death of Uthman. Having failed to intimidate Ali's governor of Egypt to switch sides, Mu'awiya had also forged a letter from the governor to himself in which the latter supported the former's right for revenge, according to Madelung. In response to Ali's letter, Mu'awiya asked Jarir for time, then addressed the congregation at the next prayer, appealed to their Syrian patriotism, and received their pledge as to revenge Uthman, as detailed by Ibn Muzahim and the Shia historian Ibn A'tham al-Kufi (ninth century). He soon launched a propaganda campaign across Syria, charging Ali in the death of Uthman and calling for revenge. Alliance against Ali Mu'awiya also wrote to Amr ibn al-As to join him in Damascus, possibly to draw on his political and military expertise, or perhaps he hoped that Amr would bring the neighboring Egypt under his rule, having failed earlier to intimidate Ali's governor of Egypt to switch sides. A Qurayshite companion of Muhammad and a military strategist, Amr was believed to be an illegitimate child of Abu Sufyan. He had conquered, and then governed Egypt, but was later removed by Uthman. After his dismissal, Amr incited rebellion against Uthman, and later publicly took some credit for the assassination of Uthman by the Egyptian rebels. However, he soon changed his tone and pinned the murder on Ali, possibly fearing the Umayyads' wrath, or perhaps realizing that he would not receive a post in Ali's government. After arriving in Damascus, Amr officially swore his allegiance to Mu'awiya in 657. He thus pledged to back the Umayyads against Ali in return for the life-long governorship of Egypt. This pact turned a suspect in the assassination of Uthman into his avenger, and also later gave rise to a story recorded by some historians, including al-Baladhuri and the Shia-leaning al-Ya'qubi (). Amr privately confesses in this story to selling his religion for worldly gain. Even though the story itself is apocryphal, Ayoub suggests that it may portray the popular perception of the conflict between the Ali and Mu'awiya, which the story presents as a conflict between "the people of religion" and "the people of this world," respectively. The Mu'tazilite Ibn Abi'l-Hadid () gives Amr the credit for successfully spreading the rumor that Ali had killed Uthman. Mu'awiya also brought into his camp the influential Syrian Shurahbil ibn Simt, whom he convinced that Ali was guilty in the death of Uthman, probably