Abstract

The term ḥašd is the most frequent word used by the Arab chroniclers refer to the Andalusians troops that practiced the ŷihād during the Umayyad emirate. Different authors have studied this matter, but doubts remain about how to define the subjects included under this term. This article attempts to resolve these questions and determine which role played the ḥušūd in the Umayyad military organization. To this end, thirty two events extracted from Arabic sources have been selected. The different cases have been analyzed and classified according to their common characteristics. The study concludes that ḥašd/ḥušūd is an ambiguous term that makes reference to military mobilizations of different geographical reach where both regular soldiers and non-professional combatants can be included. The main feature of these rallies during the Umayyad emirate would be the local origin of their members.