A Central Asian Muslim statesman born in Bukhara, reputedly of Prophetic descent, who rose in the Mongol Yuan administration and was appointed the first provincial governor of Yunnan in 1274. He built the first mosques of Yunnan and spread Islam and education, and is regarded as the founding ancestor of the Yunnanese Hui Muslim community — many Hui families trace their Ma surname to him. He died in Kunming in 1279 and was buried in the city's northern suburbs; his tomb is both a site of veneration and a nationally protected cultural relic. Though a statesman, he is venerated as the founding figure of Islam in China. (Sources: TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi; Encyclopaedia Iranica 'Sayyed Ajall'; zh.wikipedia.org '赛典赤·赡思丁墓')