Career
He was an important participant in the political developments of his time and the object of many poets' praise. He is also regarded the progenitor of the Bu Said tribe, some of whose members have been Oman's ruling Al Said dynasty since the 18th century. Al-Muhallab first served under the caliph Muʿāwiyah, campaigning in South Asia and raiding the country between Kābul and Multān.
Later he was stationed in the eastern provinces, leading expeditions against the Central Asian city of Samarkand for the governors of Khorasan, in the north-east of modern Iran. Soon after the death of Muʿāwiyah in 680, the Islamic community was convulsed by civil wars. Basra subsequently became known as Basra al-Muhallab.
The rise of the Muhallabids and the "Omani Azd" in Khorasan and Basra is linked to their alliance with the Rabi'ah against the Mudar.