صاحب الزنج

Leader of the Zanj. He emerged on the marshes of Basra in Shawwal of the year 255 AH ¹. He entered al-Ubulla in Rajab of the year 256 AH ², and took control of Abbadan ³.

Al-Mas'udi reports that he claimed to be Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Isa ibn Zayd ibn Ali ibn al-Husayn. He says that most people held that he was an impostor, and that the family of Abu Talib denied him. He was from Warzanin, in the districts of Rayy ⁴.

Al-Mas'udi considers that his acts of killing women, children and the aged reflect the views of the Azariqa among the Kharijites. He reports that he would begin his sermons with the takbir and the tahlil, then "There is no judgement but God's", and that he regarded all sins as associating partners with God. The first to write an account of his deeds was Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Sahl ⁴.

According to al-Mas'udi, his rule lasted fourteen years and four months. He reports that some three hundred thousand people were killed in a single battle at Basra. He was killed on the night of Saturday, two nights into Safar of the year 270 AH ⁵.

• These judgements and figures come from al-Mas'udi and need to be checked against other sources. The entry needs an additional source.