AARON BEN BATASH

AARON BEN BATASH (Ben Senton-Ben Shem Tov; Hārūn al-Yahūdī; d. 1465), vizier in Morocco. Aaron was a member of a family of Spanish origin who settled in fez . He served as banker and adviser to ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq, sultan of Morocco, later becoming his vizier. He appointed a relative, Saul b. Batash, intendant of the palace and chief of police. Aaron is mentioned as a scholar and writer. He imposed heavy taxes and was accused of distributing the revenue among his impoverished coreligionists. Anti-Jewish agitation by Muslim divines induced a mob attack on the Jewish quarter in Fez. The sultan and his vizier were assassinated in May 1465. (See morocco .) -BIBLIOGRAPHY: R. Brunschvig, Deux récits de voyage inédits … (1936), 113–21; A. Cour, Etablissement des dynasties des Chérifs au Maroc (1904), 36–38; Hirschberg, Afrikah, 1 (1965), 290–6. (David Corcos)