Yazid rose to prominence as a lieutenant of the Turkish commander
Itakh, and he served for a time as the chief of police (
ṣāḥib al-shurṭa) of
Samarra as the latter's deputy. and in 856 he was selected to govern Egypt on behalf of the Abbasid prince
al-Muntasir, Yazid's tenure as governor was characterized by a lack of stability in the country. In
Upper Egypt, rebellious
Arab tribes had effectively seized control of the area around
Aswan. In the north, Yazid was concerned with keeping dissent
followers of Ali in check. Several Alawis were arrested and deported to Samarra, and the central government sent him instructions to severely limit the freedoms
Alids and their supporters in the province. In 866 a revolt in the region of
Alexandria was begun by one
Jabir ibn al-Walid and enjoyed the support of the local Arabs,
Christians and
mawālī. Soon the rebels had spread across the
Delta region and defeated the Turkish garrison stationed at
Fustat. As a result of Yazid's failure to suppress the rebellion, he was recalled from his post by the central government in 867. of
Abbasid caliph
Al-Musta'in (r. 862–866) minted in Egypt, 248
A.H /862 A.D (Yazid also remained governor of Egypt during Caliph Al-Musta'in's reign) Part of the reason for Yazid's failure was that his powers as governor were limited. He had been given responsibility for Fustat and the
Nile districts, but Alexandria and
Barqa had been removed from the jurisdiction of the Egyptian government and were separately administered at the time. From 861 on this latter post was occupied by
Ahmad ibn al-Mudabbir, whose heavy taxes likely exacerbated the feelings of discontent among the populace. Yazid was replaced as governor by
Muzahim ibn Khaqan, who had been dispatched to the province with reinforcements to put down Jabir's rebellion. ==References==