After the establishment of the Abbasid Caliphate in 750, Salm served under Caliph al-Mansur as governor of Rayy and Basra.[5] During the Alid revolt of 762–763 he served as governor of Rayy, and was asked by al-Mansur to come to assist in suppressing the uprising.[8] In 763, he was appointed governor of Basra,[9] keeping his post until his replacement by Muhammad ibn Sulayman ibn Ali during the next year (146 AH, 763/4 CE).[10] He died in 766.[1]