Haras (unit)

The haras (Arabic: الحرس; "the Guard") was a personal bodyguard unit of the caliphs during the Umayyads and the Abbasids. The haras was also instituted in the Emirate of Córdoba in contemporary Spain.

The Haras were depicted first time during the time of Muhammad, prophet of Islam, where several early Muslim strong men such as Abu Bakr, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, Dzakwan ibn al-Qays, Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, Bilal ibn Rabah, Abbad ibn Bishr, and Abu Ayyub al-Ansari served as the prophet's personal Haras.

During the ascension of Abu Bakar as first caliph and the outbreak of the Ridda wars, the Haras wa al-Shurta units under Ali ibn Abi Talib, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, and Zubayr ibn al-Awwam saw combat in the battle of Zhu Qissa against the rebels who attacked Medina, 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.

The haras also appeared during the rule of Muawiyah I (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, 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.

In the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba, Al-Haras was established by Al-Hakam I, the Umayyad Emir of Córdoba (796–822) in 805. The haras were led by the Visigothic leader of the secular Christians in Cordoba, the Comes (Count) Rabi, son of Theodulf, who also served as the Emir's tax collector. Rabi was later removed and executed by crucifixion for alleged misappropriations.

Professor Christopher I. Beckwith has compared the haras to other royal bodyguard units of Indo-European societies, generally referred to as Comitatus.

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 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.