Al-Haras

Al-Haras (Arabic: الحرس‎‎; "the Guard") or simply the Haras was a personal bodyguard unit of the Caliphs during the Umayyad and the Abbasid Caliphate. The Haras was also instituted in the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba in present-day Spain.

Al-Haras was first established during the rule of Muawiyah I (r. 661–680), the first Umayyad caliph. Most classical accounts reported that he established al-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. Al-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 al-Haras to other royal bodugyard units of Indo-European societies, generally referred to as Comitatus.

The Haras was led by a Haras chief, who frequently also held security-related and administrative position 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 mawlas, 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.

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