Idris I of Morocco

Idris (I) ibn Abd Allah (Template:Langx; d. 791), also known as Idris the Elder (Template:Langx), was a Hasanid and the founder of the Idrisid dynasty in part of northern Morocco, after fleeing the Hejaz as a result of the Battle of Fakhkh.<ref name=":0">A History of the Maghrib in the Islamic Period, Jamil M. Abun-Nasr, 1987, p. 51-52</ref> He ruled from 788 to 791. He is credited with founding the dynasty that established Moroccan statehood, and is regarded as the founding father of Morocco.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

History

Idris was the great-grandchild of Hasan, who was the son of Fatima and Ali and grandson of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.Template:Sfn He was born and raised in Arabia.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> His paternal half-brothers Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya and Ibrahim had been killed by the Abbasids during an abortive rebellion. His brother Yahya rose in revolt in Daylam, but was forced to surrender. He was persecuted by Caliph Harun al-Rashid thereafter, and repeatedly imprisoned.

Idris himself had participated (along with Yahya) in another Alid uprising in 786, under al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Abid. After the revolt's defeat at the Battle of Fakhkh, he escaped and remained in hiding, before moving to Egypt. Assisted by the local head of the caliphal postal system, Wadih, he managed to leave Egypt and reach the Maghreb.Template:Sfn

In 789, he arrived in Tangier before going to Walīlī, the site of the Roman Volubilis. Here his headquarters have been discovered in recent excavations conducted by the Moroccan Institute of Archaeology (INSAP) and University College London.Template:Sfn The headquarters lies just outside the walls of the Roman town, which was then occupied by the Berber tribe of the Awraba, under Ishaq ibn Muhammad. He married Kenza,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> of the Awraba, fathering a son, Idris II.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This event is considered a consolidation and the birth of the Idrisid dynasty, the fourth Muslim State in Morocco after Nekor (710–1019), Barghawata (744–1058), and Midrar (757–976).

File:Moulay Idriss 082003.jpg

The Mausoleum of Idris I (green roofed structure, lower left) in Moulay Idris

Idris I conquered large parts of northern Morocco and founded the city of Fez. In 789 AD, he captured Tlemcen (in modern-day Algeria) from the Sufrite Ifranid Abu Qurra<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> which became part of the kingdom. This succession of events prompted vengeance from the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid, who sent emissaries to kill him. Idris I died in 791 in Walīlī, allegedly poisoned by the caliph's agents.Template:Sfn<ref name=":0522">Template:EI3</ref> His son, Idris II, was born a few months later and brought up by the Awraba under the regency of Rashid, his father's freedman (mawla) and advisor.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0522" /> He left Walīlī for Fes in 808. During his reign (791–828) he successfully consolidated the Idrisid state and developed Fez into a thriving capital.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":02">Template:Cite book</ref>

Idris I's body was buried on a hill not far from Walīlī. The site of his tomb grew into a village known as Moulay Idriss Zerhoun. A zawiya (religious complex) centered around his mausoleum developed here over the centuries and remains an important religious site in Morocco today.<ref name=":052">Template:EI2</ref><ref name=":12">Template:Cite book</ref>

See also

• History of North Africa
• Maghreb

Sources

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• Julien, Charles-André, Histoire de l'Afrique du Nord, des origines à 1830, original edition in 1931, new edition by Payot, Paris, 1994
• Abum-Nasr, Jamil M. (1987). A History of the Maghrib in the Islamic Period.
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