page_title: Hasan al-Kharrat
section_title: Early life and career
hierarchical_section_title: Hasan al-Kharrat / Early life and career
caption_attribution_description: English: Al-Shaghour Quarter - 1910 العربية: الشاغور براني عام 1910
context_page_description: Abu Muhammad Hasan al-Kharrat was one of the principal Syrian rebel commanders of the Great Syrian Revolt against the French Mandate. His main area of operations was in Damascus and its Ghouta countryside. He was killed in the struggle and is considered a hero by Syrians.
  As the qabaday of the al-Shaghour quarter of Damascus, al-Kharrat was connected with Nasib al-Bakri, a nationalist from the quarter's most influential family. At al-Bakri's invitation, al-Kharrat joined the revolt in August 1925 and formed a group of fighters from al-Shaghour and other neighborhoods in the vicinity. He led the rebel assault against Damascus, briefly capturing the residence of French High-Commissioner Maurice Sarrail before withdrawing amid heavy French bombardment.
  Towards the end of 1925, relations grew tense between al-Kharrat and other rebel leaders, particularly Sa'id al-'As and Ramadan al-Shallash, as they traded accusations of plundering villages or extorting local inhabitants. Al-Kharrat continued to lead operations in the Ghouta, where he was ultimately killed in a French ambush.
context_section_description: Al-Kharrat was born to a Sunni Muslim family in Damascus in 1861, during Ottoman rule in Syria. He served as the night watchman of the city's al-Shaghour quarter and as a guard for the neighborhood's orchards. Damascus was captured by Arab rebels during World War I in October 1918. Afterward, the Arab Club, an Arab nationalist organization, emerged in the city to raise support for the rebels. The club assisted the rebels' leader, Emir Faisal, who formed a rudimentary government. Al-Kharrat became an affiliate of the Arab Club and raised support for Faisal in al-Shaghour. In July 1920, Faisal's government collapsed after its motley forces were defeated by the French at the Battle of Maysalun. Afterward, the French ruled Syria under the aegis of their League of Nations mandate.
  In the early years of French rule, al-Kharrat was al-Shaghour's qabaday (pl. qabadayat), the traditional leader of a neighborhood's local toughs. The qabaday was informally charged with redressing grievances and defending a neighborhood's honor against local criminals or the encroachments of qabadayat from other neighborhoods. He was popularly characterized as an honorable man, noted for his personal strength, and protection of minorities and the poor. The qabaday was considered an "upholder of Arab traditions and customs, the guardian of popular culture", according to historian Philip S. Khoury. Khoury asserts that al-Kharrat was "probably the most respected and esteemed qabaday of his day". Qabadayat normally shunned formal education, and historian Michael Provence maintains that al-Kharrat was likely illiterate. Qabadayat were normally linked with particular city notables and could secure them political support in their neighborhoods. Al-Kharrat was allied with Nasib al-Bakri, a Damascene politician and landowner. The al-Bakri family was the most influential in al-Shaghour, and al-Kharrat served as the family's principal connection and enforcer in the quarter.
caption: A street scene in the al-Shaghour quarter of Damascus, 1910. Al-Kharrat lived in al-Shaghour and served as its qabaday (local youths boss) and the night watchman of its orchards.
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