This article examines the governors of Kūfa appointed by the caliph ʿUthmān b. ʿAffān during his twelve-year rule, arguing that kinship ties to a province played a decisive role in both governors’ appointments and dismissals. Prosopographical data shows that ʿUthmān strategically selected governors with strong familial connections to Kūfa, but dismissed them as their power grew to prevent threats to his rule. Using five governors as case studies, this article explores how family alliances, often through marriage, shaped early Islamic governance. It reframes early political developments by identifying kinship as central in state formation before the Umayyad and ʿAbbāsid eras.
Aliya Abdukadir Ali (Mon,) studied this question.