Al-Harith ibn Surayj () was an Arab leader of a large-scale social rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate in Khurasan and Transoxiana. Harith's rebellion began in 734 and represented the grievances of both the local Arab settlers as well as the native Iranian converts (), who were not recognized as equal to the Arab Muslims, against the Umayyad regime. Harith based his revolt on religious grounds and won over a large part of both the Arab settlers and the native population, but failed twice to capture the provincial capital of Marw. The rebellion was finally suppressed by Asad ibn Abdallah al-Qasri in 736. Along with a few supporters, Harith escaped capture and allied himself with the heathen Türgesh. Harith accompanied the Türgesh Suluk in his invasion deep into Arab-held territory, which was decisively beaten back in the Battle of Kharistan in 737. With Türgesh power collapsing thereafter, Harith remained in Transoxiana supported by the native princes. Asad's successor, Nasr ibn Sayyar, campaigned against Harith and his native supporters, but eventually, hoping to use him to bolster his position in the Arab inter-tribal rivalries, Nasr secured for Harith a pardon from the Caliph. Harith returned to Marw in 745. Soon however he raised a sizeable armed force and challenged Nasr's authority, until he was killed in a clash with his ally Juday al-Kirmani in 746. His revolt weakened Arab power in Central Asia and facilitated the beginning of the Abbasid Revolution that would overthrow the Umayyads.
Biography
Early life and start of the rebellion
Harith was from the Tamim tribe belonging to the north Arab (Mudari) tribal supergroup, and hailed from Basra, where his father, Surayj, lived. He is first mentioned in 729, when he distinguished himself for his bravery and self-sacrifice against the Türgesh, saving the Arab army from annihilation at Baykand near Bukhara. Harith is next mentioned in 733, when he led a protest in Lower Tokharistan against the commandeering of supplies from the province, already plagued by drought and famine, to feed the capital of Khurasan at Marw, by the governor Junayd ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Murri. Junayd had Harith flogged, but after Junayd died in early 734, the discontent erupted into an open rebellion, with Harith at its head.
The motives and nature of Harith's rebellion are debated. His public demands were phrased in religious terms, demanding the end of injustice through the "application of the Book and the " by the government. Harith himself is said to have been a member of the obscure pietistic group known as , and to have led an ascetic life. In the words of the Arabist Meir J. Kister, he apparently had "a feeling of mission" and aimed to establish a "just government resembling that of the Prophet and the first Caliphs". His movement shared many ideological and symbolic elements with contemporary Shi'ite and Kharijite agitation directed against the Umayyad regime, including the use of black flags hearkening back to the banner of the Prophet and even the demand for theocratic rule by a member of the Prophet's family. Harith's movement was marked by an unusual idealism, however, and it is recorded that his adherents tried to persuade their opponents to join them through moral and religious invocations even during battles.