The Fursan unit, or the early Muslim cavalry unit, was the
cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...
forces of
Rashidun army
The Rashidun army () was the core of the Rashidun Caliphate's armed forces during the early Muslim conquests in the 7th century. The army is reported to have maintained a high level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization, granti ...
during the
Muslim conquest of Syria
The Muslim conquest of the Levant ( ar, فَتْحُ الشَّام, translit=Feth eş-Şâm), also known as the Rashidun conquest of Syria, occurred in the first half of the 7th century, shortly after the rise of Islam."Syria." Encyclopædia Br ...
. The division which formed the early cavalry corps of the caliphate were commonly nicknamed the Mobile Guard (
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
: طليعة متحركة, ''Tulay'a mutaharikkah'' or
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
: الحرس المتحرك, ''al-Haras al-Mutaharikkah'') or also nicknamed Marching army( جيش الزحف, "Jaish al‐Zaḥf"). These units were famously commanded by
Khalid ibn Walid
Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira al-Makhzumi (; died 642) was a 7th-century Arab military commander. He initially headed campaigns against Muhammad on behalf of the Quraysh. He later became a Muslim and spent the remainder of his career i ...
, the most successful early caliphate cavalry commander who organized the unit into military staff – a simple beginning of what later in military history would emerge as the
general staff
A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...
. Khalid had collected from all the regions in which he had fought –
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...
,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
,
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
and
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
.
This shock cavalry division which was led by Khalid played important roles to the victories in
Battle of Chains
The Battle of Sallasil ( ar, معركة ذات السلاسل ''Dhat al-Salasil'') or the Battle of Chains was the first battle fought between the Rashidun Caliphate and the Sasanian Persian Empire in April 629. The battle was fought in Kazima ...
,
Battle of Walaja
The Battle of Walaja ( ar, معركة الولجة) was a battle fought in Mesopotamia (Iraq) in May 633 between the Rashidun Caliphate army under Khalid ibn al-Walid and Al-Muthanna ibn Haritha against the Sassanid Empire and its Arab allies. ...
,
Battle of Ajnadayn
The Battle of Ajnadayn ( ar, معركة أجنادين) was fought in July or August 634 ( Jumada I or II, 13 AH), in a location close to Beit Guvrin in present-day Israel; it was the first major pitched battle between the Byzantine (Roman) ...
,
Battle of Firaz
The Battle of Firaz ( ar, معركة الفراض) took place in late 633 or January 634 AD between the Rashidun Caliphate and the combined forces of the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire. The battle resulted in a victory for the Ara ...
,
Battle of Maraj-al-Debaj,
Siege of Damascus,
Battle of Yarmouk
The Battle of the Yarmuk (also spelled Yarmouk) was a major battle between the army of the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim forces of the Rashidun Caliphate. The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in August 636, ...
,
Battle of Hazir
The Battle of Hazir or ''Ma'arakah al-Haadhir'' ( ar, معركة الحاضر) took place between the Byzantine army and the Rashidun army's elite cavalry, the Mobile guard. It took place in June 637, three miles east of Qinnasrin at Al- ...
and the
Battle of Iron Bridge
The Battle of the Iron Bridge was fought between the Muslim Rashidun army and the Byzantine army in 637 AD. The battle took its name from a nearby nine-arch stone bridge (also known as Jisr al-Hadid) spanning the Orontes River which had gates ...
against the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
and the
Sassanid
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
. Later, the splinter of this cavalry division under
Al-Qa'qa ibn Amr at-Tamimi also involved in the
Battle of al-Qadisiyyah
The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah ( ar, مَعْرَكَة ٱلْقَادِسِيَّة, Maʿrakah al-Qādisīyah; fa, نبرد قادسیه, Nabard-e Qâdisiyeh) was an armed conflict which took place in 636 CE between the Rashidun Caliphate and the ...
,
Battle of Jalula
The Battle of Jalula was fought between Sassanid Empire and Rashidun Caliphate soon after conquest of Ctesiphon.
After the capture of Ctesiphon, several detachments were immediately sent to the west to capture Qarqeesia and Heet the forts at ...
, and the
Second siege of Emesa.
Later, after the
Early Muslim conquests
The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He estab ...
, portions of the Rashidun cavalry rebelled against central caliphate in
Kharijites revolutionary movements. Historian
Al-Jahiz
Abū ʿUthman ʿAmr ibn Baḥr al-Kinānī al-Baṣrī ( ar, أبو عثمان عمرو بن بحر الكناني البصري), commonly known as al-Jāḥiẓ ( ar, links=no, الجاحظ, ''The Bug Eyed'', born 776 – died December 868/Jan ...
remarked the Kharijites were feared for their
cavalry charge
A charge is an offensive maneuver in battle in which combatants advance towards their enemy at their best speed in an attempt to engage in a decisive close combat. The charge is the dominant shock attack and has been the key tactic and decisiv ...
with their lances which could break any defensive line, and almost never lost when pitted against an equal number of opponents. These Kharijites sects, believed by most scholars of Islam to have been started by , known as ''Dhu Khuwaishirah at-Tamimi'', Their rebellions would plague the rest of the history of the Rashidun,
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
, and
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
caliphates with endemic rebellions.
This cavalry unit almost certainly rode the legendary
purebred
Purebreds are "cultivated varieties" of an animal species achieved through the process of selective breeding. When the lineage of a purebred animal is recorded, that animal is said to be "pedigreed". Purebreds breed true-to-type which means the p ...
Arabian horse
The Arabian or Arab horse ( ar, الحصان العربي , DIN 31635, DMG ''ḥiṣān ʿarabī'') is a horse breed, breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is ...
, by fact the quality breeding of horses were held so dearly by the early caliphates who integrated traditions of Islam with their military practice.
[Bennett, ''Conquerors,'' p. 130] These horses were also pretty common breed amongst the Arab community during the 6th to 7th century.
History
![Mohammad Adil Rais-Muslim warrior during rashidun caliphate](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Mohammad_Adil_Rais-Muslim_warrior_during_rashidun_caliphate.PNG)
As predecessor of the caliphate cavalry, the recorded number of
Muhammad's cavalry has reached 10,000 horsemen during the
Expedition of Tabuk
The Expedition of Tabuk, also known as the Expedition of Usra, was a military expedition that was initiated by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in October 630 CE (AH 9). He led a force of as many as 30,000 north to Tabuk, near the Gulf of Aqaba, in pr ...
.
The Muslim cavalry unit were commonly named as ''Fursan''.
After the decisive victory at the
Battle of Ajnadayn
The Battle of Ajnadayn ( ar, معركة أجنادين) was fought in July or August 634 ( Jumada I or II, 13 AH), in a location close to Beit Guvrin in present-day Israel; it was the first major pitched battle between the Byzantine (Roman) ...
in 634 CE, Khalid, from his army of Iraq, which after Ajnadayn numbered about 8000 men, organised a force of 4000 horsemen, which the early historians refer to as ''The Army of Sharpeners''.
Khalid kept this force under his personal command. Aside from Horses for offensive means, Rashidun cavalry also ride camels as transportation and defensive battles, as camels can repel even the enemy heavy cavalry such as
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
and
Sassanid
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
cataphracts, while the large frames of Camels can tackle those heavy cavalry powerful charge. On the onset of the famous
battle of Yarmuk
The Battle of the Yarmuk (also spelled Yarmouk) was a major battle between the army of the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim forces of the Rashidun Caliphate. The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in August 636, ...
in 636 AD, around 3,000 cavalry reinforcements were sent to the
Muslim conquest of Syria
The Muslim conquest of the Levant ( ar, فَتْحُ الشَّام, translit=Feth eş-Şâm), also known as the Rashidun conquest of Syria, occurred in the first half of the 7th century, shortly after the rise of Islam."Syria." Encyclopædia Br ...
front, including those from Yemen which led by
Qays ibn Makshuh
Qays ibn Makshuh al-Muradi ar, قيس بن المكشوح المرادي, or also known as Qays ibn Hubayrah was a Companions of the Prophet Muhammad. He converted to Islam during the life of Muhammad. However, he later rebelled during Ridda W ...
.
The cavalry corps which called ''al-Haras al-Mutaharikkah'', that mentioned by
Mahmud Shakir for their distinguishing role in the battle of Yarmuk,
first recorded use of this mounted force was during the
Siege of Damascus (634)
The siege of Damascus (634) lasted from 21 August to 19 September 634 before the city fell to the Rashidun Caliphate. Damascus was the first major city of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire to fall in the Muslim conquest of Syria.
The ...
. The best use of the Rashidun fast moving cavalry was revealed during the battle of Yarmuk in which Khalid ibn Walid, knowing the importance and ability of his cavalry, used them to turn the course of events at every critical instance of the battle. With their ability to engage and disengage, and turn back and attack again from the flank or rear, the Mobile Guard inflicted a shattering defeat of the
Byzantine army. This strong mobile striking force was often used in later years as an advance guard. It could rout opposing armies with its greater mobility that gave it an upper hand against any
Byzantine army. One of the victories of the mobile guard was at
Battle of Hazir
The Battle of Hazir or ''Ma'arakah al-Haadhir'' ( ar, معركة الحاضر) took place between the Byzantine army and the Rashidun army's elite cavalry, the Mobile guard. It took place in June 637, three miles east of Qinnasrin at Al- ...
in 637 CE under the command of Khalid, in which not a single Byzantine soldier survived.
[Tabari: Vol. 3, p. 98.] The Mobile guard remained under the personal command of Khalid ibn Walid for about four years (634-638 CE) until Khalid was dismissed from army by
Caliph Umar
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...
after the completion of the conquest of the Levant.
With the dismissal of Khalid this powerful cavalry regiment was dismantled. One of its brilliant commanders
Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr al-Tamimi had been sent to the Persian front in 637 CE along with reinforcements for the
Battle of al-Qādisiyyah
The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah ( ar, مَعْرَكَة ٱلْقَادِسِيَّة, Maʿrakah al-Qādisīyah; fa, نبرد قادسیه, Nabard-e Qâdisiyeh) was an armed conflict which took place in 636 CE between the Rashidun Caliphate and the ...
, in which he played an important part. A part of it was later sent to the Persian front as reinforcements for the
Muslim conquest of Persia
The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest of Iran, was carried out by the Rashidun Caliphate from 633 to 654 AD and led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire as well as the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion.
Th ...
. Many of its members died in the
plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pes ...
during 639-640 CE which killed approximately 25,000
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
s in
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. This included many sub-commanders of the mobile guard like
Zirrar ibn Azwar, those who survived accompanied the army under the command of
Amr ibn al-'As
( ar, عمرو بن العاص السهمي; 664) was the Arab commander who led the Muslim conquest of Egypt and served as its governor in 640–646 and 658–664. The son of a wealthy Qurayshite, Amr embraced Islam in and was assigned impor ...
to conquer
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
. After the conquest of Egypt, the Rashidun army continued to invade and besiege
Bahnasa, as the enemy were reinforced by an arrival of 50,000 according to the report of
al-Maqqari
Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Maqqarī al-Tilmisānī (or al-Maḳḳarī) (), (1577-1632) was an Algerian scholar, biographer and historian who is best known for his , a compendium of the history of Al-Andalus which provided a basis for the scholar ...
. The siege dragged for months, until Khalid ibn al Walid commanded Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, Dhiraar ibn al-Azwar and other commanders to intensify the siege and assign them to lead around 10,000
Companions of the Prophet
The Companions of the Prophet ( ar, اَلصَّحَابَةُ; ''aṣ-ṣaḥāba'' meaning "the companions", from the verb meaning "accompany", "keep company with", "associate with") were the disciples and followers of Muhammad who saw or m ...
, with 70 among them were veterans of battle of Badr.
They besiege the city for 4 months as Dhiraar leading 200 horsemens, while Zubayr ibn Al-Awwam lead 300 horsemen, while the other commanders such as Miqdad,
Abdullah ibn Umar and
Uqba ibn Amir al-Juhani leading similar number with Dhiraar with each command 200 horsemens.
After Bahnasa finally subdued,
where they camped in a village which later renamed as Qays village, in honor of Qays ibn Harith, the overall commander of these Rashidun cavalry.
The Byzantines and their Copt allies showering the Rashidun army with arrows and stones from the city wall, As the bitter fights has rages on as casualties increases, until the Rashidun overcame the defenders, as Dhiraar, the first emerge, came out from the battle with his entire body stained in blood, while confessed he has slayed about 160 Byzantine soldiers during the battle.
Chroniclers recorded the Rashidun army has finally breached the city gate under either Khalid ibn al-Walid or Qays ibn Harith finally managed to breach the gate and storming the city and forcing surrender to the inhabitant.
Later, portions of Caliphate horsemens under , a
Tamim tribe chieftain and veteran of the
Battle of Hunayn
:''This is a sub-article to Muhammad after the conquest of Mecca.''
The Battle of Hunayn ( ar, غَزْوَة حُنَيْن, Ghazwat Hunayn) was between the Muslims of Muhammad and the Bedouins of the Qays, including its clans of Hawazin a ...
which has been brought by Rashidun general named
Arfajah
Arfajah ibn Harthama al-Bariqi ( ar, عرفجة بن هرثمة البارقي) (also known as Arfajah al-Bariqi) was a companion of prophet Muhammad. He hailed from clan of Bariq from Azd branch, inhabiting Southwestern Arabia.
Arfajah were o ...
, rebelled against the caliphate. Hurqus joined with another troublesome warrior tribes from
Bajila
The Bajīla () was an Arab tribe that inhabited the mountains south of Mecca in the pre-Islamic era and later dispersed to different parts of Arabia and then Iraq under the Muslims. The tribe, under one of its chieftains Jarir ibn Abd Allah, play ...
tribe,
which led by
Abd Allah ibn Wahb al-Rasibi
ʿAbd Allāh ibn Wahb al-Rāsibī ( ar, عبد الله بن وهب الراسبي; died 17 July 658 AD) was an early leader of the Khārijites., calls him "the first ‘Kharijite’ caliph". Of the Bajīla tribe, he was a ''tābiʿī'', one who ...
, who participated in the early conquests of Persia under
Sa'd ibn abi Waqqas
, image = File:Saad ibn Abi Waqqas Masjid an-Nabawi Calligraphy.png
, alt =
, caption = His name in Arabic calligraphy
, birth_date =
, death_date =
, birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia
, death_place ...
., and later rebelled against caliphate of
Ali
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
in the
battle of Nahrawan
The Battle of Nahrawan ( ar, معركة النهروان, Ma'rakat an-Nahrawān) was fought between the army of Caliph Ali and the rebel group Kharijites in July 658 CE (Safar 38 AH). They used to be a group of pious allies of Ali during the F ...
. these seditionist warriors were collectively known as
Kharijites
The Kharijites (, singular ), also called al-Shurat (), were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the ...
.
Meanwhile, as Muslim conquests of North Africa and the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
progressed.
they also brought the cultural assimilasions of horsebreeding to Africa and Spain in the form of
Arabian horse
The Arabian or Arab horse ( ar, الحصان العربي , DIN 31635, DMG ''ḥiṣān ʿarabī'') is a horse breed, breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is ...
s,
Barb horses, and by lesser extends, the
Turkoman horse
The Turkoman horse, or Turkmene, was an Oriental horse breed from the steppes of Turkoman desert. Its closest modern descendant is thought to be the Akhal-Teke. It influenced many modern horse breeds, including the Thoroughbred horse. Some ho ...
Unit characteristics
Cavalry were highly regarded by the military rulers of early
Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
, as the early Medina Islam constitution and the Caliphates' put emphasis by giving the cavalry troopers at least two portions of war spoils and booty compared to regular soldier, while regular infantry only received only a single portion. The core of the caliphate's mounted division was an elite unit which early Muslim historians named Tulai'a Mutaharrika (طليعة متحركة), or the ''
mobile guard
The Fursan unit, or the early Muslim cavalry unit, was the cavalry forces of Rashidun army during the Muslim conquest of Syria. The division which formed the early cavalry corps of the caliphate were commonly nicknamed the Mobile Guard (Arabic: ط ...
''.
Initially, the nucleus of the mobile guard formed from veterans of the horsemens under Khalid ibn al-Walid during the conquest of Iraq. They consisted half of the forces brought by Khalid from Iraq to Syria 4.000 soldiers out of 8.000 soldiers. This shock cavalry division played important roles in the victories at the
Battle of Chains
The Battle of Sallasil ( ar, معركة ذات السلاسل ''Dhat al-Salasil'') or the Battle of Chains was the first battle fought between the Rashidun Caliphate and the Sasanian Persian Empire in April 629. The battle was fought in Kazima ...
,
Battle of Walaja
The Battle of Walaja ( ar, معركة الولجة) was a battle fought in Mesopotamia (Iraq) in May 633 between the Rashidun Caliphate army under Khalid ibn al-Walid and Al-Muthanna ibn Haritha against the Sassanid Empire and its Arab allies. ...
,
Battle of Ajnadayn
The Battle of Ajnadayn ( ar, معركة أجنادين) was fought in July or August 634 ( Jumada I or II, 13 AH), in a location close to Beit Guvrin in present-day Israel; it was the first major pitched battle between the Byzantine (Roman) ...
,
Battle of Firaz
The Battle of Firaz ( ar, معركة الفراض) took place in late 633 or January 634 AD between the Rashidun Caliphate and the combined forces of the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire. The battle resulted in a victory for the Ara ...
,
Battle of Maraj-al-Debaj,
Siege of Damascus,
Battle of Yarmouk
The Battle of the Yarmuk (also spelled Yarmouk) was a major battle between the army of the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim forces of the Rashidun Caliphate. The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in August 636, ...
,
Battle of Hazir
The Battle of Hazir or ''Ma'arakah al-Haadhir'' ( ar, معركة الحاضر) took place between the Byzantine army and the Rashidun army's elite cavalry, the Mobile guard. It took place in June 637, three miles east of Qinnasrin at Al- ...
and the
Battle of Iron Bridge
The Battle of the Iron Bridge was fought between the Muslim Rashidun army and the Byzantine army in 637 AD. The battle took its name from a nearby nine-arch stone bridge (also known as Jisr al-Hadid) spanning the Orontes River which had gates ...
against the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
and the
Sassanid
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
. Later, a splinter of this cavalry division under
Al-Qa'qa ibn Amr at-Tamimi was also involved in the
Battle of al-Qadisiyyah
The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah ( ar, مَعْرَكَة ٱلْقَادِسِيَّة, Maʿrakah al-Qādisīyah; fa, نبرد قادسیه, Nabard-e Qâdisiyeh) was an armed conflict which took place in 636 CE between the Rashidun Caliphate and the ...
,
Battle of Jalula
The Battle of Jalula was fought between Sassanid Empire and Rashidun Caliphate soon after conquest of Ctesiphon.
After the capture of Ctesiphon, several detachments were immediately sent to the west to capture Qarqeesia and Heet the forts at ...
, and the
Second siege of Emesa.
Equipment
![Chain mail coat, Sudanese](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Chain_mail_coat%2C_Sudanese.jpg)
Contrary to popular belief among historians, that the Arabians during the 6th century were unarmored light cavalry raiders, Eduard Alofs argues that the Arab horsemen, whether they are Rashiduns,
Ghassanids
The Ghassanids ( ar, الغساسنة, translit=al-Ġasāsina, also Banu Ghassān (, romanized as: ), also called the Jafnids, were an Arab tribe which founded a kingdom. They emigrated from southern Arabia in the early 3rd century to the Levan ...
, or
Lakhmids
The Lakhmids ( ar, اللخميون, translit=al-Laḫmiyyūn) referred to in Arabic as al-Manādhirah (, romanized as: ) or Banu Lakhm (, romanized as: ) was an Arab kingdom in Southern Iraq and Eastern Arabia, with al-Hirah as their capital ...
were in fact heavily armoured elite nobles, akin to
Cataphract
A cataphract was a form of armored heavy cavalryman that originated in Persia and was fielded in ancient warfare throughout Eurasia and Northern Africa.
The English word derives from the Greek ' (plural: '), literally meaning "armored" or "co ...
in armors. The Muslim army in time of Muhammad also had a particular type of body armour called "''al-Kharnaq''", which was characterized as flexible.
For their armaments, the Early Arabic horsemens are theoretically used the following arms in battle:
*
Arab sword
The Saif ( ar, سيف), sometimes called a shamshir, depending on the era, has its origins in Arabia prior to the 7th century. Not much is known about this particular weapon, other than what Al-Kindi wrote in his treatise ''On Swords'' in the 9th ...
with various type, one of most famous type were ''as-Sayf al-Qala'i'', a curved sword type.
Muhammad owned this type of sword which preserved in modern-day in
Topkapı Palace
The Topkapı Palace ( tr, Topkapı Sarayı; ota, طوپقپو سرايى, ṭopḳapu sarāyı, lit=cannon gate palace), or the Seraglio
A seraglio, serail, seray or saray (from fa, سرای, sarāy, palace, via Turkish and Italian) i ...
museum, the sword blade were around 100 cm length which has inscription in its hilt : ''"Hadha Sayf al-Mashrafi li Bayt Muhammad Rasulullah"''. The Indian manufactured swords which used by Arabs during Muhammad era were straight and double edged.
certain cavalry commanders such as
Amr ibn Ma'adi Yakrib
Amr ibn Ma'adi Yakrib al-Zubaīdi al-Madḥ'hijī ( ar, عمرو بن معد يكرب الزبيدي المذحجي) (died c. 642) was an Arabian calvary commander from the Zubaid clan in Yemen, part of the Madhhij tribe confederation. Amr has d ...
, also known to possess multiple swords.
while Khalid ibn al-Walid reportedly brought at least nine swords during single battle.
*
Lance
A lance is a spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier ( lancer). In ancient and medieval warfare, it evolved into the leading weapon in cavalry charges, and was unsuited for throwing or for repeated thrusting, unlike si ...
used by Rashidun cavalry by swinging them during close-combat, such as in the record of
record of Tabari. Early caliphate cavalry held their Lance overhead posture with both hands. A personal lance belong to Muhammad consisted a lance which head was made of brass.
*
Mounted archery
A horse archer is a cavalryman armed with a bow and able to shoot while riding from horseback. Archery has occasionally been used from the backs of other riding animals. In large open areas, it was a highly successful technique for hunting, f ...
with flying gallop was practiced casually by Rashidun caliphate onwards, as it was used by early Muslim warriors such as
Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas
, image = File:Saad ibn Abi Waqqas Masjid an-Nabawi Calligraphy.png
, alt =
, caption = His name in Arabic calligraphy
, birth_date =
, death_date =
, birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia
, death_place ...
, who are reported as an expert for
retreating mounted shot Their quivers were reportedly contained 50 arrows.
Leaders and commanders also obliged the usage of bows, as there are records of Muhammad himself of usage of the bow during the battle of Uhud.
*
Javelin
A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with th ...
s also used by caliphate horsemens their weapon. Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, a seasoned
Muhajirun
The ''Muhajirun'' ( ar, المهاجرون, al-muhājirūn, singular , ) were the first converts to Islam and the Islamic prophet Muhammad's advisors and relatives, who emigrated with him from Mecca to Medina, the event known in Islam as the ''Hijr ...
and early convert who always brought horses during battles, were recorded have killed his enemies with javelin in at least in two occasions during his life. The first occasion when he recorded has killed Quraish nobleman Ubaydah ibn Sa'id from
Umayyad clan during the
Battle of Badr
The Battle of Badr ( ar, غَزْوَةُ بَدِرْ ), also referred to as The Day of the Criterion (, ) in the Quran, Qur'an and by Muslims, was fought on 13 March 624 CE (17 Ramadan (calendar month), Ramadan, 2 Anno Hegirae, AH), near the ...
, who was wearing a full set of armor and
Aventail
An aventail () or camail () is a flexible curtain of mail attached to the skull of a helmet that extends to cover the throat, neck and shoulders. Part or all of the face, with spaces to allow vision, could also be covered.
The earliest camail ...
that protected his entire body and face. Zubayr hurled his javelin aiming at the unprotected eye of Ubaydah and killed him immediately. The second occasion is during the
Battle of Khaybar
The Battle of Khaybar ( ar, غَزْوَة خَيْبَر, label=Classical Arabic, Arabic) was fought in 628 Common Era, CE between the early Muslims led by Muhammad and Jews living in Khaybar, an oasis located 150 km from Medina in the n ...
, Zubayr fought in a duel against a Jewish nobleman
Yassir which Zubayr killed with a powerful javelin strike. Firsthand witnesses reported that Zubayr brandishing himself across the battlefield during the
Battle of Hunayn
:''This is a sub-article to Muhammad after the conquest of Mecca.''
The Battle of Hunayn ( ar, غَزْوَة حُنَيْن, Ghazwat Hunayn) was between the Muslims of Muhammad and the Bedouins of the Qays, including its clans of Hawazin a ...
while hung two javelins in his back.
* Rounded shield to protect the rider from arrows.
Armour & horse armour
Regarding their defensive and supporting equipments, despite there is not yet archeological proof of Arabian armory before the era of
Ayyubid
The Ayyubid dynasty ( ar, الأيوبيون '; ) was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni ...
and
Mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
found, literary sources indicates the Arabs already using
body armour
Body armor, also known as body armour, personal armor or armour, or a suit or coat of armor, is protective clothing designed to absorb or deflect physical attacks. Historically used to protect military personnel, today it is also used by variou ...
, such as coat of
Chain mail
Chain mail (properly called mail or maille but usually called chain mail or chainmail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common military use between the 3rd century BC and ...
called ''Dir'' that was found from the literary sources from the era before the advent of
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
, or as an
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
poetries that mentioned the armour of the caliphate army during caliph
Umar
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...
until Umayyad era. During the Battle of Uhud, Jami'at Tirmidhi recorded
Zubayr ibn al-Awwam
Az Zubayr ( ar, الزبير) is a city in and the capital of Al-Zubair District, part of the Basra Governorate of Iraq. The city is just south of Basra. The name can also refer to the old Emirate of Zubair.
The name is also sometimes written Al ...
testimony that prophet Muhammad wearing two layers of mail coat. However, there is still not yet archaeological founding of Arabic armor in such time. Waqidi recorded the Qurayshite Arab horsemens also using horse armor which held by
Crupper
A crupper (; occ. spelled crouper) is a piece of tack used on horses and other equids to keep a saddle, harness or other equipment from sliding forward.
Construction
The crupper consists of a loop (the crupper itself) and an adjustable strap (cr ...
on the back of the horse, which are used by a Qurayshite warrior named Hubayr ibn Abi Wahb al
Makhzumi during the
battle of the Trench
The Battle of the Trench ( ar, غزوة الخندق, Ghazwat al-Khandaq), also known as the Battle of Khandaq ( ar, معركة الخندق, Ma’rakah al-Khandaq) and the Battle of the Confederates ( ar, غزوة الاحزاب, Ghazwat al- ...
.
The Muslim Arabic cavalry during early caliphate already knew of
stirrup
A stirrup is a light frame or ring that holds the foot of a rider, attached to the saddle by a strap, often called a ''stirrup leather''. Stirrups are usually paired and are used to aid in mounting and as a support while using a riding animal ( ...
s. However, caliph
Umar
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...
forbid or neglected the use of stirrups for his soldiers as riding without stirrups could train riders better for horsemanship. Despite the rejection or neglect of stirrups, Arab cavalry, especially the Kharijites group who will revolt after the conquest, were feared for their fearless
charge
Charge or charged may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary
Music
* ''Charge'' (David Ford album)
* ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album)
* ''Charge!!'', an album by The Aqua ...
, which, as Adam Ali mentioned in his work on
al-Jahiz
Abū ʿUthman ʿAmr ibn Baḥr al-Kinānī al-Baṣrī ( ar, أبو عثمان عمرو بن بحر الكناني البصري), commonly known as al-Jāḥiẓ ( ar, links=no, الجاحظ, ''The Bug Eyed'', born 776 – died December 868/Jan ...
, "can throw any defense line into disarray". Military history reconstructors like
Marcus Junkelmann
Marcus Junkelmann (born 2 October 1949 in Munich) is a German historian and experimental archeologist.
Life and work
Junkelmann started to study history at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in 1971 and in 1979 he received a PhD for a thesis ...
have determined from
historical reenactment
Historical reenactment (or re-enactment) is an educational entertainment, educational or entertainment activity in which mainly amateur hobbyists and history enthusiasts dress in historic uniforms or costumes and follow a plan to recreate aspect ...
that mounted close combat specialists like Mubarizuns could fight effectively on top of their mounts without
stirrup
A stirrup is a light frame or ring that holds the foot of a rider, attached to the saddle by a strap, often called a ''stirrup leather''. Stirrups are usually paired and are used to aid in mounting and as a support while using a riding animal ( ...
s. This is used by Alofs as an argument to debunk the assertion held by most historians that horsemen cannot fight effectively in close combat without the use of stirrups.
David Nicolle
David C. Nicolle (born 4 April 1944) is a British historian specialising in the military history of the Middle Ages, with a particular interest in the Middle East.
David Nicolle worked for BBC Arabic before getting his MA at SOAS, University o ...
brought the theory of
Pre-Islamic Arabia
Pre-Islamic Arabia ( ar, شبه الجزيرة العربية قبل الإسلام) refers to the Arabian Peninsula before the History of Islam, emergence of Islam in 610 CE.
Some of the settled communities developed into distinctive civilizati ...
Arabic-speaking peoples adoption of armory among horsemen as he quoted
Claude Cahen
Claude Cahen (26 February 1909 – 18 November 1991) was a 20th-century French Marxist orientalist and historian. He specialized in the studies of the Islamic Middle Ages, Muslim sources about the Crusades, and social history of the medieval Isla ...
, who categorically stated that horse armor was very common in the early Islamic period.
Nicolle thought those Arabians were exposed to external culture influences such as from external military influence from Turkish Uyghurs, originating in Xinjiang, which then spread further to Iran and beyond, eventually reaching the Middle east,
Nicolle divided the evidence from three pinpoint areas:
#
Dura-Europos
Dura-Europos, ; la, Dūra Eurōpus, ( el, Δούρα Ευρωπός, Doúra Evropós, ) was a Hellenistic, Parthian, and Roman border city built on an escarpment above the southwestern bank of the Euphrates river. It is located near the vill ...
, located in Syrian borderlands of the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, where horse armor of bronze scales,
Roman Syria
Roman Syria was an early Roman province annexed to the Roman Republic in 64 BC by Pompey in the Third Mithridatic War following the defeat of King of Armenia Tigranes the Great.
Following the partition of the Herodian Kingdom of Judea into tetr ...
or
Parthian Parthian may be:
Historical
* A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran
* Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD)
* Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language
* Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...
origin, from the 3rd century AD are found.
Although Nicolle dismissed the Byzantines as being unlikely as heavily armoured cavalry were not Byzantine tradition in the first place, and only adopted such in the late era, unlike the Persians.
#
Shabwa,
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
, as Nicole pointed there is carved plaque depicting armoured cavalry, both the rider and the horse, which Nicolle surmissed originated from 6th–early 7th AD, and theoretically were
Asawira The Asawira ( ar, أساورة) were a military unit of the Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphate. The unit consisted of Iranian noblemen who were originally part of the ''aswaran'' unit of the Sasanian army. It was disbanded in 703 by al-Hajjaj ibn Yusu ...
n
Sassanids
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...
heavy cavalry who garrisoned Yemen for decades before the expansion of Islam circa 570 to 630 AD.
While Ogden pointed out Yemen were also known as an important coastal sea trade between India and the Red Sea since ancient times and were exposed to the latter's metallurgy.
the team of Bir Hima archeology excavation and researchers has found southwestern edge of the modern city of Najran, a depiction of a heavily built horse similar in form to the extinct Nisean horse breed which rode by Immortals (Sasanian Empire), Zaweyan elite troops of Sassanids of the 6th century BCE, which according to the team, indicating Persian influence.
Elwyn Hartley Edwards also added it is possible that the Arabs also had influence in the breeding of legendary Nisean horses, since geographically the breed theoritically was bred in western Iran of Medes.
Edwards further remarked the possibility that the Nisean were also infused with Arabian horse breed.
# Wadi Aday, 8 km south of Muttrah, Oman.,
where Nicolle pointed out many armoured horsemen carvings, armed with spears and a sword, that, according to Nicole, traditionally identified as Arabs.
according to researchers, south-eastern Arabia including Oman has for a long time been exposed to Iron since the Iron Age, which presumably is from external influence such as India, just as for Yemen.
Regarding this theory, Nicolle suggested the horse armour adopted by Pre-Islamic Oman and Yemen Arabs which he implied from Sasanian Yemen influence.
Aside from those three locations that are pointed by Nicolle, Bir Hima archaeological researchers team also found evidence of Arabian armoured cavalry in the form of hundreds, if not thousands of petroglyphs in Bir Hima Rock Petroglyphs and Inscriptions, Bir Hima, which is located about 30 km northeast of Najran.
The excavation sites are dominated by images of mounted cavalry that are highly stylized, which the researchers theorized riding Arabian breed horses.
The cavalrymen are armed with long lances, swords, arab sword, Sayf swords and khanjar daggers which are worn in the waist.
The team also notice that there are indication the carvings of those horsemen probably wearing something like helmets and cutlasses.
Military standard
Before the advent of Islam, banners as tools for signaling had already been employed by the pre-Islamic Arabia, pre-Islamic Arab tribes and the Byzantine Empire, Byzantines. Rashidun army, Early Muslim army naturally deployed banners for the same purpose. Early Islamic flags, however, greatly simplified its design by using plain color, due to the Islamic prescriptions on aniconism.
[Flag](_blank)
''Britannica''. Retrieved February 15, 2019. According to the Islamic traditions, the Quraysh had a black ' and a white-and-black '. It further states that Muhammad had an ' in white nicknamed "the Young Eagle" ( ar, العقاب '); and a ' in black, said to be made from his wife Aisha's head-cloth. This larger flag was known as " the Banner of the Eagle" ( ar, الراية العقاب ''al-rāyat al-ʻuqāb''), as well as "the Black Standard, Black Banner" ( ar, الراية السوداء ''ar-rāyat as-sawdāʾ''). Other examples are the prominent Arab military commander 'Amr ibn al-'As using red banner, and the Khawarij rebels using red banner as well. Banners of the early Muslim army in general, however, employed a variety of colors, both singly and in combination.
According to modern historian
David Nicolle
David C. Nicolle (born 4 April 1944) is a British historian specialising in the military history of the Middle Ages, with a particular interest in the Middle East.
David Nicolle worked for BBC Arabic before getting his MA at SOAS, University o ...
in ''Warrior'' magazine series published by Osprey Publishing, as the caliphate army were mainly consisted of tribal based corps and divisions, most of the following flags appeared in the Battle of Siffin on both sides:
File:Abbassid banner.svg, The black standard
File:Red flag.svg, The red standard that used by Amr ibn al-As and later by the Kharijites
File:Ansar Flag (4).png, The Ansar (military), Ansars flag
File:Quraysh Flag.svg, The Quraysh flag
File:Quraysh Liwa' (6).png, The Quraysh second flag
File:Quraysh Flag (5).png, The Quraysh third flag
File:Banu Taym Allah Flag.svg, The Taym tribe flag
File:Banu Thaqif Flag.svg, The Thaqif tribe flag
File:Hawazin Flag (20).png, The Hawazin tribe flag
File:Banu Shayban Flag.svg, The Shayban tribe flag
File:Banu Muharib Flag (31).png, The Muharib tribe flag
File:Banu Ghani & Bahila Flag (15).png, The Ghani & Bahila tribe flag
File:Tayy Flag (39).png, The Tayy tribe flag
File:Kinana.svg, The Kinanah tribe flag
File:Banu Kalb Flag (25).png, The Kalb tribe flag
File:Nukha' Flag (32).png, The Nukha tribe flag
File:Banu Ju'fa Flag.svg, The Ju'fa tribe flag
File:Banu Judham Flag (24).png, The Judham tribe flag
File:Banu Hudhayl Flag (21).png, The Hudhayl tribe flag
File:Banu Hamdan Flag (18).png, The Hamdan tribe flag
File:Banu Dhuhal Flag (13).png, The Dhuhal tribe flag
File:Banu 'Akk Flag (9).png, The 'Akk tribe flag
File:Banu Ajal Flag First (7).png, The first Ajal tribe flag
File:Banu Ajal Flag Second (8).png, The second Ajal tribe flag
File:Banu Khuza'a Flag (28).png, The Khuza'a tribe flag
File:Banu Yashkur Flag (42).png, The Yashkur tribe flag
File:Banu Hanzala Flag (19).png, The Hanzala tribe flag
File:Banu Sa'd ibn Zayd Manat Flag (34).png, The Sa'd ibn Zayd Manat tribe flag
File:Banu Kindah Flag (26).png, The Kindah tribe flag
File:Bajila.svg, The Bajila tribe flag
File:Khath'am Flag (27).svg, The Khath'am tribe flag
File:Banu Taghlib Flag First Raya (37).png, The first Taghlib tribe flag
File:Banu Taghlib Flag Second Raya (38).png, The second Taghlib tribe flag
File:Banu Sulaym Liwa' (35).png, The Sulaym tribe flag
File:Banu Quda'ah Flag (33).png, The Quda'ah tribe flag
File:Hadramawt Flag (17).png, The flag of the tribes from Hadhramawt
Training, tactics & strategy
As the mainstay strategy of the Rashidun army were interchangeably and derived from Islamic teaching, the main doctrine of the Rashidun cavalry also borrowed from the religious ethic itself, as example the aim for building such military sophistication were in fact aimed to cause fear and discourage the enemy from offering resistance, and if possible, cause the enemy to submit peacefully, as it is said the main idea from Verse Quran chapter al-Anfal verse.
Aside from that distinguishing role which characterized by the Mobile Guard cavalry were their task to plugging the gaps between Muslim ranks to avoid enemy penetration, which they practiced during the battle of the Yarmuk.
During the reign of caliph
Umar
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...
. The caliph instructed Salman Ibn Rabi'ah al-Bahili to establish systematic military program to maintain the quality of caliphate mounts. Salman enlisted most of the steeds within realm of caliphate to undergo such steps:
# Recording number and quality of horses available.
# Differences between the Arabian horse#Historic development, Arabian purebreed and the hybrid breeds was to be carefully noted.
# Furusiyya, Arabic structural Medical examination and Hippiatrica on each horses in regular basis including isolation and quarantine of sick horses.
# Regular training between horses and their masters to achieve the disciplined communication between them.
# Collective response training of the horses done in general routine.
# Individual response training of the horses on advanced level.
# Endurance and temperament training to perform in crowded and noisy place.
Meanwhile, technical training method of each horsemen in this cavalry was recorded in ''al-Fann al-Harbi In- Sadr al-Islam'' and Tarikh-e-Tabari, Tarikh Tabari:
# Riding horses with saddles.
# Riding horses without saddles.
# Sword fighting without horses
# Horse charging with stabbing weapons.
# Fighting with swords from the back of a moving horse.
# Archery.
#
Mounted archery
A horse archer is a cavalryman armed with a bow and able to shoot while riding from horseback. Archery has occasionally been used from the backs of other riding animals. In large open areas, it was a highly successful technique for hunting, f ...
while the horse running.
# Close combat while changing their seat position on the back of moving horse, facing backwards.
At the end of the program, both riders and horses obligated to enlisted in formal competition sponsored by Jund, Diwan al-Jund which consisted into two category:
# Racing competition to measure the speed and stamina of each hybrids. This racing activities are also encouraged by caliphate commanders such as Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah who himself also engaged in such sport.
# Acrobat competition to measure the ability of the horses for difficult maneuvers during war.
Additionally, In the wartime, there are special trainings established cavalry divisions were obliged to undertook:
* simulated combat operation raids during the winter and summer seasons, known as Ribat, Tadrib al-Shawati wa al-Sawd'if, which were intended to maintain the quality of each cavalry forces, while also maintain the pressures towards the Byzantines, Persians, and other caliphate enemies while there is no major military campaign.
* Special drills that required for particular operasion, such as during the
Battle of al-Qadisiyyah
The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah ( ar, مَعْرَكَة ٱلْقَادِسِيَّة, Maʿrakah al-Qādisīyah; fa, نبرد قادسیه, Nabard-e Qâdisiyeh) was an armed conflict which took place in 636 CE between the Rashidun Caliphate and the ...
, The Muslim cavalry undergo drill training that involved by maneuvering their horses nearby elephant dummy statues, to train the horses so they did not afraid during the battle as they were tasked to charge against Sasanian Empire elephant corps
Cavalry archery
Alof theorized "Mubarizun" elite division, a unit specialized in close combat duels, also used archery in close-combat duels for maximum arrow penetration against opponent armor. This select few apparatus of mounted soldiers who particularly skilled in duel were tasked to find the enemy generals or field officers, in order to kidnap or slay them in close combat, so the enemy will lose their commanding figure amidst of battle. Aside from fighting with swords, lances, or maces, these duel specialists also possessed a unique ability to use archery in close combat, where Alofs theorized that in mid range about five meters from the adversary, the duelists will exchange his lance with his bow and shoot the enemy from close range to achieve maximum penetration, while the duelist held the lance strapped between right leg and saddle. In fact, James Hardy theorized based on his quote from John Haldon and Romilly Jenkins, one of the decisive main factor for the Rashidun historical victory in battle of Yarmuk were due to their superb cavalry archers.
While James Francis LePree has written that the factor of "unquestionably great cavalry skill of the Arabs' horse archers" during the battle of Yarmuk.
Cavalry archers also used to bait the opposing army from their position, which were reported by Tabari during the battle of Nahavand, when Tulayha planned to lure the bulk of enemy forces by sending armoured cavalry archers forth and shooting them while retreating to bait them to the favorable terrain for Muslim army to fight the Sassanids.
Cavalry usage during siege warfare
The tactics used by Iyad ibn Ghanm in his Mesopotamian campaign were similar to those employed by the Muslims in
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
, though in Iyad's case the contemporary accounts reveal his specific ''modus operandi'', particularly in Raqqa. The operation to capture that city entailed positioning cavalry forces near its entrances, preventing its defenders and residents from leaving or rural refugees from entering. Concurrently, the remainder of Iyad's forces cleared the surrounding countryside of supplies and took captives. These dual tactics were employed in several other cities in al-Jazira. They proved effective in gaining surrenders from targeted cities running low on supplies and whose satellite villages were trapped by hostile troops.
Ubadah ibn al-Samit, another Rashidun commander, is also recorded to have developed his own distinct strategy which involved the use of cavalry during siege warfare. During a siege, Ubadah would dig a large hole, deep enough to hide a considerable number of horsemen near an enemy garrison, and hid his cavalry there during the night. When the sun rose and the enemy city opened their gates for the civilians in the morning, Ubadah and his hidden cavalry then emerged from the hole and stormed the gates as the unsuspecting enemy could not close the gate before Ubadah's horsemen entered. This strategy was used by Ubadah during the Siege of Laodicea (636), Siege of Laodicea and Siege of Alexandria (641), Siege of Alexandria.
Mounts
The possession of horse among Arab peoples were long time traditionally considered as symbol of wealth and prestige.
The musing of pure Arabian horse breed in Arab community social standing also found in the dialogue between caliph
Umar
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...
with one of his cavalry commander,
Amr ibn Ma'adi Yakrib
Amr ibn Ma'adi Yakrib al-Zubaīdi al-Madḥ'hijī ( ar, عمرو بن معد يكرب الزبيدي المذحجي) (died c. 642) was an Arabian calvary commander from the Zubaid clan in Yemen, part of the Madhhij tribe confederation. Amr has d ...
, which recorded in the Al-ʿIqd al-Farīd anthology of ''Adab (literature), adab'' authored by Ibn Abd Rabbih.
According to Schiettecatte, Earliest osteological evidence for the horses in Arabia were found in Bahrain in a middle of the 1000 BC. The developments of early cavalry regiments within caliphate were effected due to the availability of the rich Meccan Arabs to field sufficient horses.
Notables among Arab Muslims, especially those of
Companions of the Prophet
The Companions of the Prophet ( ar, اَلصَّحَابَةُ; ''aṣ-ṣaḥāba'' meaning "the companions", from the verb meaning "accompany", "keep company with", "associate with") were the disciples and followers of Muhammad who saw or m ...
, were recorded possessed multiple horses & camels privately, such as Khalid ibn al-Walid, who reportedly possessed at least 16 horses which all named.
This practice of possessing multiple horses were not unlike Amr ibn Ma'adi Yakrib, the cavalry commander who had mythical reputation, also had at least four named horses of his own,
which number grown further as later the governor of Basra rewarded Amr with foal pregnant mare with preserved pedigree from al-Ghabra type (dust colored type).
Meanwhile, other warriors like
Zubayr ibn al-Awwam
Az Zubayr ( ar, الزبير) is a city in and the capital of Al-Zubair District, part of the Basra Governorate of Iraq. The city is just south of Basra. The name can also refer to the old Emirate of Zubair.
The name is also sometimes written Al ...
owns a swooping number of 1,000 horses in his private stable. while on the other hand, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf reportedly possessed hundreds of horses and 1,000 camels, and Dhiraar ibn al-Azwar, who also reportedly owns about 1,000 camels even before embracing Islam and pledge his allegiance to the Caliphate.
Horses
![LaMirage body07](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/LaMirage_body07.jpg)
Caliphate Arabian noble cavalry almost certainly rode the legendary
purebred
Purebreds are "cultivated varieties" of an animal species achieved through the process of selective breeding. When the lineage of a purebred animal is recorded, that animal is said to be "pedigreed". Purebreds breed true-to-type which means the p ...
Arabian horse
The Arabian or Arab horse ( ar, الحصان العربي , DIN 31635, DMG ''ḥiṣān ʿarabī'') is a horse breed, breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is ...
, by fact the quality breeding of horses were held so dearly by the early caliphates who integrated traditions of Islam with their military practice.
The soldiers who possessed the pureblood Arabian horse even had the right to acquire bigger Prize of war, war spoils after battles than the soldiers who used other breeds or hybrid breed horses.
The horses are culturally related with war in pre-Islamic Arabia as described in the long poems by Antarah ibn Shaddad and Dorayd bin Al Soma.
These horses are also pretty common breed amongst Arab community during 6th to 7th century. This special breed of steed were famous for their speed which allowed for large-scale conquests of the caliphate during their early days. The Arabian breed is forged by the harsh life in desert and raised by nomadic Bedouins who spread it throughout their travels, and erect it as a symbol of social and cultural status, in parallel with a martial selection. This breed are known as a Thoroughbred, hot-blooded breed that are known for their competitiveness. Long withstanding periods of Arabian nomadic society closeness with the horses also contributed to fertility of equestrian masters which produced best class horse breed in Arabia. The phenomenal speed, stamina, animal cognition, along with very well documented pedigrees quality even for modern era standard,
caused the Rashidun leaders to initiate a formal programs to distinguish them from inferior hybrids with unknown pedigrees including horses recently captured from the defeated enemies. Earlier attempts of Muslim horse-breeding were found in the aftermath of Battle of Khaybar, Siege series of Khaybar fotresses when the Muslims acquired massive booties of horses from the Jewish castles. In response prophet Muhammad personally instructed the breeding separations between purebred Arabian and the hybrid-class steeds. in later cases, such tradition of glorifying the breed of pure Arabian steeds are recorded by caliphate soldiers during the Muslim conquest of Persia, conquest of Persia. While another detailed example were Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, who owned many horses. The most famous Arabian horse that owned and being named by az-Zubayr were ''al-Ya'sūb'', which he ride in the
Battle of Badr
The Battle of Badr ( ar, غَزْوَةُ بَدِرْ ), also referred to as The Day of the Criterion (, ) in the Quran, Qur'an and by Muslims, was fought on 13 March 624 CE (17 Ramadan (calendar month), Ramadan, 2 Anno Hegirae, AH), near the ...
.
''al-Ya'sūb'' pedigree was preserved carefully by az-Zubayr's clansmens, banu Asad ibn Abd al-Uzza branch from Quraysh tribe, who create a system of "horse-clan", the "horse-clan" system of recording their horses ancestry and lineage are meant carefully maintain the horses genealogical purity and quality while also manage to keep the steeds genealogy traceable, as in ''al-Ya'sūb'' case, who belong to a horse-clan namely ''al-Asjadi''.
the ''al-Asjadi'' horse clan were keep by az-Zubayr for generations.
Al-Bayhaqi, Al-Baihaqi transmitted in ''Shuab al-iman'' about "Birdhaun breed", or horse of poor breed that are hailing not Arabian breed, more specifically a Turkish horses breed, which caliph Umar warned his governors against riding such horses.
According to Bayhaqi, prohibiting a breed considered second-rate makes it obvious that to ride horses of the best Arab breed would be even a greater sign of pride.
The Arabian theory were justified in the medieval tradition as
Mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
Furusiyya treatises of hippiatry distinguished lineages of Arabian horses were named based on their geographical provenance (Hejaz, Najd, Yemen, Bilād al‑Shām, Jezirah, Iraq), the noblest breed, according to Ibn al‑Mundhir were the ''Hijazi'' breed.
The early caliphate army preferred mares than stallion as warhorses.
Khalid ibn al-Walid were said preferred mare by reason it believed that the mares were more fitt for cavalry combats.
The specific explanation is that mares are not as vocal as either horses or geldings, and the Arabs often believed mares did not need to stop to urinate, which saves times of the army mobilization.
Another reason for the Arabian cavalry to uniformly prefer mares during battles because bringing stallions during combat can potentially disrupt the riders rank as the mares in heat can incite stallions libido and caused the stallion difficult to control.
Mahranite cavalry
![Yemen-Al Mahrah](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Yemen-Al_Mahrah.png)
Caliphate cavalry recruited from Mehri people, Al-Mahra tribe were known for their military prowess and skilled horsemen that often won battles with minimal or no casualties at all, which Amr ibn al As in his own words praised them as "''peoples who kill without being killed''",
Ibn Abd al-Hakam remarks their relative minimal casualties whenever engaged in military operations. Amr was amazed by these proud warriors for their ruthless fighting skill and efficiency During Early Muslim conquests, Muslim conquest where they spearheaded Muslim army during the Battle of Heliopolis, the Battle of Nikiou, and Siege of Alexandria (641), Siege Alexandria. Their commanders, Abd al-sallam ibn Habira al-Mahri were entrusted by 'Amr ibn al-'As to lead the entire Muslim army during the Arab conquest of north Africa. Abd al-sallam defeated the Byzantine imperial army in Libya, and throughout these campaigns Al-Mahra were awarded much land in Africa as recognition of their bravery. When Amr established the town of Fustat, he further rewarded Al-Mahri members additional land in Fustat which then became known as ''Khittat Mahra'' or the Mahra quarter. This land was used by the Al-Mahra tribes as a garrison.
During the turmoil of Second Fitna, more than 600 Mahranites were sent to North Africa to fight Byzantines and the Berber Kharijite revolts.
Camels
Aside from horses, Rashidun cavalry used camels as their means of transportation as they want to save their horses energy, while outside the battle, the camels were used to transport the provisions of the soldiers, as each soldiers of the caliphate were expected to provide his own provisions at the very least outside the main army provided by the leaders or wealthy soldiers.
During the battle, the Rashidun cavalry immediately change their ride to the horses, while their camels are hobbled along the defensive perimeters of Muslim army. Their camels are used defensively during battle as the bulk of camel lines perimeter will blunt the enemy heavy cavalry charge Sometimes, these Arab cavaliers also recorded to ride their camels simultaneously with their horse in one battle depending on the situation, as recorded in the report about Muslim horsemen named
Zubayr ibn al-Awwam
Az Zubayr ( ar, الزبير) is a city in and the capital of Al-Zubair District, part of the Basra Governorate of Iraq. The city is just south of Basra. The name can also refer to the old Emirate of Zubair.
The name is also sometimes written Al ...
, when he fought on the Battle of the Yarmuk, at one point he is reported charging with his horse, breaching the
Byzantine army line.
While in the same battle, he also reported has changed his ride to camel, while fighting defensively and praying at the same time.
Aside from carrying provisions, transportations, and for battle usage, the camel mares were valued for their milk production for the warhorses daily nourishments.
The camels milk reserved as substitution for the Rashidun army horses drink whenever water supply unavailable.
Two camel mares milk were expected to nourish one horse each day.
Emergency rations & Khalid legendary camels march
![Mohammad adil-Khalid's(r](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Mohammad_adil-Khalid%27s%28r.a%29_route_to_Syria.PNG)
Desperate caravaners are known to have consumed camels' urine and to have slaughtered them when their resources were exhausted.
Around 634, after the clash at the
Battle of Firaz
The Battle of Firaz ( ar, معركة الفراض) took place in late 633 or January 634 AD between the Rashidun Caliphate and the combined forces of the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire. The battle resulted in a victory for the Ara ...
against intercepting Byzantine forces, caliph Abu Bakr immediately instructed Khalid to reinforce the contingents of Abu Ubaydah, Amr ibn al-As, Mu'awiyah, and Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan which started to invade Syria. Khalid immediately started his nearly impossible journey with his elite forces after leaving Muthanna ibn Haritha as his deputy in Iraq and instructed his soldiers to make each camel drink as much as possible before they started the six-day nonstop march without resupply. In the end, Khalid managed to reach Suwa spring and immediately defeated the Byzantine garrison in Arak, Syria,
[le Strange, 1890, p]
395
/ref> who were surprised by Khalid's force's sudden emergence from the desert.
According to Hugh Kennedy, historians across the ages assessed this daring journey with various expressions of amazement. Classical Muslim historians praised the marching force's perseverance as a miracle work of Allah, while most western modern historians regard this as solely the genius of Khalid. It is Khalid, whose, in Hugh N. Kennedy, Hugh Kennedy's opinion, imaginative thinking effected this legendary feat. The historian Moshe Gil calls the march "a feat which has no parallel" and a testament to "Khalid's qualities as an outstanding commander"., while Laura Veccia Vaglieri dismissed the adventure of Khalid as never having happened as Vaglieri thought such journey were logically impossible. Nevertheless, military historian Richard G. Davis explained that Khalid imaginatively employed camel supply trains to make this journey possible. Those well hydrated camels that accompanied his journey were proven before in the Battle of Ullais for such a risky journey. Khalid resorted to slaughtering many camels for provisions for his desperate army.
Rashidun army camels also bore offspring while marching to the battle, as Al-Tabari, Tabari recorded the Rashidun vanguard commander Aqra' ibn Habis, testified before the Battle of al-Anbar, the camels belongs to his soldiers were about to give birth. However, since the Aqra' would not halt the operation, he instructed his soldiers to carry the newborn camels on the rumps of adult camels.
Mahranite camelier corps
Amr ibn al-As led a ruthless cavalry corps from tribes of Al-Mahra who were famous for their "invincible battle skills on top of their mounts", during the conquests of Egypt and north Africa. Al-Mahra tribes were experts in camelry and famed for their high-class Mehri camel breed which were renowned for their speed, agility and toughness.
Hima breeding ground
''Hima'' natural reserve which instituted by the early leaders of Islam caliphate were one of the main factor for their army to be able to keep supplying mounts in large numbers. This breeding institution were formed by the caliphs Nejd, where the steppe vegetation apparent in Arabia. The ''Hima'' breeding fields were consisted of large area maintained the vegetative and the animals could lived and bred completely free, as no one are allowed to enter the ''Hima'' except the rightful owner of the animals which bred on there.
The history of Hima breeding grounds preservation as an effort to supply the army with mounts were rooted from the early Islam period, where Modern Islamic studies researchers theorized institution of ''Hima'' by caliph Umar, who inspired by the earliest ''Hima'' established in Medina during the time of the prophet Muhammad. Muhammad has declared the valley of Naqi (''Wadi an-Naqi'') to be reserved for the army mounts usage. Another known Hima breeding grounds during the caliphate were in Kufa, which supervised by Rabi' al Kinda, father in law of the son of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, governor of Kufa during caliphate of Umar and Uthman. Muhammad himself instructed that some of private property at the outskirts of Medina was transformed into ''Hima''. Banu Kilab tribe from Hawazin confederation were known to manage the ''Ḥima Ḍarīyya'' in Nejd.
Caliph Umar particularly ordered the extensive establishments of ''Hima'' in the conquered areas in Iraq and Levant after the battle of Yarmuk and the battle of Qadisiyyah, as the Rashidun caliphate gained large swath of territory after those two battles. Another reason the caliph Umar moved ''Hima'' from Medina was the increasing military demand for camels for which the lands near Medina no longer sufficed. According to classical Muslim sources, caliph Umar acquired some fertile land in Arabia which were deemed fit for large-scale camel breeding to be established as ''Hima'', government-reserved land property used as pasture to raise camels that were being prepared to be sent to the front line for Jihad conquests. Early sources recorded that the ''Hima'' of Rabadha and Diriyah produced 4.000 war camels annually during the reign of Umar, while during the reign of Uthman, both ''Hima'' lands further expanded until al-Rabadha Hima alone could produce 4.000 war camels. At the time of Uthman death, there were said to be around 1.000 war camels already prepared in al-Rabadhah.
The ''Hima'' breeding program of stockbreeding were soon adopted by the Ghassanids
The Ghassanids ( ar, الغساسنة, translit=al-Ġasāsina, also Banu Ghassān (, romanized as: ), also called the Jafnids, were an Arab tribe which founded a kingdom. They emigrated from southern Arabia in the early 3rd century to the Levan ...
Arabs who supplied horses to the Byzantine Empire, Byzantines. The Lakhmids
The Lakhmids ( ar, اللخميون, translit=al-Laḫmiyyūn) referred to in Arabic as al-Manādhirah (, romanized as: ) or Banu Lakhm (, romanized as: ) was an Arab kingdom in Southern Iraq and Eastern Arabia, with al-Hirah as their capital ...
Arabs in Iraq who used the Persian breed as their horses, also adopted the ''Hima'' system with success. The ''Hima'' breeding grounds in Nejd survived until the 20th century during the reign of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia government abolished those reserve places in 1957. The reason of the abolition were presumed by Shamekh as the effort of Saudi government to encourage Sedentism, sendentarization.
Legacy
Modern historians and genealogists concluded that the stocks of early caliphate cavalry army that Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, conquered from the western Maghreb of Africa, Umayyad conquest of Hispania, Spain to the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana, east of Central Asia are drawn from the stock of fierce Bedouin pastoral nomads who take pride of their well-guarded mares genealogy, and called themselves the "''People of the lance''". Thus, this caused many aspect of influences, whether the Animal breedings or another social and religious development within the territories they have conquered, Including Indian subcontinent.
Horsebreedings
The Mammals Working animal, beast of burden brought by these desert warriors on horseback in massive scale unanimously agreed by historians and breeding researchers as bringing some degree of cultural influences towards their subjugated lands, whether it by the massive scale utilization of Dromedary, dromedaries, or their horses, as Muslim conquests of North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
brought large numbers of Arabian horses, The regular supply of horses from ''Hima'' breeding grounds has taken effect particularly after Muslim conquest of Persia
The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest of Iran, was carried out by the Rashidun Caliphate from 633 to 654 AD and led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire as well as the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion.
Th ...
, Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, North Africa, and Muslim conquest of Transoxiana, central Asia.
The Barb (horse), Barb may have come with the Umayyad Caliphate army who settled in the Guadalquivir valley, as both the Arabian strain were brought by the Muslim empires to Europe, which implied by Margareth Greely, through military mean. The Barb horse spread theory were supported by Helen Goldstein who theorized about how the conqueror of Spain, Tariq ibn Ziyad brought the Barb horses along with the Arabian strain during the Muslim conquest of Iberia, as the Barb horses are favored for spare mounts by forces of Tariq as Goldstein theorized the Muslim invaders prized the Arabian breed so much, so they keep them most of the times, while they used the Barbs for trivial routines. The Barbs brought by them crossbreeded through ages with native Spanish horses. Barbs crossbreedings with Spanish stock under 300 years of Umayyad patronage has developed the Andalusian horse (and the Lusitano) breeds.[Jane Waldron Grutz, "The Barb"](_blank)
, ''Saudi Aramco World'', January–February 2007, Retrieved 23 February 2011 Regarding the Portuguese claimed Lusitano breed, Juan Valera-Lemait noted the evidence of the exchange of blood between the Iberian breeds with Barb breeds were mutually beneficial, to the point that modern Barb more resembling the Iberian breed stock as well as the criollo horses of South America. while the introduction to America continent were related to the Muslim invasion medieval era, when Spain and Portugal were in constant war with the Berber invaders where horse and horsemanship had become finely attuned to the war exercises. Thus resulted the Conquistadors introduced and dispersed the breed throughout America.
Meanwhile, the genetics strength of the desert-bred Arabian horse, Arabian bloodlines have played a part in the development of nearly every modern light horse breed, including the Orlov Trotter,[Archer, ''Arabian Horse'', pp.113–114] Morgan horse, Morgan,[Archer, ''Arabian Horse'', p. 115] American Saddlebred, American Quarter Horse, and Warmblood breeds such as the Trakehner.[Archer, ''Arabian Horse'', p. 114] Arabian bloodlines have also influenced the development of the Welsh Pony, the Australian Stock Horse, Percheron draft horse, Appaloosa, and the Colorado Ranger Horse. In modern era, peoples cross Arabians with other breeds to add refinement, endurance, agility and beauty. In the US, Half-Arabians have their own registry within the Arabian Horse Association, which includes a special section for Anglo-Arabians (Arabian-Thoroughbred crosses). Some crosses originally registered only as Half-Arabians became popular enough to have their own breed registry, including the National Show Horse (an Arabian-Saddlebred cross), the Quarab (Arabian-Quarter Horse), the Pintabian the Welara (Arabian-Welsh Pony), and the Morab (Arabian-Morgan).
Another possible strain of horse that came to Europe with these Islamic cavalry invaders was the Turkoman horse
The Turkoman horse, or Turkmene, was an Oriental horse breed from the steppes of Turkoman desert. Its closest modern descendant is thought to be the Akhal-Teke. It influenced many modern horse breeds, including the Thoroughbred horse. Some ho ...
, which possibly brough from Muslim conquest of Transoxiana and Muslim conquest of Persia, Persia.
Mamluk horse
The successful ''Hima'' breeding programs of the early caliphates has effected the inexhaustable supply of manpowers and warhorses, which extended to the Mamluk Sultanate 150 years of cavalry superiority before the advent of firearms.
Aside from practical military use, The breeding of pure Arabian breed were practiced by the military regime of Mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
as way to gain social prestige in a middle of Arabian aristocratic society in Egypt, Syria (region), Sham, and Hejaz. Since the Mamluks were hailed from slave backgrounds, which consisted from Turkic peoples from the Eurasian Steppe,
and also from Circassians, Abkhazians, Georgians,["Relations of the Georgian Mamluks of Egypt with Their Homeland in the Last Decades of the Eighteenth Century". Daniel Crecelius and Gotcha Djaparidze. ''Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient'', Vol. 45, No. 3 (2002), pp. 320–341. ][ By Reidar Visser] Armenians,[Walker, Paul E. ''Exploring an Islamic Empire: Fatimid History and its Sources'' (London, I. B. Tauris, 2002)] Albanians, Greeks, South Slavs[István Vásáry (2005) Cuman and Tatars, Cambridge University Press.][T. Pavlidis, ''A Concise History of the Middle East'', Chapter 11: "Turks and Byzantine Decline". 2011] (see Saqaliba) or Egyptians.[Thomas Philipp & Ulrich Haarmann. ''The Mamluks in Egyptian Politics and Society''.] The Mamluk though that the genealogical purity of their steeds were symbols of martial horsery culture of Arabians, religious purity, and military might.
Arabian horses also spread to the rest of the world via the Ottoman Empire, which rose in 1299. this Turkish empire obtained many Arabian horses through trade, diplomacy and war. The Ottomans encouraged formation of private stud farms in order to ensure a supply of cavalry horses.
Delhi Sultanate & Mughal empire
During the Umayyad campaigns in India, Muhammad ibn Qasim has brought cavalry of 6000 riding fine Arabian Horses. Since then, exports of horses via the maritime routes through the Persian Gulf, supplied mainly from Arabian peninsula and southern Iran has flowed through India. Since then, the Muslim regimes in India has undergoing extensive cavalry army building which revolved around the Arabian horse, such as Delhi Sultanate, and also the Mughal empire, as it is attested further by the period of Mughal of the 16th to 17th century, when horses were imported from the countries of Arabia, Iran, Turkey and Central Asia to India.
the Bhimthadi horse, or Deccani horse breed, gets its name from the vast Deccan Plateau in India. A major trade in Arabian horse breeds in the ports of Deccan began after the Bahamani Sultanate revolted against the Delhi Sultanate. The Bhimthadi breed was developed in Pune district in 17th and 18th centuries during the Maratha empire, Maratha rule by crossing Arabian and Turkic breeds with local ponies.
Rise of Saudi
Arabian horses were classified based on their geographical provenance by their bedouin masters, such as ''Hejaz, Najd, Yemen, Bilād al‑Shām, Jezirah, or Iraq'' breed as example.
The ''Najd'' breed were somehow found their prominence both in warfare and cultural heritage in accordance with the rise of their master's regime, House of Saud and Wahhabism religious movement which spanned from the time of Wahhabi War on early 18th AD century, towards the aftermath of World War I. During Unification of Saudi Arabia war, high ranked Arabian peninsula desert communities such as Sharif of Mecca and the Emirate of Diriyah, first Saudi Emirate put emphasis on their Arabian horse breedings, in well documented records from Carl Raswan and other desert researchers.
In modern era, royal family from Kingdom of Saud also known for their love for breeding horses and spent expenses for such effort.
Islamic ruling regarding war horses breeds
The profound tradition of Arabian horse breeding exaltation by early caliphate soldiers even became a basis for scholars of later era. Muslim jurists who codified Islamic law from the mid‑eighth century to strongly connect the horse with Jihad, as They especially stated that it should receive shares in the plunder: two parts of the fourth‑fifths share by Maliki, Shafiʽi school and Hanbali, while one for Abū Ḥanīfa. Accordingl, there are belief in Islam about the Arabian horses which found in Hadith that an Arabian breeds were praying for their owners to God two times a day.
Shafi'i jurist, Al-Mawardi, to establish the ruling of regular military share that the owner of noble purebreed Arabian(''al‑khayl al‑ʿitāq'') should be rewarded a share of booty three times of regular infantry soldiers, while owners of inferior mixed breeds received only twice infantry soldiers' share. Al-Mawardi seems based his ruling from hadith tradition from Companions of the Prophet, companion of the prophet named Abd Allah ibn Amr ibn al-As. While Ahmad ibn Hanbal ruled that ''"a mixed‑breed birdhawn (al‑birdhawn al‑hajīn) should be given the half share of the noble Arabian [horse] (al‑ʿarabī al‑ʿatīq). Henceforth, the rider (fāris) of the birdhawn should be given two shares whereas the rider of the noble Arabian horse should be given three shares"'' The related tradition of cavalry spoils privilege from Miqdad ibn Aswad and Zubayr ibn al-Awwam privileged share of five times that of normal soldiers by the ruling that Zubayr were owner of warhorse and also a relative of Muhammad were discussed by modern Salafi scholars as valid rules based on those hadiths.
Military, religious & political Legacy
Chroniclers recorded Kharijites as among fiercest and most zealous element within caliphate cavalry hailed from the Bedouin tribes of Arabs and Berbers, that will later revolt against their own caliphate. 8th century chronicler, Al-Jahiz
Abū ʿUthman ʿAmr ibn Baḥr al-Kinānī al-Baṣrī ( ar, أبو عثمان عمرو بن بحر الكناني البصري), commonly known as al-Jāḥiẓ ( ar, links=no, الجاحظ, ''The Bug Eyed'', born 776 – died December 868/Jan ...
noted Kharijites
The Kharijites (, singular ), also called al-Shurat (), were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the ...
horsemen ferocity, who spent parts of their early career in Kufa as Rashidun garrison troop during the Muslim conquest of Persia
The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest of Iran, was carried out by the Rashidun Caliphate from 633 to 654 AD and led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire as well as the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion.
Th ...
.
The Kharijites were feared for their powerful cavalry charge with their lances which could break any defensive line, and almost never lose when pitted against equal number of opponents. This claim also supported by Akbar Shah Khan Najibabadi, who has given measure that a valiant Kharijite army sometimes could even defeat an opponent whose number were ten times or twenty times bigger than them. The testament Kharijites prowess are when the Kharijites ''quietists faction'' led by Abu Bilal Mirdas,
who hailed from Tamim tribe decimated the 2,000 Umayyad force from Basra under Aslam ibn Zur'a al-Kilabi, with only forty men in the encounter at the village of Asak near Ramhormoz, Ramhurmuz.
Meanwhile, Al-Jahiz also pointed out Kharijites steeds' speed could not intercepted by most rival cavalrymen in medieval era, save for the Turks (ethnic group), Turkish Mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
s, As Tabari recorded the stamina and nimbleness of Kharijites, where they will even retreat long time, as it takes early morning until time for Salah prayer for Abu al-Rawwagh, caliphate commander, to pursue them without breaking down.
Furthermore, legendary perseverance of the Kharijites in history were recorded several times in the medieval chronicles, such as when Abd al-Rahman ibn Muljam, member of Kharijite assassin who murdered Ali, did not flinch in pain or shown fear when his arms, legs, and eyes mutilated by Ali sons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, before being executed. Ibn Muljam only shown fear when it is his tongue are about cut, due to his reason that if his tongue were cut, he cannot pray with his mouth again before executed. or when the Rustamid dynasty, Ibadi Rustamid warriors under Abd al-Wahhab ibn Abd al-Rahman are said never flinched against hails of enemy arrows, and even laughed when arrows stuck on their bodies.
Hurqus & Iraqi Kharijites
According to Al-Shahrastani, an 11th AD century Shafiite scholar, the proto Kharijite group were called ''al-Muhakkima al-Ula''. they were rooted from the Muslim warriors existed back in the times of prophet Muhammad. the ''al-Muhakkima al-Ula'' group were led by a figure named ''Dhu al-Khuwaishirah at-Tamimi'', more famously known as , a Tamim tribe chieftain, veteran of the Battle of Hunayn
:''This is a sub-article to Muhammad after the conquest of Mecca.''
The Battle of Hunayn ( ar, غَزْوَة حُنَيْن, Ghazwat Hunayn) was between the Muslims of Muhammad and the Bedouins of the Qays, including its clans of Hawazin a ...
and first generation Kharijites
The Kharijites (, singular ), also called al-Shurat (), were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the ...
who protested the war spoils distribution. Hurqus were recorded being prophesied by a Hadith from Muhammad that he will revolt against Caliphate later.
At first, Hosts of Hurqus were among those who participated in the Muslim conquest of Persia
The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest of Iran, was carried out by the Rashidun Caliphate from 633 to 654 AD and led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire as well as the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion.
Th ...
led by Arfajah
Arfajah ibn Harthama al-Bariqi ( ar, عرفجة بن هرثمة البارقي) (also known as Arfajah al-Bariqi) was a companion of prophet Muhammad. He hailed from clan of Bariq from Azd branch, inhabiting Southwestern Arabia.
Arfajah were o ...
, Rashidun general who commands the army and Early Caliphate navy, navy in Iraq. During Muslim conquest of Khuzestan, Conquest of Khuzestan, Hurqus defeated Hormuzan in 638 at Ahvaz (known as Ahvaz, Hormizd-Ardashir in modern era) to subdue the city. However, later during the reign of Uthman, Hurqus was one of the ringleaders from Basra that conspired to assassinate Uthman. They are the soldiers of Ali during the battle of Siffin, who later rebelled towards the Caliphate of Ali
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
and planned their rebellion in the village of Haruri. Despite being suppressed by Ali, remnants of Hurqus group of ''Muhakkima al-Ula'' or the ''Haruriyya'' proto-Kharijites has survived and would later influenced the splinter sects of Azariqa, Sufriyyah, Ibadiyyah, Yazidiyyah, Maimuniyyah, Ajaridah, al-Baihasiyyah, and the Najdat radical sects. These violent warrior sects would plague the entire history of Rashidun Caliphate, Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
, and Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
with endemic rebellions.
The host of Hurqus also contained another troublesome Kharijite embryos that also came to Iraq under Arfajah were the ones that hail from Bajila
The Bajīla () was an Arab tribe that inhabited the mountains south of Mecca in the pre-Islamic era and later dispersed to different parts of Arabia and then Iraq under the Muslims. The tribe, under one of its chieftains Jarir ibn Abd Allah, play ...
tribe, Notable seditionist warriors from this tribe were Abd Allah ibn Wahb al-Rasibi
ʿAbd Allāh ibn Wahb al-Rāsibī ( ar, عبد الله بن وهب الراسبي; died 17 July 658 AD) was an early leader of the Khārijites., calls him "the first ‘Kharijite’ caliph". Of the Bajīla tribe, he was a ''tābiʿī'', one who ...
, who participated in the early conquests of Persia under Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas
, image = File:Saad ibn Abi Waqqas Masjid an-Nabawi Calligraphy.png
, alt =
, caption = His name in Arabic calligraphy
, birth_date =
, death_date =
, birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia
, death_place ...
. and later joined the hosts of Hurqus against caliphate of Ali
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
in the battle of Nahrawan. Ibn Wahb survived this battle, and escaped to form the Ibadi Islam#Wahbi school, Ibāḍiyya Wahb sect, that even survived up to 20th century modern era in Oman.
Scholars evaluations about Kharijites
According to Shafiʽi school, Shafiite scholar Abdul Qahir ibn Thahir Bin Muhammad Al Baghdadi in his book of encyclopedia of astray sect within Islam, ''al-Farq bain al-Firaq'', The Azariqa were the most strongest faction with biggest followers. They are the first target by Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr to be suppressed, who sent Al-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra for the operation. Despite their military strength and fanatical zealotry, the Azariq followers were superficially prone to disunity and Divide and rule strategy launched by Muhallab, who acknowledged of the shallowness of the Azariqa Jihad concept when faced by Muhallab own jurists, engaging some religious debate towards some of their key members of the Kharijites regarding the flaw of their Islamic practice and Jihad, thus enticed most of them to indirectly serving Muhallab by striking their own allies. This fatal flaw are, according to Akbar Shah Najibabadi, the reason why Muhallab never lose his battle against the fearsome Kharijites, while seven of Muhallab sons also shown exemplarly success during anti-Kharijite operations.
Dr. Adam Ali M.A.PhD. postulated that Al-Jahiz's assessment of the military quality of Kharijites are synonymous with the regular Arab cavalry in general term of speed and Charge (warfare), charging maneuver. In fact, ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Ḥabīb, a jurist and historian in the 9th century described the Berber Revolt, Berber Kharijites as a mirror match for the Caliphate army, as they are resembling the Arabic caliphate martial tradition, except for the loyalty to authority. Ibn Nujaym al-Hanafi, Hanafi scholar, outlined his evaluation about Kharijites: ''"... kharijites are a folk possessing strength and zealotry, who revolt against the government due to a self-styled interpretation. They believe that government is upon falsehood, disbelief or disobedience that necessitates it being fought against, and they declare lawful the blood and wealth of the Muslims...”''.
Scholars of later such as Al-Dhahabi, Abu Dawud al-Sijistani Muhammad ibn al-Uthaymeen, and Majd ad-Dīn Ibn Athir era has observed the historical influence of Dhu al-Khuwaishirah Hurqus at-Tamimi and Abu Bilal Mirdas at-Tamimi on their commentary notes as a warning against the danger of Khawarij, even when they are just criticizing the superiors in public and not openly rebelled.
See also
*Khalid ibn Walid
Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira al-Makhzumi (; died 642) was a 7th-century Arab military commander. He initially headed campaigns against Muhammad on behalf of the Quraysh. He later became a Muslim and spent the remainder of his career i ...
*Rashidun Caliphate army
*Early Caliphate navy
*Companion cavalry (elite cavalry of Alexander the Great, Alexander's Ancient Macedonians, Macedonian army)
*Muslim conquest of Syria
The Muslim conquest of the Levant ( ar, فَتْحُ الشَّام, translit=Feth eş-Şâm), also known as the Rashidun conquest of Syria, occurred in the first half of the 7th century, shortly after the rise of Islam."Syria." Encyclopædia Br ...
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mobile Guard (Fursan)
Cavalry
Cavalry units and formations
Muslim conquest of the Levant
Military history of the Rashidun Caliphate
Military history of the medieval Islamic world
Military history of Egypt
Military history of Iraq