Mawlay Ismail sought a military force that would depend directly on the ruler rather than on tribal alliances or powerful commanders. The source explains that Moroccan kings had traditionally raised armies from their own clans or allied tribal groups, while the Saadi dynasty had developed a militia recruited from Bedouin Arab groups settled in Morocco. Ismail revived the idea of a centrally controlled force composed of black men identified as slaves or former slaves.

Muhammad ibn al-Qasim Alilish, a secretary of the Makhzen whose father had served the Saadi ruler al-Mansur, told Ismail that an earlier register of black slaves still existed. The sultan entrusted him with locating the men listed or their descendants around Marrakesh. They were enrolled whether slave or free, a decision that immediately raised legal and moral objections.

Public opinion was shocked by the enrolment policy, and the ulama of Fez objected because Islamic law was understood to prohibit reducing free men to slavery. A long controversy followed between the sultan and religious scholars, producing extensive correspondence. The surviving exchange between Ismail and Shaykh al-Islam al-Fasi records the ruler’s request for a legal assessment and his growing irritation at resistance.

In December 1698, Ismail wrote that he had freed all the slaves enrolled in the militia and held them in mortmain for the defence of Islamic territory. The legal controversy continued after the death of Sidi Muhammad ibn Abd al-Qadir al-Fasi in 1703. In 1708, the king finally forced the ulama of Fez to approve the Diwan al-Abid, or Register of Slaves.

The formation of the Bawakhir militia strengthened the sultan’s ability to maintain peace and security in a unified Morocco. Ismail established forts and citadels throughout the country and placed these soldiers in their garrisons. The resulting military structure restored Moroccan strength and prestige in the eyes of the major powers of the period.