Volunteers of the Faith

Over time, the Volunteers eclipsed Granada's indigenous troops and became its main military force, numbering 10,000 by the end of Muhammad II's rule.

[6] Their leader, the shaykh al-ghuzat, held an influential position in the emirate's politics, as did regional ghuzat commanders appointed in major cities such as Guadix, Ronda, and Malaga.

[8] Although the structure of the Nasrid army is still unclear, it is likely that each group of Volunteers retained their separate identity and leadership, continuing to serve under the same prince and his family who had brought them from North Africa.

[11] Finally, the Nasrid emirs benefited considerably from the infusion of military strength, but also used the presence of the rival Marinid factions, and the threat of allowing them to return to North Africa, to exercise pressure on the sultans in Fez.

The name "Volunteers of the Faith" originates from the phrase used in Baron de Slane's 19-century French translation of Ibn Khaldun's Kitāb al-ʿibar discussing this military group.