Bishr ibn Dawud al-Muhallabi (Arabic: بشر بن داود المهلبي) was a governor of al-Sind for the Abbasid Caliphate, serving during the caliphate of al-Ma'mun.[1]
A member of the Muhallabid family, Bishr was the son of Dawud ibn Yazid, who had served as the governor of al-Sind since the caliphate of al-Rashid. After Yazid died in 820 or 821, Bishr succeeded his father and took over the government of al-Sind. Al-Ma'mun agreed to recognize him as governor, on the condition that Bishr send a million dirhams in tribute to him on an annual basis.[2]
In spite of this agreement, however, Bishr soon decided to rebel against the caliph,[3] and stopped forwarding any money to Baghdad. In response, al-Ma'mun placed an army under the command of Hajib ibn Salih in 826 and instructed him to reassert caliphal control over al-Sind. Bishr, however, defeated Hajib and forced him to retreat from the province.[4] Following this, al-Ma'mun invested Ghassan ibn 'Abbad with the governorship of al-Sind and sent him to defeat Bishr.[5] This time, Bishr decided to surrender and requested that Ghassan give him a guarantee of safe conduct. This was granted, and Bishr returned with Ghassan to Iraq in 831.[6]