 In 871 Mansur ibn Ja'far al-Khayyat was appointed as the administrator of Basra and the Tigris districts, but he was similarly incapable of making any headway against the Zanj, and his troops suffered significant casualties at the hands of the rebels.Due to its proximity to the rebels, as well as its status as a major commercial and cultural center, the city of Basra was a prime target for the Zanj.