Abu Ali al-Husayn ibn Ahmad al-Madhara'i, also known as Abu Zunbur ("the hornets' man"),[1] was a member of the bureaucratic al-Madhara'i dynasty of fiscal officials, and served as director of finances of Egypt and Syria for the Abbasid Caliphate in the first decades of the 10th century.
Abu Bakr held the post until his death in 884, and eventually named al-Husayn as his representative in Syria, while another son, Ali, fulfilled the same role in Egypt.
[1] Al-Husayn remained in charge of the finances of Syria throughout the Tulunid regime, but as it began to weaken, he took up contacts with the Abbasid court in Baghdad.
Consequently, when the Tulunid domains were brought once more under direct Abbasid control in 904–5, and many of the family were deported to Baghdad, he replaced his nephew Ahmad as director of finances of Egypt.
[1] During the second vizierate of Ali ibn Isa al-Jarrah (913–917), al-Husayn was once more appointed to Syria, while another nephew, Muhammad, took over in Egypt.