Ansar (military)
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- For other uses, see Ansar (disambig)
Ansar (Arabic: الأنصار, meaning aiders, or patrons) refer to a class of warriors who are renowned for their arsenal of weapons and the speed and mobility of their Arabian horse. The quality of the Arabian horses quickly led to these soldiers dominating the battlefield, making ample use of their array of weaponry, which consisted of javelins, a sword, and bow and arrows. The one military unit that was present in nearly all of the Arabic expansion of the 7th to 9th centuries was the Ansar Warrior. These warriors participated as infantry, but most commonly rode on horseback and were famed to be the greatest horsemen/infantry of their time.
[edit] Origin
The Ansar were recruited mostly from Mesopotamia and Arabia, where they once served the Sassanid Empire but later joined the Muslim armies in their conquest. They were the most important elements in the later Islamic campaigns against both the Sassanid and Byzantine Empires.
The Muslim inhabitants of Medina who welcomed Muhammad and the other Meccan Muslims when they migrated to Medina from Mecca (in an event known as the Hijrah) are also known as Ansar. The Sahabas, or companions of Muhammad, are divided into two categories; of Muhajirun, people who fled from Mecca; and the Ansar, those who welcomed and took in the Muhajirun. The Ansar are vital to Islamic history because they took the fledgling Muslim community in and joined it themselves, turning Islam into a city-state power. In Medina, each Ansar family took in a member of the Muhajirun and offered them a place to stay and protection.
Known for their piety and courage, some famous Ansars are Muath bin Jabal and Sa'ad bin Ubaadah, Sa'ad's great great grandchildren were the Nasrids kings of Granada in Spain from the 13th century to the 15th century.
[edit] Other Connections
Ansar also refers to a sky god in ancient babylonian myths. This is most likely the origin of their name. The symbol, "Dingir", was the same as that for heaven and for divinity showing his high but not superior role. He was generally regarded as the child of Uras, or of Ansar and Kisar. In an "evolutionary" principle for the "gods," he was a product of the "embryo" heaven-earth before the world became visible.
