to the signing of the Dutch-Moroccan Treaty of Friendship and Free Commerce in 1611. Megorashim and toshavim As a result of the Pogroms of 1391, the Alhambra Decree of 1492, and the Spanish Inquisition, numerous Sephardic Jews—speakers of Spanish dialects: Ladino and Haketia—migrated from Iberia to Morocco, where they were referred to as the megorashim ( "exiles") or the rūmiyīn ( "Romans," i.e. "Europeans"), in contrast with the older autochthonous Amazigh and Arabized Jewish communities in Morocco, referred to as the toshavim ( "residents") or the bildiyīn ( "natives"). The Sephardic megorashim were officially welcomed by the Sultan Mohammed al-Shaykh, though they had difficulties settling in Morocco. Arriving with their wealth and unable to defend themselves in the new land, they were seen as easy targets for criminals, and suffered theft, rape, and violence. With their skill in European commerce, arts, and handicrafts, hitherto largely unknown to the Moors, and with their wealth, the megorashim Jews contributed conspicuously to the rise and development of the Alaouite Dynasty since its beginning in 1666. At first the Sa'dis appeared to be fanatical religious zealots who were intolerant of non-Muslims. They imposed heavy taxes on the local Jewish community. As they consolidated their authority in the country, however, they gradually evinced greater toleration toward the Jewish minority. Like their Wattasid predecessors, the Sa'di sultans now employed Jews as physicians, diplomatic emissaries, and interpreters. Beginning in 1603, Abraham bin Wach and later Judah Levi served as ministers of the treasury. Members of the Jewish aristocratic Cabessa and Palache families were recruited by the sultan's court as agents and negotiators with European merchants who entered the country. Whereas the authorities increasingly proved to be friendly toward the Jews, the same could hardly be said of the Muslim masses as well as local urban and rural chieftains and governors. In 1641, Muhammad al-Haj of the Sanhaja Amazigh Dilā' Sufi order of the Middle Atlas occupied Fes. This time was particularly difficult for Fessi Jews. A Jewish chronicle of the time recounts that in 1646 synagogues were ordered to close and were subsequently desecrated, damaged, or destroyed. The city was not receptive to the Dilā' either, and for a brief period in 1651 they rebelled and invited Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Sharif, one of the early Alaouite sultans, to take control of the city. Under Moulay Rashid and Moulay Ismail The Jews suffered much during the great conquests