Black Guard

The Black Guard ( Arabic:عبيد البوخاري‎, meaning "servants of al-Bukhari"), were the corps of West African and Black Moroccan soldiers assembled by the Alaouite sultan of Morocco, Moulay Ismail (reigned 1672–1727). The Black Guard descended from black tribes of the south brought to Morocco from sub-Saharan 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.