Rashidun cavalry
[2] Historian Al-Jahiz remarked the Kharijites were feared for their cavalry charge with lances, which he claimed could break any defensive line, and almost never lost when pitted against an equal number of opponents.
[2] These Kharijites sects, believed by most scholars of Islam to have been started by Hurqus ibn Zuhayr as-Sa'di, known as Dhu Khuwaishirah at-Tamimi,[3] would plague the rest of the history of the Rashidun, Umayyad, and Abbasid caliphates with endemic rebellions.
With their ability to engage and disengage, and turn back and attack again from the flank or rear, the Mobile Guard inflicted a shattering defeat of the Byzantine army.
[27] The core of the caliphate's mounted division was an elite unit which early Muslim historians named Tulai'a Mutaharrika (طليعة متحركة), or the mobile guard.
[1] Contrary to popular belief among historians, that the Arabians during the 6th century were unarmored light cavalry raiders, Eduard Alofs argues that the Arab horsemen, whether they are Rashiduns, Ghassanids, or Lakhmids were in fact heavily armoured elite nobles,[Notes 4] akin to Cataphract in armors.
[47][48] Despite the rejection or neglect of stirrups,[49][50] Arab cavalry, especially the Kharijites group who will revolt after the conquest, were feared for their fearless charge, which, as Adam Ali mentioned in his work on al-Jahiz, "can throw any defense line into disarray".
[49] David Nicolle brought the theory of Pre-Islamic Arabia Arabic-speaking peoples adoption of armory among horsemen as he quoted Claude Cahen, who categorically stated that horse armor was very common in the early Islamic period.
[59] It further states that Muhammad had an ʿalam in white nicknamed "the Young Eagle" (Arabic: العقاب al-ʿuqāb); and a rāya in black, said to be made from his wife Aisha's head-cloth.
[64] According to modern historian David Nicolle in Warrior magazine series published by Osprey Publishing, as the caliphate army were mainly consisted of tribal based corps and divisions, most of the following flags appeared in the Battle of Siffin on both sides: As the mainstay strategy of the Rashidun army were interchangeably and derived from Islamic teaching, the main doctrine of the Rashidun cavalry also borrowed from the religious ethic itself, as example the aim for building such military sophistication were in fact aimed to cause fear and discourage the enemy from offering resistance, and if possible, cause the enemy to submit peacefully, as it is said the main idea from Verse Quran chapter al-Anfal verse[Quran 8:60].
[65] Aside from that distinguishing role which characterized by the Mobile Guard cavalry were their task to plugging the gaps between Muslim ranks to avoid enemy penetration, which they practiced during the battle of the Yarmuk.
Salman enlisted most of the steeds within realm of caliphate to undergo such steps:[66] Meanwhile, technical training method of each horsemen in this cavalry was recorded in al-Fann al-Harbi In- Sadr al-Islam and Tarikh Tabari:[66] At the end of the program, both riders and horses obligated to enlisted in formal competition sponsored by Diwan al-Jund which consisted into two category: Additionally, In the wartime, there are special trainings established cavalry divisions were obliged to undertook: Alof theorized "Mubarizun" elite division, a unit specialized in close combat duels, also used archery in close-combat duels for maximum arrow penetration against opponent armor.
[72] In fact, James Hardy theorized based on his quote from John Haldon and Romilly Jenkins, one of the decisive main factor for the Rashidun historical victory in battle of Yarmuk were due to their superb cavalry archers.
[76] The operation to capture that city entailed positioning cavalry forces near its entrances, preventing its defenders and residents from leaving or rural refugees from entering.
[76] Ubadah ibn al-Samit, another Rashidun commander, is also recorded to have developed his own distinct strategy which involved the use of cavalry during siege warfare.
During a siege, Ubadah would dig a large hole, deep enough to hide a considerable number of horsemen near an enemy garrison, and hid his cavalry there during the night.
[87] The horses are culturally related with war in pre-Islamic Arabia as described in the long poems by Antarah ibn Shaddad and Dorayd bin Al Soma.
[4][47] The Arabian breed is forged by the harsh life in desert and raised by nomadic Bedouins who spread it throughout their travels, and erect it as a symbol of social and cultural status, in parallel with a martial selection.
[98] Caliphate cavalry recruited from Al-Mahra tribe were known for their military prowess and skilled horsemen that often won battles with minimal or no casualties at all, which Amr ibn al As in his own words praised them as "peoples who kill without being killed",[Notes 8] Ibn Abd al-Hakam remarks their relative minimal casualties whenever engaged in military operations.
[111] Amr ibn al-As led a ruthless cavalry corps from tribes of Al-Mahra who were famous for their "invincible battle skills on top of their mounts", during the conquests of Egypt and north Africa[Notes 10].
[99] Hima natural reserve which instituted by the early leaders of Islam caliphate were one of the main factor for their army to be able to keep supplying mounts in large numbers.
[79] The Hima breeding grounds in Nejd survived until the 20th century during the reign of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia government abolished those reserve places in 1957.
[79] The Barb horse may have come with the Umayyad Caliphate army who settled in the Guadalquivir valley, as both the Arabian strain were brought by the Muslim empires to Europe, which implied by Margareth Greely, through military mean.
The successful Hima breeding programs of the early caliphates has effected the inexhaustable supply of manpowers and warhorses, which extended to the Mamluk Sultanate 150 years of cavalry superiority before the advent of firearms.
[97] Since the Mamluks were hailed from slave backgrounds, which consisted from Turkic peoples from the Eurasian Steppe,[147][148][149] and also from Circassians,[148][150] Abkhazians,[151][152][153] Georgians,[154][155][156][157] Armenians,[158] Albanians,[159] Greeks,[154] South Slavs[154][159][160] (see Saqaliba) or Egyptians.
[168][169] Arabian horses were classified based on their geographical provenance by their bedouin masters, such as Hejaz, Najd, Yemen, Bilād al‑Shām, Jezirah, or Iraq breed as example.
[128] 8th century chronicler, Al-Jahiz noted Kharijites horsemen ferocity, who spent parts of their early career in Kufa as Rashidun garrison troop during the Muslim conquest of Persia.
[177] The Kharijites were feared for their powerful cavalry charge with their lances which could break any defensive line, and almost never lose when pitted against equal number of opponents.
[21] the al-Muhakkima al-Ula group were led by a figure named Dhu al-Khuwaishirah at-Tamimi,[188] more famously known as Hurqus ibn Zuhayr as-Sa'di, a Tamim tribe chieftain, veteran of the Battle of Hunayn and first generation Kharijites who protested the war spoils distribution.
[128] According to Shafiite scholar Abdul Qahir ibn Thahir Bin Muhammad Al Baghdadi in his book of encyclopedia of astray sect within Islam, al-Farq bain al-Firaq, The Azariqa were the most strongest faction with biggest followers.
postulated that Al-Jahiz's assessment of the military quality of Kharijites are synonymous with the regular Arab cavalry in general term of speed and charging maneuver.
