Hasan al-Kharrat

Hasan al-Kharrat
حسن الخراط

Portrait of al-Kharrat
Born 1861
Damascus, Ottoman Syria
Died 25 December 1925 (aged 63–64)
Damascus, French Mandate of Syria
Nationality Syrian
Known for Commander of Damascus rebels during Great Syrian Revolt

Hasan al-Kharrat (Arabic: حسن الخراط‎ 1861 or 1875[1] – 25 December 1925) was a Syrian nationalist and one of the principal leaders of the Great Syrian Revolt against the French Mandate and the best-known military leader of rebel forces in Damascus and the Ghouta countryside. A well-connected qabaday (local youth boss) from the al-Shaghour quarter of Damascus, al-Kharrat joined the revolt in August 1925 and subsequently formed an armed group of fighting men from his quarter and various other neighborhoods and villages in the vicinity. In mid-October he commanded the rebel assault against the French Army in Damascus, briefly capturing the French High-Commissioner Maurice Sarrail's residence. After withdrawing from Damascus, which was severely bombarded by French forces, al-Kharrat continued to lead forays against French positions in and around Damascus until being killed in a French ambush in the Ghouta. Due to his efforts against French rule and his death in that struggle, al-Kharrat is considered a hero by Syrians until the present day.[2]

Early life and career

Al-Kharrat was born to a Sunni Muslim family in Damascus in 1861.[3][4] He grew up in the city and did not have a high school education.[4] Al-Kharrat eventually served as the night watchman of the al-Shaghour quarter in the Old City and as the guard of the neighborhood's orchards,[4][5][6] a role he continued to perform until late 1925.[7]

During the early French Mandate period which began in 1920, al-Kharrat served the role of al-Shaghour's qabaday.[5][8] The qabaday was the traditional leader of a village or neighborhood's local toughs who was informally charged with redressing grievances and defending a neighborhood's honor against local criminals or the encroachments of qabadayat (plural form) from other neighborhoods. According to historian Phillip S. Khoury, the qabaday was characterized as an honorable man by the masses, noted for his personal strength,[9] honor and protection of the impoverished and minorities.[10] A qabaday normally shunned formal education and was considered an "upholder of Arab traditions and customs, the guardian of popular culture," according to Khoury.[9][10] Despite occasional "shady dealings, preference for physical coercion and even committing 'mortal' sins for personal gain," the qabaday was distinguished from the zu'ran, who were more associated with criminal activity and extortion (khuwwa) rackets.[10] The qabadayat were normally linked with particular city notables and could secure political support for them inside the quarters where the notables might not have the kind of direct relationship with residents the way a qabaday would.[9]

Role in the Great Syrian Revolt

In the mid-summer of 1925 Sultan Pasha al-Atrash rallied his Druze fighters and launched a revolt against French rule in Jabal al-Arab. This was directly in response to the arrest and imprisonment of three other prominent Druze leaders from the al-Atrash clan in Damascus. They had been invited to the city by the French authorities to negotiate an end to the growing unrest in the Jabal. Tensions between the two sides had been simmering throughout the previous years. As al-Atrash's men scored a number of decisive victories against the French Army, Syrian nationalists throughout the country were inspired to participate and the revolt spread northward to Damascus and beyond. Politically speaking, al-Kharrat was allied with Nasib al-Bakri, a Damascus notable and the chief liaison between al-Atrash and the emergent Damascus and Ghouta-based rebels.[6] Abdul Rahman Shahbandar, a prominent Syrian nationalist leader at that time, described al-Kharrat as a "socialist" in practice.[5] Al-Bakri's family was the most influential in al-Shaghour, and al-Kharrat had maintained particularly close relations with Nasib and his brother Fawzi. He served something akin to their principal connection and enforcer in the quarter.[11]

After a meeting between Nasib al-Bakri and Shahbandar in August 1925, al-Bakri urged al-Kharrat to join the uprising,[11] a request the latter accepted. He subsequently recruited a force of men from Damascus to take up arms.[4] According to historian Michael Provence, al-Kharrat was "ideal" for the job, possessing "a local following of young men, notoriety outside the quarter, good connections and a reputation for toughness."[11] The group of fighters (′isabat) he commanded were known as ′isabat al-Shawaghirah, deriving its name from al-Kharrat's neighborhood al-Shaghour. However, al-Kharrat's ′isabat also included volunteers from the villages of Jaramana, Kafr Batna, Beit Sahem, al-Mleha and al-Amara.[6] Al-Kharrat also a formed a partnership with Muhammad al-Hijaz, a Sufi religious sheikh based in Damascus. Together, the two men brought an "Islamic crusade" dimension to the largely secular revolt, according to Sa'id al-'As, a rebel leader and secularist.[11]

Rebels in the Ghouta, led by Druze sheikh Izz al-Din al-Halabi (center, underneath "x" mark), 1925

Al-Kharrat's prominence quickly rose as he led his men in nighttime raids against French installations in Damascus city. In the neighborhoods of al-Shaghour, Souk Saruja and Jazmatiyya, al-Kharrat and his ′isabat destroyed all French buildings, confronting and disarming French Army patrols and holding soldiers hostage.[4] His main area of operation was in the eastern Ghouta, particularly the heavily wooded al-Zur forest and the area near the al-Shaghour quarter.[12] In the first week of October, 60 French gendarmes were dispatched to the Ghouta to apprehend al-Kharrat and his fighters. The gendarmes took up lodging in the home of the mukhtar ("village headman") of al-Mleha. In the evening hours, a coalition of rebels from Damascus, Ghouta and Jabal al-Arab ambushed the mukhtar's residence, capturing the entire gendarme unit. One French soldier was killed and the rest were disarmed. While most of the French soldiers were sent back to Damascus without their belongings, four officers were sent to Jabal al-Arab, where Sultan Pasha al-Atrash would later have them released after learning they had not resisted the rebels.[7]

On 12 October French troops backed by tanks, artillery and aerial support launched a wide scale operation to surround and eliminate the Ghouta rebels in the al-Zur forest. Al-Kharrat's men were pursued along the banks of the Barada River, but the French and their sniper units failed to apprehend them or draw a significant number out in the open. Some residents of al-Mleha had previously informed the rebels of the French Army's approach and when the French withdrew from their operation, they looted and set the village on fire.[13] French intelligence officials claimed that al-Mleha was collectively punished because a young boy from the village had notified al-Kharrat's men of the French gendarme presence in al-Mleha the week before. Thus, French intelligence justified the punitive measures against the village as retaliation for its residents' cooperation, which enabled the rebels to capture and humiliate the gendarmes.[14]

French forces proceeded to loot and burn Jaramana (already largely destroyed by French bombardment), which had a large Druze population. This particularly angered the Druze rebel units from Jabal al-Arab who vowed to avenge the deaths of their coreligionists. Though they were not able to directly engage al-Kharrat and his forces, French troops executed around 100 civilians from the Ghouta villages. Their corpses were brought to Damascus, and 16 that the French described as "brigands" were put on display for much of the day.[14]

Battle of Damascus

General Maurice Sarrail, the High-Commissioner of the French Mandate of Syria

Following these actions and pressure from the Druze units, al-Bakri planned an operation to capture the Citadel of Damascus, where French forces were concentrated, and the Azm Palace, where rebels were informed that General Maurice Sarrail, the High Commissioner of the French Mandate, would be residing on 17–18 October.[15] The High Commissioner, who was usually a general, functioned as the overall administrator of Syria on behalf of France and practically exercised absolute power.[16] One of the principal intentions of the rebels was to capture Sarrail himself.[14] The only rebel units in Damascus at the time was al-Kharrat's ′isabat and a mixed force of fighters from Jabal al-Arab, the al-Midan quarter and the Ghouta. Therefore, al-Bakri sent a letter to Sultan al-Atrash, requesting reinforcements. Al-Atrash wrote that he was currently occupied with operations in the Hauran, but he would dispatch his entire force to back the Damascus rebels as soon his military affairs were settled. Fawzi al-Qawuqji, the rebel leader of the Hama region, was also called on, but before the return letters from either men could make it to Damascus, al-Bakri decided to move ahead with the operation.[15]

On 18 October al-Kharrat led about 40 of his men into the al-Shaghour quarter from the old cemeteries of the southern Bab al-Saghir gate announcing that the Bani Ma'ruf, a prominent Druze clan, had arrived to relieve the city from French occupation. Crowds of residents enthusiastically welcomed the rebels and many took up arms with them. Al-Kharrat's men first captured the quarter's police station, disarming its garrison.[17] By then, al-Kharrat's men were joined by Ramadan al-Shallash, a rebel leader from the Deir ez-Zor region, and 20 of his Bedouin fighters. Their joint forces then proceeded to the Hamidiyya Market and from there they captured the Azm Palace,[17][18] although Gen. Sarrail had already left to attend a meeting in the southern town of Daraa.[17]

The battle spread as al-Bakri and the fighters of al-Midan swept the city's neighborhoods and civilians joined the rebels in increasing numbers.[17] Al-Kharrat issued an order to kill anyone linked to the French Army and about 180 French soldiers were killed during the battle. He subsequently had the entire Old City sealed to block the entry of French reinforcements. Sarrail ordered a massive aerial bombardment of the city. According to historian Phillip S. Khoury, 1,500 people were killed in the bombardment,[19] while Sami Moubayed writes that 6,000 people were killed within the span of two days. General chaos and scattered fighting ensued in the capital as whole neighborhoods, mosques and churches had been leveled and hundreds of leading figures in the Syrian nationalist movement were arrested by the military,[18] including al-Kharrat's son Fakhri.[6] Fakhri was captured on 22 October during a botched nighttime raid by the rebels against French forces, who by then were in control of Damascus.[12] After a meeting between Sarrail and a delegation of Damascus notables, the French ended their bombardment of the city on 24 October.[19]

Later activities in the Ghouta

Al-Kharrat's men and about three other rebel groups continued to attack French positions throughout the Ghouta in November and December. On 22 November al-Kharrat led a force of roughly 700 fighters in a battle with about 500 French soldiers outside Damascus. Al-Kharrat's men inflicted "trifling" losses against the French, but his fighters also suffered 30 fatalities and 40 wounded, according to a report by Reuters.[20] On 5 December a 2,000-strong rebel force led by al-Kharrat, Abd al-Qadir Sukkar, Sultan al-Atrash's brother Zayd, Izz ad-Din al-Halabi and Khalil al-Bassali assaulted the French Army barracks in al-Qadam, south of Damascus.[21]

Centralized order and oversight among the revolt's armed participants was difficult to establish because of the diversity and independence of the various rebel factions. A meeting of the countrywide rebel leadership was held in the Ghouta village of Saqba on 26 November.[22] During the meeting, Sa'id al-'As accused al-Kharrat, the Dummar-based Akasha brothers, and Druze and Bedouin tribesmen of committing plunder in the Ghouta.[23] Al-Kharrat alleged al-Shallash extorted the residents of al-Midan and Douma.[24] Despite the arguments, the meeting in Saqba concluded an agreement to elect a government in place of the French authorities, to increase enlistment of Ghouta residents and to coordinate military operations with a central rebel command, as well as the establishment of a revolutionary court to execute spies. The meeting also designated the area between the village of Zabdin and north of the Douma road as being part of al-Kharrat's military zone. Despite his leading role in the rebels' military efforts, al-Kharrat was not included in the newly formed rebel leadership council, nor were any of al-Bakri's allies. Al-'As would serve as the rebels' overall head.[23]

Tensions with rebel leaders

Divisions within rebel ranks surfaced in a 5 December 1925 meeting in Saqba, the second to be held in the village. According to Munir al-Rayyis, a prominent Syrian journalist and nationalist activist, personal hostility between al-Kharrat and al-Shallash was well-known among the rebels.[22] Moreover, because al-Shallash had levied war taxes on the major landlords and city elites, al-Kharrat's benefactor al-Bakri viewed him as a threat to the resources of traditional urban class to which he belonged.[25] Al-Rayyis claims the meeting was called by al-Kharrat,[26] who ordered his fighters to capture and bring al-Shallash to Saqba. According to al-'As, the summit was actually called by al-Shallash himself and that once he arrived in the village, al-Kharrat personally detained him and confiscated his horse, weapons and money.[27]

After his detention, al-Shallash was subjected to a brief trial where al-Kharrat accused al-Shallash of "impositions and ransoms and financial collections in the name of the revolt," while al-Bakri specifically condemned him for extorting the residents of Douma for 1,000 giney (Ottoman pounds),[22] and imposing large fines on the inhabitants of Harran al-Awamid, al-Qisa and al-Midaa for personal enrichment.[28] French intelligence documents reported that al-Shallash had actually fined Duma's largest (and pro-French) landlord 2,000 giney.[22] Al-Kharrat and al-Bakri ultimately decided al-Shallash's fate and in the judgement against him, al-Shallash was "expelled from the revolt and stripped of his office and insignia."[25] While many of the rebels with officer backgrounds disapproved of the judgement they did not intervene.[22] Al-Rayyis condemned the rebel commanders for complacency in the "ridiculous trial" and accused al-Kharrat of only seeking revenge.[26] After protestations by al-'As, it was agreed that al-Shallash would be returned his horse and before any further punishment could be meted out against him, French aerial bombardment of the village allowed for al-Shallash to escape his detention. Al-'As claimed he released him as the village was being bombed.[27] Al-Shallash would later surrender himself to the new French High Commissioner Henri de Jouvenel and collaborated with the French authorities afterward.[29]

Death and legacy

Al-Kharrat was killed in an ambush by French troops in the Ghouta plain on 25 December.[26] His men continued to fight the French for the remainder of the revolt,[30] which ended in 1927. In January 1926 al-Kharrat's son Fakhri was sentenced to death and publicly executed by the authorities, along with two other rebel figures, in Marjeh Square.[31] The French had previously implored al-Kharrat to convince his father to surrender in return for his release from incarceration, but Fakhri had refused.[12]

Historian Hanna Batatu quotes Syrian nationalist leader Abdul Rahman Shahbandar describing al-Kharrat as having played "the preeminent role" in the battles with the French in al-Ghouta and Damascus.[5] Historian Daniel Neep wrote he was the "best-known" of all the Damascus-based rebel leaders,[6] although other leaders of the rebel movement attributed the publicity and praise surrounding al-Kharrat to the efforts of the Cairo-based Syrian-Palestinian Committee. Phillip S. Khoury stated that he was the "most esteemed and respected" of the qabadayat.[8] Al-Kharrat and his son Fakhri are still considered "martyred heroes" among Syrians for their nationalist efforts and deaths in the anti-French struggle.[11][26]

References

  1. ↑ Author Sami Moubayed lists the birth year as 1861 (Moubayed, 2006, p. 381,) while author Michael Provence writes al-Kharrat was 50 years old in late 1925 (Provence, 2005, p. 100.)
  2. ↑ Provence, 2005, p. 119.
  3. ↑ Syria Opposition Leader Interview Transcript. Wall Street Journal. 2011-12-02.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Moubayed, 2006, p. 381.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Batatu, 1999, p. 117.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Neep, 2012, pp. 79–80.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Provence, 2005, p. 100.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Burke and Khoury, 2006, p. 157.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Burke and Khoury, 2006, p. 152.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Burke and Khoury, 2006, p. 154.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Provence, 2005, p. 101.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Provence, 2005, p. 118.
  13. ↑ Provence, 2005, pp. 101–102.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Provence, 2005, p. 102.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Provence, 2005, pp. 102–103.
  16. ↑ Peretz, 1994, pp. 365–366.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 Provence, 2005, p. 103.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Moubayed, 2006, p. 382.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Provence, 2005, pp. 104–105.
  20. ↑ Reuters (1 January 1926). "Syrian Revolt: Hassan Kharrat Killed". The Advocate. Retrieved 2013-04-07.
  21. ↑ Provence, 2005, p. 116.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 Provence, 2005, pp. 134–135.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Neep, 2012, p. 81.
  24. ↑ Neep, 2012, p. 83.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Provence, 2005, p. 134.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 Provence, 2005, p. 135.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Provence, p. 137.
  28. ↑ Provence, 2005, p. 136.
  29. ↑ Provence, 2005, pp. 138–139.
  30. ↑ Provence, 2005, p. 138.
  31. ↑ Neep, 2012, p. 54.

Bibliography