THE UMAYYAD REGIME 191troubles of the Umayyads -the bitter but localised civil wars between
hostile elements of the population. Such conflicts often occurrred
between the Berbers and indigenous muwallads and Christians, as in
Tarragona in 794. There was particularly intense fighting between
the Toledans and the Berbers of Calatrava in 834-6, 853-7 and 873,
doubtless exacerbated by blood feud. Rival Arab factions conducted
a protracted civil war in the region of Tudmir (around Almeria and
Murcia) between 822 and 828, despite the intervention of 'Abd al-
Ral;1man II and his taking of hostages. The conflicting parties had
eventually to be forcefully suppressed by the amir.14
In such circumstances, rulers could not for long rely on the indig-
enous military resources of their subjects, whose rivalries and mutual
alliances made them difficult to control and untrustworthy. In addi-
tion, the settling of the Arabs and some of the Berbers that probably
took place in the early Umayyad period limited the military use that
the amirs could make of them. By the end of the eighth century the
rulers were drawing their troops, at least in terms of the standing
forces that attended them in Cordoba, from new sources. The re-
sponsibility for innovation in this direction is attributed to Al-l;Iakam
I: 'Al-l;Iakam was the first monarch of this family who surrounded his
throne with a certain splendour and magnificence. He increased the
number of mamelukes (slave soldiers) until they amounted to 5,000
horse and 1,000 foot. ... he increased the number of his slaves,
eunuchs and servants; had a bodyguard of cavalry always stationed
at the gate of his palace and surrounded his person with a guard of
mamelukes .... these mamelukes were called Al-l;Iaras (the Guard)
owing to their all being Christians or foreigners. They occupied two
large barracks, with stables for their horses.,I5 According to Ibn
Khaldun he was also the first ruler to issue regular pay to his troops.
In addition he employed a body of secret agents to keep him in-
formed of public opinion in the capital.
Such developments in the increasing magnificence of the ruler's
court and its remoteness from the populace have parallels in the
'Abbasid Caliphate of the same period. So too has the employment
of standing armies of alien mercenaries or slaves. In the case of the
'Abbasids, from the early ninth century onwards it was the Turks who
provided the manpower. The racial composition of the slave armies
of Al-Andalus is not so clear, though some were certainly Christians.
By the second half of the ninth century it is revealed in many references
that one major component of such forces was Slavonic.