Haras (unit)

Haras
الحرس
Active660s – 1250s
AllegianceCaliphate
BranchCaliphal Army
TypePersonal bodyguards
RoleThe 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
SizeSize of the haras varied
EquipmentLances or short spears (hirab),
Iron clubs or maces (Umud),
Whips,
Swords,
Chains

The haras (Arabic: الحرس; "the Guard") was a personal bodyguard unit of the caliphs during the Umayyads and the Abbasids.[1] The haras was also instituted in the Emirate of Córdoba in contemporary Spain.[2]

  1. ^ Perlman 2015, p. 327.
  2. ^ Wolf 2014, p. 13.