Amr was the son of Hurayth ibn Amr ibn Uthman ibn Abd Allah ibn Umar ibn Makhzum and belonged to the
Banu Makhzum clan of the
Quraysh tribe of
Mecca. He became the wealthiest person in the Arab garrison town and administrative center of
Kufa in Iraq. When Kufa was added to
Ziyad ibn Abihi's governorship by Caliph
Mu'awiya I in 670, thereby making Ziyad governor of all Iraq, Ziyad made Amr his deputy governor over Kufa. He remained in this post until Ziyad's death in 673 and was reinstalled by Ziyad's son and ultimate successor,
Ubayd Allah who took office in 675. Ibn Ziyad also made him head of his
shurta (security forces). The Umayyad governor of Iraq,
Bishr ibn Marwan appointed Amr his deputy in Kufa in 692–94. He is credited by
Ahmad ibn Hanbal for introducing the ceremony marking the
Day of Arafat in Kufa, though this has also been ascribed to
Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr. He died in 705. ==References==