page_title: Mellah of Fez
section_title: Later history of the Mellah (late 15th to 19th centuries)
hierarchical_section_title: Mellah of Fez / History / Later history of the Mellah (late 15th to 19th centuries)
caption_attribution_description: English: Synagogue Danan sanae:560001
context_page_description: The Mellah of Fez is the historic Jewish quarter of Fez, Morocco. It is located in Fes el-Jdid, the part of Fez which contains the Royal Palace, and is believed to date from the mid-15th century. While the district is no longer home to any significant Jewish population, it still contains a number of monuments and landmarks from the Jewish community's historical heritage in the city.
context_section_description: In subsequent centuries the fortunes of the Mellah and the Jewish community of Fez varied according to circumstances, including general circumstances that affected all inhabitants of Fez such as famine or war. The Mellah's location inside the more heavily fortified Fes el-Jdid and close to the Royal Palace made it relatively secure, but the Jewish community nonetheless suffered disasters at various periods. 
  Major changes once again took place when in 1492 the Spanish crown expelled all Jews from Spain, with Portugal doing the same in 1497. The following waves of Spanish Jews migrating to Fez and North Africa increased the Jewish population and also altered its social, ethnic, and linguistic makeup. According to a Belgian scholar who visited the Mellah in the mid-16th century, the Jewish quarter had an estimated population of 4000 at this time. The influx of migrants also revitalized Jewish cultural activity in the following years, while splitting the community along ethnic lines for many generations. The Megorashim of Spanish origin retained their heritage and their Spanish language while the indigenous Moroccan Toshavim, who spoke Arabic and were of Arab and Berber heritage, followed their own traditions. Members of the two communities worshiped in separate synagogues and were even buried separately. It was only in the 18th century that the two communities eventually blended together, with Arabic eventually becoming the main language of the entire community while the Spanish (Sephardic) minhag became dominant in religious practice.
  The community continued to thrive or suffer depending on conditions. In the 17th century a significant influx of Jews from the Tadla region and from the Sous Valley arrived under the reigns of the Alaouite sultans Moulay Rashid and Moulay Isma'il, respectively. A serious disaster, however, took place in 1790 to 1792 during a period of general turmoil and decline under Sultan Moulay Yazid. During these two years the sultan forced the entire Jewish community to move to the outlying Kasbah Cherarda on the other side of Fes el-Jdid. The Mellah was occupied by tribal troops allied to him, its synagogue was replaced by a mosque, and the Jewish cemetery and its contents were moved to a cemetery near Bab Guissa. Moreover, Moulay Yazid permanently reduced the size of the district by demolishing the old city walls around it and rebuilding them along a much smaller perimeter. It was only after the sultan's death that the chief Muslim qadi (judge) of Fez ordered the Mellah to be restored to the Jewish community, along with the demolition of the mosque built by Yazid's troops.
  The fortunes of the Jewish community improved considerably in the 19th century when the expansion of contact and trade with Europe allowed the Jewish merchant class to place themselves at the center of international trade networks in Morocco. This also led to a greater social openness and a shift in tastes and attitudes, especially among richer Jews, who built luxurious residences in the upper Mellah.
  By the end of the 19th century the district had some 15 synagogues. In 1894, the Sultan ordered the old Jewish Cemetery, located at the base of the Royal Palace's outer wall, to be moved in order to accommodate an expansion of the palace. As a result, the cemetery and its contents were moved to a new location at the southeastern corner of the Mellah, where it is still found today. However, other authors attribute this displacement of the cemetery to the French administration's works in the area in 1912, noting that tombs were still present in the old cemetery up until 1912. The current cemetery to the southeast had probably existed from the early 19th century but was still largely empty in its eastern parts before the 20th century.
caption: Interior of the Ibn Danan Synagogue, established in the 17th century.
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