15 Facts About Hasan al-Kharrat

Abu Muhammad Hasan al-Kharrat was a Syrian revolutionary and one of the principal rebel commanders of the Great Syrian Revolt against the French Mandate.

Hasan al-Kharrat was killed in action during the revolt and is considered a hero by Syrians.

At al-Bakri's invitation, Hasan al-Kharrat joined the revolt in August 1925 and formed a group of fighters from al-Shaghour and other neighborhoods in the vicinity.

Hasan al-Kharrat led the rebel assault against Damascus, briefly capturing the residence of French High Commissioner of the Levant Maurice Sarrail before withdrawing amid heavy French bombardment.

Hasan al-Kharrat served as the night watchman of the city's al-Shaghour quarter and as a guard for the neighborhood's orchards.

Hasan al-Kharrat was popularly characterized as an honorable man, noted for his personal strength, and protection of minorities and the poor.

Khoury asserts that Hasan al-Kharrat was "probably the most respected and esteemed qabaday of his day".

Qabadayat normally shunned formal education, and historian Michael Provence maintains that Hasan al-Kharrat was likely illiterate.

The al-Bakri family was the most influential in al-Shaghour, and Hasan al-Kharrat served as the family's principal connection and enforcer in the quarter.

Hasan al-Kharrat's prominence rose as he led nighttime raids against the French in Damascus, during which he disarmed army patrols and took soldiers hostage.

Al-Rayyis claimed the meeting was called for by Hasan al-Kharrat, who ordered his fighters to capture and bring al-Shallash to Saqba.

However, according to al-'As, the summit was called by al-Shallash, and once the latter arrived in the village, Hasan al-Kharrat personally detained him and confiscated his horse, weapons and money.

Al-Kharrat's men continued to fight the French until the revolt ended in 1927, though historian Thomas Philipp states that Hasan al-Kharrat's group dissipated after his death.

Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar, a prominent Syrian nationalist leader, described Hasan al-Kharrat as having played "the preeminent role" in the battle against the French in the Ghouta and Damascus.

Historian Daniel Neep wrote that Hasan al-Kharrat was the "best-known" of all of the Damascus-based rebel leaders, although other leaders of the rebel movement attributed the publicity and praise of Hasan al-Kharrat to the efforts of the Cairo-based Syrian-Palestinian Committee, with which al-Bakri was closely affiliated.