Qurra ibn Sharik al-Absi’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Qurra ibn Sharik al-Absi was the governor of Egypt in 709–715, under the Umayyad Caliphate. His governance was effective, and the chronicler al-Kindi reports that he “reorganized the dīwān” (the army registers, with the names of those entitled to ʿatāʾ, government salary), rebuilt the mosque of Fustat and began irrigation works in the desert. According to Hugh N. Kennedy, he is “in some ways Qurra is the best-known of all the Umayyad governors of Egypt”, since “it is from his period of office that the richest collection of administrative papyri survive”. He died in office in 715.