Utba ibn Ghazwan (584–638)
Born 584 CE, died 638 CE.
Utba ibn Ghazwan al-Mazini (Arabic: عُتبة بن غَزْوان المازني, romanized: ʿUtba ibn Ghazwān al-Māzinī) (c. 581–638) was a well-known companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was the seventh person to convert to Islam and participated in the hijra to Abyssinia, but returned to stay with Muhammad in Mecca before making the second hijrah to Medina. He fought at the battle of Badr (624), the battle of Uhud (625), the Battle of the Trench (627) and many others, including the battles of Yamamah. During the caliphate of Umar (r. 634–644), Utba commanded a force of 2,000 men in a campaign against Ubullah which lasted from June through September 635. Once Uballah was occupied, Utba sent a force across the Tigris River which occupied the district of Furat, followed by Meisan and Abarqubaz. He was soon appointed governor of Basra (Iraq) by the caliph. In 639 Utba left for the Hijaz to perform hajj and to request Umar to relieve him of his office as governor. Umar refused, but while returning to Basra, Utba fell from his camel and died. He was succeeded by al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah as governor.
Text from the Wikipedia article Utba_ibn_Ghazwan, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.