He was the governor of Khurasan and the surrounding towns. Annually, 48,000,000 dirhams of tribute were collected under his authority.
Upon his death, the caliph al-Wāthiq appointed his son Tahir in his place. Nine days before Abdullah b. Tahir's death, and on Monday, the eleventh day of the month of Rabīʿ al-Awwal of that year, Ashnās al-Turki also passed away.
Ibn Khallikān said: "He died in the year 228 of the Hijra in the city of Merv. There is also a report that he died in Nishapur. Abdullah b. Tahir was a man of generosity and munificence, and he composed fine poetry."
After the year 220 of the Hijra, he served as governor of Egypt. According to the account of the vizier Abū'l-Qāsim b. Maʿazzī, the Abdelavi melon grown in Egypt is attributed to Abdullah b. Tahir. It takes its name from his own."
According to Ibn Khallikān, Abdullah b. Tahir did not actually like this variety of melon, but since he was the first to plant it in Egypt, it was named after him. Allah knows best the truth of the matter.
Let us present some examples of Abdullah b. Tahir's fine poetry:
"Forgive my fault so that you may attain my gratitude; do not deprive me of my reward.
Do not force me to offer excuses, for perhaps I may not be able to express them."
"We are a people whom cheeks and necks soften, yet we soften iron. Eyes have willingly captured our hands,
yet we are capable of hunting lions.
We possess dominion; yet cheeks with bright and shining eyes also possess us.
Lions fear our wrath; yet we,
when a fawn drops to the ground, are afraid if it shows it is sitting.
In battles, you see us as free men;
but in peace, we appear as slaves of maidservants."
Ibn Khallikān said: "Abdullah b. Tahir was of the Khuzāʿī tribe. He was a freedman of Ṭalḥa-tu't-Tulāḥa al-Khuzāʿī. Abū Tammām praised him. On one occasion, when he visited him in Hamadan, he offered him salt as a gesture of hospitality. There, in the presence of one of his womenfolk, he compiled the book 'Ḥamāsa' for him."
When al-Maʾmūn appointed him as governor of Syria and Egypt, he went there. The amount of revenue from the land of Egypt was reported to him.
While on the road, 3,000,000 dinars were brought to him. He distributed all of this money while still in the same assembly. When he saw Egypt on his way there, he belittled it and said: "May Allah destroy Pharaoh! How miserly and lacking in ambition he was, that he boasted and took pride in ruling this town, saying, 'I am your greatest lord; does not the dominion of Egypt belong to me?' (cf. al-Nāziʿāt 79:24). If he had seen Baghdad and the other cities, what would he have done and said?"
In the year 230 of the Hijra, notable figures such as ʿAlī b. Jaʿd al-Jawharī, the scribe of al-Wāqidī and author of 'Kitāb al-Ṭabaqāt' and other works, Muḥammad b. Saʿd, and Saʿīd b. Muḥammad al-Jaramī, passed away.