1465 Moroccan revolution facts for kids
 Fez (Fes)
Location in Morocco
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| Date | 1465 |
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| Location | Fez, Morocco |
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The 1465 Moroccan Revolution was a big uprising in Fez, the capital city of Morocco. People rose up against Sultan Abd al-Haqq II, who was the last ruler of the Marinid dynasty, and his main advisor, Harun ibn Batash, who was Jewish.
During the mid-1400s, Morocco was facing many problems. Parts of the country were being taken over by the Portuguese. The Marinid rulers had little power outside of Fez. Much of the country was actually controlled by the Wattasids, a powerful family of advisors. In 1458, Sultan Abd al-Haqq tried to get back control from the Wattasids. He then gave important jobs to Jewish people, which made many Muslim citizens of Fez unhappy.
The revolution began in 1465. There were attacks on the Jewish community, possibly led by Muhammad ibn Imran, a leader of the sharifs (people believed to be descendants of the Prophet Muhammad). Sultan Abd al-Haqq was killed, and Muhammad ibn Imran became the new ruler of Fez.
The Wattasids tried to take power again after the revolution. But Muhammad ibn Imran fought against them. Eventually, the Wattasid leader Muhammad al-Sheikh took control of Fez in 1471. To do this, he had to give up some land to the Portuguese. The Wattasids were not very good at stopping the Portuguese. Later, in the 1500s, the Saadis took over. They were also sharifs, and they ruled Morocco in a new way. Since then, Morocco has been ruled by sharifs. The 1465 revolution showed that sharifs would become important leaders in Morocco's future.
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Morocco in the 1400s
By the mid-1400s, the Marinid Sultanate in Morocco was in serious trouble. Their actual control was mostly limited to the city of Fez. Other parts of the country were controlled by the Wattasids, who were supposed to be their advisors.
The last sultan, Abd al-Haqq II, became ruler when he was only one year old in 1420. For 38 years, he was mostly a puppet ruler, controlled by different Wattasid advisors. In 1458, the sultan finally managed to take back power. He removed most of the Wattasids from their positions.
At the same time, the Portuguese began taking over parts of Morocco. They captured the city of Ceuta in 1415. The Berber tribes, who were the main fighters for the Marinid kingdom, could not defend the country well. In 1462, Castile (a kingdom in Spain) took Gibraltar, which was Morocco's last outpost in Europe.
Religious Changes and New Leaders
Morocco was also going through religious changes. Two important Sufi groups, the Qadiriyya and especially the Shadhiliyya, became very popular. These groups taught about barakah, which is a special sacredness that can be passed down in families.
This idea made the sharifs more important. Sharifs are people who are believed to be descendants of the Prophet Muhammad. They trace their family line back to Idris I, who founded the Moroccan kingdom in the 700s. The Shadhiliyya group, which included many sharifs, helped increase respect for them. Also, in 1437, the Wattasids supposedly found the tomb of Idris I's son, Idris II. They built a sanctuary to honor him.
Because the Marinid rulers and their tribal supporters were failing against the European invaders, people started to look to the sharifs. They saw sharifs as symbols of hope. They believed sharifs could resist foreign enemies and protect their faith.
Meanwhile, many Spanish Jews had moved to Fez since 1391. They became very important in the city's business life.
The Revolution of 1465
One of the earliest and most detailed stories about the 1465 revolution comes from the diary of Abd al-Basit ibn Khalil. He was an Egyptian merchant who was traveling in the area in 1464. He heard about the revolution while in a nearby kingdom and decided not to go to Fez because of the trouble. His story matches many traditional Moroccan accounts.
How the Uprising Began
According to Abd al-Basit, after Sultan Abd al-Haqq removed most of the Wattasids, he appointed a Jewish moneylender named Harun ibn Batash as his main advisor. Harun then gave important government jobs to other Jewish people. This made many people in Fez, who were mostly Muslim, very unhappy.
In 1465, the sultan and Harun left Fez for a while. Harun's relative, Shawil ibn Batash, was left in charge of the city. The citizens did not like Shawil's rule. A riot started when he insulted and hit a female sharif.
A khatib (a preacher) heard about this and began calling for a jihad (a holy struggle) against the Jewish people. Many poor citizens of Fez joined him. The crowd demanded that Muhammad ibn Imran, the leader of the sharifs in Fez, approve a rebellion against the government. Ibn Imran first refused, saying they should ask religious scholars.
The crowd then went to the senior mufti (a religious legal expert) of Fez. They demanded that he write a fatwa (a religious opinion) saying the rebellion was allowed. The mufti refused at first. But the crowd threatened him until he agreed that attacking the Jewish community and rebelling against the sultan were allowed by religion.
After getting this religious approval, the angry crowd attacked the Jewish quarter of the city. They killed many Jewish people. Then, they stormed the palace and killed Shawil. The sharif Muhammad ibn Imran was then made the new ruler of Fez.
The Sultan's End
The rebels sent a letter to Sultan Abd al-Haqq, saying they would give him back his throne if he returned. Harun, his advisor, suggested they go to another town instead. But the sultan did not listen. A Marinid prince then killed Harun.
When Abd al-Haqq arrived at Fez, a group of young men pulled him off his horse. He was killed on May 18, 1465, during the holy month of Ramadan. The remaining Wattasids tried to return to power in Fez, but Muhammad ibn Imran's new government stopped them. As the news spread, similar attacks on Jewish communities happened in other Moroccan cities.
Different Accounts of the Revolution
Traditional Moroccan history books, like those written by Ahmad Ibn al-Qadi in the late 1500s, tell a similar story. However, they say that Muhammad ibn Imran led the attacks on the Jewish quarter and the killing of the sultan himself. In these stories, the sharif is shown as a strong leader from the start.
Some old biographies of Sufi saints suggest that some religious leaders were against the revolution. For example, Ahmad Zarruq had to leave Fez because he opposed it. When he returned later, he was not welcomed and had to leave Morocco for good.
Another account from the 1600s, which is different from the traditional stories, focuses on a group of merchants called the Muhajirin. These merchants were originally Jewish but had converted to Islam. Sultan Abd al-Haqq and his Jewish advisor Harun had allowed the Muhajirin to trade in certain markets. This made the older Muslim merchants, including the sharifs, unhappy. After the 1465 revolution, the Muhajirin were all forced to leave Fez.
Interestingly, no Jewish writings from before the 1800s mention a large massacre. There are records of a thriving Jewish community in Fez in the 1470s. Some historians wonder if the massacre was as widespread as described. Many Jewish people in Fez might have temporarily converted to Islam to escape the violence. They were later allowed to return to Judaism by the Wattasids when they took power in 1471. Other Jewish people in Fez in the 1470s might have been refugees from the Portuguese invasion.
What Happened Next
The remaining Wattasids probably expected to regain power after the revolution. But Muhammad ibn Imran refused to let them enter Fez. After several years of fighting, the Wattasid leader Muhammad al-Sheikh conquered Fez in 1471. He ended the sharif's rule with help from former Marinid supporters. However, he lost the towns of Asilah, Larache, and Tangiers to the Portuguese.
Over the next few decades, the Wattasids' traditional way of ruling was seen as weak. They could not stop the Portuguese invasion. Eventually, the Saadi dynasty of sharifs from southern Morocco overthrew them. The Saadis pushed out the Portuguese and started a new era in Moroccan history. The 1465 revolution was an early sign of this change. New dynasties of sharifs, whose power came from their family link to the Prophet Muhammad, would rule. The current ruling family of Morocco, the Alaouites, is also a sharif dynasty.
The Jewish community in Fez was re-established by the 1470s. They received protection and support from the Wattasids. The Jewish historian Abraham ben Solomon even called Muhammad al-Sheikh a good leader. However, Jewish people in Fez continued to face prejudice, including another attack in 1492.
