During his 25-year rule, Muhammad consolidated the state founded by his father and implemented administrative and military reforms. He instituted the Nasrid royal protocol and the court chancery, organized the Volunteers of the Faith—troops recruited from North Africa—and increased the importance of the office of the vizier in the government. He also directed the construction of a series of strongholds in strategic positions throughout his frontiers, which formed the backbone of Granadan border defences in the centuries to come. He expanded the Alhambra palace and fortress complex, and increased the emirate's trade with Christian Europe, especially with traders from Genoa and Pisa. His epithet "al-Faqih" reflects his high education as well as his preference for surrounding himself with scholars and poets.