Nu'man ibn Bashir al-Ansari

Nu'man fought at the Battle of Siffin in 657 in support of Mu'awiya’s cause against Caliph Ali, and in 659, he led an expedition to Ayn al-Tamr against Ali's forces. Under Mu'awiya's caliphate, he served as governor of Homs and later as governor of Kufa from 679 to 680. Following the death of caliph Yazid I, Nu'man recognized the Mecca-based caliph Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, serving again as the governor of Homs. In 684, following the defeat of his pro-Zubayrid allies at the Battle of Marj Rahit, he was pursued and slain while fleeing the city.

• Name — Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr • Native Name — نُّعْمَانُ بْنُ بَشِيرٍ • Born — c. October 623 CE (c. Rabi' al-Akhir 2 AH) • Birthplace — Medina, Hejaz • Died — c. August 684 CE (c. Dhu'l-Hijja 64 AH) (aged c. 60) • Place of death — near Homs, Syria • Monarch1 — Mu'awiya I • Office1 — Umayyad governor of Kufa • Term1 — 679-680 • Predecessor1 — Abd al-Rahman ibn Umm al-Hakam al-Thaqafi • Successor1 — Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad • Monarch2 — Mu'awiya I • Office2 — Governor of Jund Hims • Term2 — 666–678 • Predecessor2 — Abd al-Rahman ibn Khalid • Successor2 — Malik ibn Hubayra al-Sakuni • Parents — Bashir ibn Sa'd Umrah bint Rawaha • Children — * Aban Amra Humayda Hind • Relatives — Abd Allah ibn Rawaha (maternal uncle) Mukhtar al-Thaqafi (son-in-law) • Allegiance — Umayyad Caliphate • Battles — *First Fitna • Battle of Siffin (657) • Battle of Ayn al-Tamr (659) • Second Fitna • Battle of Marj Rahit (684)

Nu'man ibn Bashir was born in Medina during the Islamic month of Rabi al-Akhir, which occurred fourteen months after the Hijrah, the migration of the Islamic prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina. He belonged to the Banu Khazraj, a major tribe of the Ansar. According to some Muslim authorities, he was the first child of the Ansar to be born after the Hijrah. His father, Bashir ibn Sa'd, was a distinguished companion of Muhammad, and his mother, Amra bint Rawaha, was a sister of another noted Ansari companion, Abd Allah ibn Rawaha.

Nu'man was dedicated to avenging the death of Caliph Uthman and was a vociferous opponent of Caliph Ali. He became a loyalist of the Umayyad governor of Syria, Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, during his conflict with Ali and participated in the Battle of Siffin in 657, distinguishing himself from most of the Ansar, who were generally aligned with Ali. In 659, Nu'man led an expedition against a garrison of Ali's troops at Ayn al-Tamr in the desert region south of Hit, west of the Euphrates, but was repulsed. At some point following the death of Mu'awiya's governor of Jund Hims (the military district of Homs), Abd al-Rahman ibn Khalid, in 666, Mu'awiya, who had become caliph in 661, appointed Nu'man, who had since settled in Homs, as his governor there. In 679, Nu'man was appointed governor of Kufa by Mu'awiya. In 680, Mu'awiya died and was succeeded by his son Yazid I, who afterward replaced Nu'man with Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad in 680, partly as a result of Nu'man's lax response to the anti-Umayyad activities of Muslim ibn Aqil, who was rallying support in the city for Husayn ibn Ali. In 682, Yazid dispatched Nu'man to Medina to reconcile the Ansar to his caliphate, but he was unable to obtain their support.

After Yazid's death, Nu'man recognized the Mecca-based, anti-Umayyad caliph Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, who appointed Nu'man to his old provincial post in Homs. This aligned him with the Qaysi tribes which dominated northern Syria and the governors of Damascus and Palestine, al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Fihri and Natil ibn Qays al-Judhami. The two sides met at the Battle of Marj Rahit in 684, during which Nu'man dispatched Shurahbil ibn Dhi'l-Kala and the latter's Himyari tribesmen from the Homs garrison to join al-Dahhak. After receiving reports that the Qaysi tribes led by al-Dahhak were routed by the pro-Umayyad Banu Kalb, Nu'man fled Homs with his wife, Na'ila bint Umara, who was previously married to Mu'awiya, and his children, but was pursued and slain by members of the Homs garrison in Dhu al-Hijjah 64 AH (August 684 CE). His wife and children were spared and came under the protection of the Banu Kalb, his wife's tribe.