The Black Guard, known as ‘Abid ad-Diwan, Jaysh al-‘Abid, and ‘Abid as-Sultan, but most importantly as Abid al-Bukhari, were the corps of black-African slaves and Haratin slave-soldiers assembled by the Alaouite sultan of Morocco, Moulay Ismail. They were called the "'Abid al-Bukhari" because Ismail emphasized the importance of the teachings of the famous Imam Muhammad al-Bukhari, going so far as to give the leaders of the army copies of his book. The 'Abid al-Bukhari represent a Moroccan example of the Islamic slave army, examples of which abound in the history of the Islamic world, including the Egyptian Mamluks and the Ottoman janissaries.
Composition
Black Guard descended from black captives brought to Morocco from West Africa, who were settled with their families in a special colonies, at Mechra er-Remel, to have children and to work as indentured servants. At age 10, they were trained in certain skills: the girls in domestic life or entertainments, and the boys in masonry, archery, horsemanship, and musketry. At age 15 those that were chosen entered the army. They would marry and have children and continue the cycle. Considered more loyal than Arab or Berber warriors because of their lack of tribal affiliation, Ismail's black soldiers formed the bulk of his standing army and numbered 150,000 at their peak..
In 1699, Ismail gave orders to enslave all black Africans in Morocco, even those who were born free or who were Muslim, and, consequently, he violated two of the central tenants of Islamic law concerning slavery and generated a potent new form of racist discourse in the region that associated black Africans with slavery. Moroccan registers show that Ismail enslaved over 221,000 black Moroccans between 1699-1705. The Black Guard were mainly in charge of collecting taxes and patrolling Morocco's unstable countryside; they crushed rebellions against Ismail's rule not only by dissident tribes but also by Ismail's seditious sons, who defected from service as his provincial governors to insurrection as would-be usurpers of his throne. They frequently were used to oversee European slaves who were forced to work on Ismail's building projects in the imperial capital of Meknes. The Black guard were the personal guard and servants of Sultan Ismail, they might have also participated in campaigns against the European-controlled fortress enclaves dotting his empire's coast, although tasks of this kind were often allocated to European slaves and loyal Moroccan tribal soldiers, considered more military and cavalry-able. They were well-respected, well paid, and politically powerful. Around 1697-1698 they were even given the right to possess property. Moulay Ismail always went about his court surrounded by a bodyguard of eighty black soldiers, with muskets and scimitars at the ready in case of any attempt on the sultan's life. At his throne, Ismail was attended by a servant charged with twirling a parasol above the sultan at all times. Despite endless civil wars and civil slaughter, the Black Guard remained brutally loyal and disciplined through the turmoil of Ismail's reign. More than any other factor did they enable the sultan to remain on Morocco's throne for half a century. After Ismail's death, the 'Abid played a key role in the political turmoil that engulfed Morocco, frequently shifting allegiance between different claimants to the throne. Later, the quality of the 'Abid went downhill, as they were no longer paid as well. Some became brigands, others quit and moved to the cities. Subsequent leaders attempted and some succeeded in resurrecting the group. However, they were never as formidable as they were in Ismail's time. The main group was dissolved in the 19th century, with only a handful left as personal bodyguards to the king.
Today
The Black Guard name was changed to Moroccan Royal Guard after Morocco gained its independence in 1956, but this unit is not composed of descendants of the black slave since its members are selected from elite units within the Moroccan Army. The descendants of the Black Guard still work as servants at the King's palace, and were considered personal possession of the king inherited from father to son until Morocco abolished slavery at the start of the 20th century.
