The haras (; "the Guard") was a personal bodyguard unit of the

caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

s during the Umayyads and the

Abbasids The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes i ...

. The haras was also instituted in the

Emirate of Córdoba An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalen ...

in contemporary Spain.

Origin

Muhammad era

The Haras were depicted first time during the time of

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, where several early Muslim strong man such as

Abu Bakr Abd Allah ibn Abi Quhafa (23 August 634), better known by his ''Kunya (Arabic), kunya'' Abu Bakr, was a senior Sahaba, companion, the closest friend, and father-in-law of Muhammad. He served as the first caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruli ...

Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas ibn Wuhayb al-Zuhri () was an Arabs, Arab Muslims, Muslim commander. He was the founder of Kufa and served as its governor under Umar, Umar ibn al-Khattab. He played a leading role in the Muslim conquest of Persia and was a cl ...

, Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, Dzakwan ibn al-Qays,

Zubayr ibn al-Awwam Al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam ibn Khuwaylid al-Asadi (; ) was an Arab Muslim commander in the service of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the caliphs Abu Bakr () and Umar () who played a leading role in the Ridda Wars, Ridda wars against rebel tribes in ...

Bilal ibn Rabah Bilal ibn Rabah (; ), also known as Bilāl al-Ḥabashī or simply Bilal, was a sahabah, close companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born in Mecca, he was of Abyssinian people, Abyssinian (modern-day Ethiopia) descent and was formerly ensl ...

, Abbad ibn Bishr, and

Abu Ayyub al-Ansari Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (, , died c. 674) — born Khalid ibn Zayd ibn Kulayb ibn Tha'laba () in Yathrib — was from the tribe of Banu Najjar, and a close companion (Arabic: الصحابه, ''sahaba'') and the standard-bearer of the Prophets and mes ...

served as the prophet's personal Haras.

Rashidun Caliphate era

During the ascension of Abu Bakar as first caliph and the outbreak of the

Ridda wars The Ridda Wars were a series of military campaigns launched by the first caliph Abu Bakr against rebellious Arabian tribes, some of which were led by rival prophet claimants. They began shortly after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in ...

, the Haras wa al-Shurta units under

Ali ibn Abi Talib Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until Assassination of Ali, his assassination in 661, as well as the first imamate in Shia doctrine, Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muha ...

, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, and Zubayr ibn al-Awwam saw combat in the battle of Zhu Qissa against the rebels who attacked

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

, and later in pursuing the rebels towards Dumat al-Jandal. The caliph had resorted to the use of this unit because the main army of the caliphate was engaged in the Expedition of Balqa, led by Usama ibn Zayd .

Umayyad Caliphate in Damascus

The haras also appeared during the rule of

Muawiyah I Mu'awiya I (–April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and immediately after the four Rashid ...

(r. 661–680), the first Umayyad caliph. Most classical accounts reported that he established the haras after an assassination attempt on him. He appointed a

mawla ''Mawlā'' (, plural ''mawālī'' ), is a polysemous Arabic word, whose meaning varied in different periods and contexts.A.J. Wensinck, Encyclopedia of Islam 2nd ed, Brill. "Mawlā", vol. 6, p. 874. Before the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the te ...

, Muslim Abu Abdullah as its chief, and built a guarded room for him inside the mosque that was surrounded by haras members during prayer time. He also had members of the haras walk in front of him with lances in formal processions.

Emirate of Córdoba

In the Umayyad

, Al-Haras was established by

Al-Hakam I Abu al-As al-Hakam ibn Hisham ibn Abd al-Rahman () was Umayyad Emir of Cordoba from 796 until 822 in Al-Andalus ( Moorish Iberia). Biography Al-Hakam was the second son of his father, his older brother having died at an early age. When he came ...

, the

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

Emir of Córdoba Emir (; ' (), also transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremonial authority. The title has ...

(796-822) in 805. The haras were led by the

Visigothic The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied barbarian military group united under the comman ...

leader of the secular

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

in Cordoba, the

Comes ''Comes'' (plural ''comites''), translated as count, was a Roman title, generally linked to a comitatus or comital office. The word ''comes'' originally meant "companion" or "follower", deriving from "''com-''" ("with") and "''ire''" ("go"). Th ...

(Count) Rabi, son of Theodulf, who also served as the Emir's tax collector. Rabi was later removed and executed by

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

for alleged misappropriations. Professor Christopher I. Beckwith has compared the haras to other royal bodyguard units of

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

societies, generally referred to as

Comitatus Comitatus may refer to: *Comitatus (warband), a Germanic warband who follow a leader * ''Comitatus'', the office of a Roman or Frankish comes, translated as count. * ''Comitatus'', translated as county, a territory such as governed by medieval cou ...

Service

Organization

The haras was led by a chief, who frequently also held security-related and administrative positions such as responsibility for the official seal, the office of chamberlain, and office of correspondence. The qualification for the chief position likely include military skills, physical strength, loyalty to the caliph and administrative skills. Most of the known haras chiefs were mawali,

freedman A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...

of non-Arab background. It was likely that many members were mawlas as well. The reason for choosing non-Arabs was the lack of tribal loyalties that might compromise an Arab's loyalty to the caliph. It is not uncommon for a person related to the Haras chief to succeed him. The size of the haras varied, ranging from 300 during the reign of Umar ibn Abdul Aziz and 500 during the reign of

al-Mahdi Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Manṣūr (; 744 or 745 – 785), better known by his regnal name al-Mahdī (, "He who is guided by God"), was the third Abbasid Caliph who reigned from 775 to his death in 785. He succeeded his ...

Weapon

Accounts concerning the haras mentioned that its members were armed with lances or short spears called ''hirab'' (plural of ''harba'') and iron clubs or maces called umud''. Other accounts also said that the members used whips. The chiefs commonly used swords, and their appointment occasionally were accompanied by ceremonially receiving a sword. The chiefs were also reported to use chains as instrument for

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

Function

The main role of the haras was to act as the personal bodyguards of the caliphs. Haras members were known to guard the caliph even during private meetings, at night and during prayers at the mosque. Occasionally, they were also used by the reigning caliph to intimidate political opposition. For example, when Muawiyah demanded that individuals accept his son

Yazid Yazīd (, "increasing", "adding more") is an Arabic name and may refer to: Given name * Yazid I (647–683), second Umayyad Caliph upon succeeding his father Muawiyah * Yazid II (687–724), Umayyad caliph * Yazid III (701–744), Umayyad caliph ...

as his successor and pledge allegiance to him, haras members were sent to intimidate reluctant individuals. Yazid was also reported to have sent some haras members to Abdullah ibn Zubair to ensure Abdullah's allegiance.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haras 9th century in al-Andalus Medieval bodyguards Military history of the Umayyad Caliphate 7th-century establishments in the Umayyad Caliphate