Al-Hasan ibn Ahmad ibn Abi Khinzir was an Arab from the city of Mila.[1] He joined the Isma'ili da'wa led by Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i,[2] and when Abu Abdallah overthrew the Aghlabid dynasty of Ifriqiya in March 909 and established the Fatimid Caliphate, Ibn Abi Khinzir was chosen as governor (amil) of the capital of Ifriqiya, Kairouan.