Hasan al-Charrat

Hasan al-Charrat

Hasan al-Charrat ( Arabic حسن الخراط Hasan al-Charrat , * 1861 ; † December 25, 1925 ) was a Syrian insurgent against French colonial rule during the Syrian Revolution from 1925. As a follower of a Damascus notable, he led a group of irregulars.

Life

Al-Charrat grew up in Damascus. Without any higher education, he found work as a security guard for the night watch of the al-Bakri family, who dominated the Ash Shaghur district of the old town as a traditional notable family. Al-Charrat rose to a leadership role within this security organization. He was appointed by Abd-ar-Rahman Shahbandar and the leader of the al-Bakri family in 1925 to head a riot militia in Damascus. At times he waged a guerrilla war from the Druze state around the Jebel ad-Duruz and achieved prominence through successful raids and acts of sabotage. Al-Charrat led his fighters together with a prominent Sufi from Damascus.

His troops captured a market in central Damascus on October 18, 1925, killing around 180 colonial soldiers. No prisoners were taken on al-Charrat's orders. His son Fachri was publicly executed by French troops on October 21 . The French troops suppressed the revolt in Damascus by means of air strikes. Al-Charrat led a 2,000-strong rebel force against colonial troops south of Damascus with others. On December 25, al-Charrat was killed in a French ambush. His body was put on public display by colonial troops in central Damascus. Individual groups of his guerrillas continued to fight for months after his death.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Michael Provence: The Greater Syrian Revolt. Austin, 2005, pp. 100-103, 133-136
   Sami Moubayed: Steel and Silk - Men and Women Who Shaped Syria 1900-2000. Seattle, 2006, pp. 381f
2. ↑ Michael Provence: The Greater Syrian Revolt. Austin, 2005, pp. 116, 133-136, 138