba.

Ziyad ibn Abih was born during the first year of Hijra in Ta'if to a member of the Banu Thaqif, of unknown parentage, due to the promiscuity of his mother, Sumaya, a maidservant of the famous Arab physician Al-Harith ibn Kalada. Ziyad was called 'ibn Abih' (son of his father) due to his problematic lineage. Some trace his lineage back to Ubayd al-Thaqafi while others to Abu Sufyan. He embraced Islam during the reign of Abu Bakr.

During the reign of Umar I, Ziyad worked as a scribe for the likes of Abdullah ibn Abbas, al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba, Abu Musa Ashaari and Abdullah ibn Aamir. He went on to hold many posts during his lifetime serving as the governor of Faris (Persia), Basra and Kufa.

After the Battle of the Camel, Ali moved to Kufa, entrusting Basra to his cousin, Abdullah ibn Abbas. Soon after, ibn Abbas left Basra to join Ali in the Battle of Siffin, leaving the city in the trust of Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali, who led the prayers, and Ziyad, who oversaw the administration of taxes, bayt al-mal (house of treasury), and the diwan (army register).

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