The Moroccan Royal Guard (Arabic: الحرس الملكي المغربي) is officially part of the Royal Moroccan Army. However it is under the direct operational control of the Royal Military Household of His Majesty the King. The sole duty of the guard is to provide for the security and safety of the King and royal family of Morocco.
History
The Royal Guard traces its origins to the former Black Guard ('Abid al-Bukhari).[citation needed] The 'Abid al-Bukhari was created on the orders of the Alawi sultan Moulay Ismail in 1699.[1][2] It was a military corps of black slaves organized into permanent infantry and cavalry units. The corps was unofficially referred to as the "Black Guard" because its members were recruited from the Haratin, a black people from southern Morocco and/or originally from Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as from other black inhabitants of the region. The name 'Abid al-Bukhari (Arabic: عبيد البوخاري, lit. 'Slaves of al-Būkhārī') came from their practice of swearing their oaths of service upon a copy of the Sahih al-Bukhari, a famous collection of hadiths compiled by Muhammad al-Bukhari.[3]
After Morocco gained its independence in 1956. The Haratines are no longer part of the Royal Guard today.
Organization
A member of the Moroccan Royal Guard at the Mausoleum of Mohammed V.Mounted members of the Moroccan Royal Guard at the Mausoleum of Mohammed V.A pair of the Royal Moroccan GuardsA Royal Moroccan Guard mounted on a horseWhite uniformed horse guardWhite uniformed foot guard at the Rabat Mausoleum.A uniformed Royal Guardsman stands before the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, Rabat, Morocco.
The Guard is currently organized as a Regiment of 6,000 troops as follows;
4 Infantry Battalions, each of 25 officers and 1,000 troops.
2 Cavalry Squadrons.
Other Guard units
The King is always accompanied by units of the Royal Guard whenever he is on Moroccan soil. All members of the Royal Guard wear a red beret. Red full dress uniforms of traditional style (white in summer) are worn by both cavalry and infantry on ceremonial occasions.
The King is also protected by two other units of the Royal Moroccan Army. They are, however, not an official part of the Royal Guard. These are:
The elite Parachute Brigade headquartered in Rabat (number of troops unknown).
^El Hamel, Chouki (2002). "'Race', Slavery and Islam in Maghribi Mediterranean Thought: The Question of the Haratin in Morocco". The Journal of North African Studies. 7 (3): 29–52. doi:10.1080/13629380208718472. S2CID219625829 – via Taylor and Francis Online.
^El Hamel, Chouki (2006). 'Blacks and Slavery in Morocco: The Question of the Haratin at the End of the Seventeenth Century' in Diasporic Africa: A Reader. New York: NYU Press. pp. 177–199. ISBN978-0814731666.
