Aaron (Hārūn) ibn Baṭash was a courtier and confidant of the last Marīnid sultan of Morocco, ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq al-Marīnī (r. 1420–1465). After a prolonged association with the court as a banker or tax collector, he was appointed vizier in 1464, effectively in control of the state administration once his patron, the Marīnid sultan, managed to shake off the prolonged tutelage of the Waṭṭāsids. Ibn Baṭash was perceived as grossly violating the code for dhimmis (see Dhimma) by riding on horseback and wearing a sword engraved with verses from the Qu’rān. He also brought several …