Al-Harith ibn Surayj
| al-Harith ibn Surayj | |
|---|---|
| Native name | الحارث بن سريج التميمي الطابخي الخندفي |
| Died | March 746 Marw |
| Years active | 729–746 |
| Known for | Leader of anti-Umayyad social and religious (Murji'a) rebellion in Khurasan and Transoxiana |
Abu Hatim al-Harith ibn Surayj ibn Yazid ibn Sawa ibn Ward ibn Murra ibn Sufyan ibn Mujashi (Arabic: أبو حاتم الحارث بن سريج) was an Arab leader of a large-scale social rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate in Khurasan and Transoxiana. Harith's rebellion began in 734 and represented the grievances of both the local Arab settlers as well as the native Iranian converts (mawali), who were not recognized as equal to the Arab Muslims, against the Umayyad regime. Harith based his revolt on religious grounds and won over a large part of both the Arab settlers and the native population, but failed twice to capture the provincial capital of Marw. The rebellion was finally suppressed by Asad ibn Abdallah al-Qasri in 736. Along with a few supporters, Harith managed to escape capture and allied himself with the heathen Turgesh. Harith accompanied the Turgesh khagan Suluk in his invasion deep into Arab territory, which was decisively beaten back in the Battle of Kharistan in 737. With Turgesh power collapsing thereafter, Harith remained in Transoxiana supported by the native princes. Asad's successor, Nasr ibn Sayyar, campaigned against Harith and his native supporters, but eventually, hoping to use him to bolster his position in the Arab intertribal rivalries, Nasr secured for Harith a pardon from the Caliph. Harith returned to Marw in 745. Soon however he raised a sizeable armed force and challenged Nasr's authority, until he was killed in a clash with his ally Juday' al-Kirmani in 746. His revolt weakened Arab power in Central Asia and facilitated the beginning of the Abbasid Revolution that would overthrow the Umayyads.
Harith was from the Tamim tribe belonging to the north Arab (Mudari) tribal supergroup, and hailed from Basra, where his father, Surayj, lived. He is first mentioned in 729, when he distinguished himself for his bravery and self-sacrifice against the Turgesh, saving the Arab army from annihilation at Baykand near Bukhara. Harith is next mentioned in 733, when he led a protest in Lower Tokharistan against the commandeering of supplies from the province, already plagued by drought and famine, to feed the capital of Khurasan at Marw, by the governor Junayd ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Murri. Junayd had Harith flogged, but after Junayd died in early 734, the discontent erupted into an open rebellion, with Harith at its head.
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