1465 Fez revolt
Fez (Fes) Fez (Fes) (Morocco) | |
| Date | 1465 |
|---|---|
| Location | Fez |
| Outcome |
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The 1465 Fez revolt was a popular uprising in the Marinid capital of Fez against Sultan Abd al-Haqq II, the final ruler of the Marinid dynasty, and his Jewish vizier, Harun ibn Batash.
The Marinid Sultanate faced a severe crisis in the mid-15th century, exacerbated by progressive Portuguese incursions into its territory. The Marinid sultans, the nominal rulers, held little power outside the capital of Fez, while much of their former realm was controlled by the Wattasids, a powerful family of viziers. In 1458, Sultan Abd al-Haqq II launched a successful coup to reclaim direct power from the Wattasids. He subsequently appointed Jewish officials, notably Harun ibn Batash, to high-ranking administrative positions, a move that generated significant resentment among the majority-Muslim population of Fez.
According to traditional accounts, the revolt was sparked in 1465 by allegations that a Jewish official had assaulted a female sharif. This prompted a local preacher to call for Jihad, culminating in a pogrom against the city's Jewish community. The uprising was heavily supported, and possibly orchestrated, by Muhammad ibn Imran, the leader of the sharifs of Fez. During the unrest, Sultan Abd al-Haqq II was lynched or executed by the mob, effectively ending the Marinid dynasty, and Muhammad ibn Imran briefly assumed control of the city.
Following the revolt, the Wattasids attempted to regain power but faced opposition from Muhammad ibn Imran. This conflict culminated in 1471 when the Wattasid leader Muhammad al-Sheikh conquered Fez, though at the cost of ceding significant territory to the Portuguese. The Wattasids, who maintained the traditional Berber tribal structure of earlier regional dynasties, were ultimately discredited by their inability to halt the Portuguese advance. In the 16th century, they were overthrown by the Saadis, a non-tribal dynasty of sharifs. Because the territory has been governed by sharifian dynasties ever since, Abun-Nasr view the 1465 uprising, despite its failure to establish lasting sharifian control at the time, a harbinger of the rule by sharifs which would shape the region's subsequent history.