Assamah was a leading member of the Egyptian wujuh, the Arab elite who dominated local affairs in the province during the early Islamic era.[1] An early mention of him occurs during the revolt of Muhammad the Pure Soul in 762–763, when according to one version of events he was arrested and sent to Iraq for having helped Muhammad's son Ali hide from the government authorities, before eventually being released by the caliph al-Mahdi and allowed to return to Egypt. Despite his imprisonment he remained in high standing in the province,[2] and in the following years he repeatedly served as sahib al-shurtah or chief of the Egyptian security forces, with six different governors appointing him to that office between 779 and 787.[3]