View source for Idrisid dynasty

{{Short description|788–974 Arab dynasty ruling in the western Maghreb}}
{{about|Maghrebi dynasty|the Sufi order|Idrisiyya|the state they ruled|Emirate of Asir}}
{{Infobox former country
| native_name            = {{lang|ar|الأدارسة}}
| conventional_long_name = Idrisid dynasty
| common_name            = Idrisid dynasty
| era                    = Medieval
| status                 = 
| status_text            = 
| government_type        = [[Hereditary monarchy]]
| year_start             = 788
| year_end               = 974
| event_start            = <!--- Default: "Established" --->
| date_start             = <!--- Optional: Date of establishment, enter dates in this format 1 January 1801--->
| event_end              = <!--- Default: "Disestablished" --->
| date_end               = <!--- Optional: Date of disestablishment --->
| event1                 = <!--- Optional: other events between "start" and "end" --->
| date_event1            = 
| event2                 = 
| date_event2            = 
| event3                 = 
| date_event3            = 
| event4                 = 
| date_event4            = 
| p1                     = Berber revolt
| s1                     = Zenata kingdoms
| s2                     = Caliphate of Córdoba
| flag_s1                = 
| image_flag             = 
| flag_border            = no
| flag                   = <!--- Link target under flag image. Default: Flag of {{{Common_name}}} --->
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| symbol                 = <!--- Link target under symbol image. Default: Coat of arms of {{{Common_name}}} --->
| symbol_type            = <!--- Displayed text for link under symbol. Default "Coat of arms" --->
| image_map              = Idrisids-eng.PNG
| image_map_caption      = Idrisid state, around 820 [[Common Era|CE]], showing its maximal extent.
| capital                = [[Volubilis|Walilli]] {{small|(788–808)}} <br> [[Fes, Morocco|Fez]] {{small|(808–927)}} <br> [[Hajar an-Nasar]] {{small|(927–985)}}
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| longd                  = 
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| longEW                 = 
| common_languages       = [[Arabic]], [[Berber languages]]
| title_leader           = [[Emir]]
| year_leader1           = 788–791
| leader1                = [[Idris I of Morocco|Idris I]]
| year_leader2           = 954–974
| leader2                = [[Al-Hasan ibn al-Qasim]]
| religion               = [[Islam]] – [[Sunni]] or [[Zaydi]] [[Shia]] (disputed)
| currency               = 
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| today                  = 
}}
{{Historical Arab states and dynasties}}{{History of Morocco}}The '''Idrisid dynasty''' or '''Idrisids''' ({{langx|ar|الأدارسة}} ''{{Transliteration|ar|al-Adārisah}}'') were an [[Arabs|Arab]] [[Muslims|Muslim]] dynasty from 788 to 974, ruling most of present-day [[Morocco]] and parts of present-day western [[Algeria]]. Named after the founder, [[Idris I of Morocco|Idris I]], the Idrisids were an [[Alids|Alid]] dynasty descended from [[Muhammad]] through his grandson [[Hasan ibn Ali|Hasan]].<ref name=":0523" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Brett |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZC5WDwAAQBAJ&dq=idrisids+descent+hasan&pg=PA27 |title=Fatimid Empire |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-4744-2151-5 |pages=27 |language=en}}</ref> Their reign played an important role in the early [[Islamization]] of Morocco and also presided over an increase in Arab immigration and [[Arabization]] in major urban centers.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|52}}<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|83–84}}

Fleeing the [[Abbasid Caliphate]] to the east in the aftermath of the [[Battle of Fakhkh]], Idris I first established himself in 788 at [[Volubilis]] in present-day Morocco with the help of local [[Berbers|Berber]] allies. He and his son, [[Idris II of Morocco|Idris II]], subsequently founded what became the city of [[Fez, Morocco|Fez]] further east. Fez became the capital of an Idrisid state which ruled most of present-day Morocco and part of western [[Algeria]]. After Idris II's death, the realm was divided between his rival sons. After a period of conflict, the dynasty's authority resumed and remained relatively stable between 836 and 863. In the late 9th century, however, they faced repeated challenges and local opposition. In the 10th century the region came under the political domination of [[Zenata]] tribes who fought proxy battles on behalf of two rival powers in the region, the [[Fatimid Caliphate]] and the [[Caliphate of Córdoba|Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba]]. The Idrisids were definitively expelled from Fez in 927, but held onto to a reduced territory in the north of Morocco from their base at [[Hajar an-Nasar|Hajar an-Nasr]]. They were finally defeated and removed from power in 974, and a brief attempt to regain power in 985 also failed.

==History==

=== Founders of the Idrisid state: Idris I and Idris II ===
{{History of Algeria}}
By the second half of the 8th century the westernmost regions of the [[Maghreb]], including present-day Morocco, had been effectively independent of the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] since the [[Kharijites|Khariji]]-led [[Berber Revolt|Berber revolts]] that started in 739–40.<ref name=":15" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Blankinship|first=Khalid Yahya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jz0Yy053WS4C&q=morocco&pg=PA207|title=The End of the Jihad State: The Reign of Hisham Ibn 'Abd Al-Malik and the Collapse of the Umayyads|publisher=State University of New York Press|year=1994|isbn=9780791418277|pages=207|quote=At this point, the rebels had control of all modern Morocco, most of which was not to see rule by the universal caliphate again.}}</ref> The [[Abbasid Caliphate]] after 750 had no more success in re-establishing control over Morocco.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|41}} The overthrow of eastern authority meant that Morocco was controlled by various local Berber tribes and principalities which emerged around this time, such as the [[Barghawata|Barghwata Confederacy]] on the Atlantic coast and the [[Midrarid dynasty|Midrarid Emirate]] in [[Sijilmasa]].<ref name=":15" /><ref name=":0" />

The founder of the Idrisid dynasty was [[Idris ibn Abdallah]] (788–791),<ref name=":0523">{{EI2|last=Eustache|first=D.|title=Idrīs I|volume=3|pages=1031|doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_3492}}</ref> who traced his ancestry back to [[Ali ibn Abi Talib]] (died 661)<ref name=":0523" /> and his wife [[Fatimah]], daughter of the Islamic prophet, [[Muhammad]]. He was the great-grandchild of [[Hasan ibn Ali]].<ref name=":0523" /><ref name=":0" />{{Rp|81}} After the [[Battle of Fakhkh]], near [[Mecca]], between the [[Abbasids]] and supporters of the descendants of Muhammad, Idris ibn Abdallah fled to the Maghreb. He first arrived in [[Tangier]], the most important city of Morocco at the time, and by 788 he had settled in [[Volubilis]] (known as Walili in Arabic).<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|51}}

The powerful [[Awraba|Awraba Berbers]] of Volubilis took in Idris and made him their '[[imam]]' (religious leader).<ref name=":15">{{Cite book|last=Abun-Nasr|first=Jamil|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jdlKbZ46YYkC&q=A%20history%20of%20the%20Maghrib%20in%20the%20Islamic%20period&pg=PP1|title=A history of the Maghrib in the Islamic period|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1987|isbn=0521337674|location=Cambridge}}</ref>{{Rp|51}}<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Rivet|first=Daniel|title=Histoire du Maroc: de Moulay Idrîs à Mohammed VI|publisher=Fayard|year=2012}}</ref>{{Rp|81}} The Awraba tribe had supported [[Kusayla]] in his struggle against the [[Ummayad]] armies in the 670s and 680s. By the second half of the 8th century they had settled in northern Morocco, where their leader Ishak had his base in the Roman town of Volubilis. By this time the Awraba were already Muslim, but lived in an area where most tribes were either Christian, Jewish, [[Khariji]] or pagan. The Awraba seem to have welcomed a Sharifi imam as a way to strengthen their political position. Idris I, who was very active in the political organization of the Awraba, began by asserting his authority and working toward the subjugation of the Christian and Jewish tribes. In 789 he founded a settlement south east of Volubilis, called ''[[Fes|Medinat Fas]]''. In 791 Idris I was poisoned and killed by an Abbasid agent. Even though he left no male heir, shortly after his death, his wife Lalla Kanza bint Uqba al-Awrabi, bore him his only son and successor, [[Idris II of Morocco|Idris II]]. Idris' loyal Arab ex-slave and companion Rashid brought up the boy and took on himself the regency of the state, on behalf of the Awraba. In 801 Rashid was killed by the [[Abbasids]]. In the following year, at the age of 11 years, Idris II was proclaimed imam by the Awraba.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|51}}

Even though he had spread his authority across much of northern Morocco, as far west as [[Tlemcen]], Idris I had been completely dependent on the Awraba leadership. Idris II began his rule with the weakening of Awraba power by welcoming Arab settlers in Walili and by appointing two Arabs as his ''vizier'' and ''qadi''. Thus he transformed himself from a protégé of the Awraba into their sovereign. The Awraba leader Ishak responded by plotting against his life with the [[Aghlabids]] of Tunisia. Idris reacted by having his former protector Ishak killed, and in 809 moved his seat of government from the Awraba dominated Walili to Fes, where he founded a new settlement named Al-'Aliya. [[Idris II of Morocco|Idris II]] (791–828) developed the city of [[Fes|Fez]], established earlier by his father as a Berber market town. Here he welcomed two waves of Arab immigration: one in 818 from Cordoba and another in 824 from [[Aghlabid]] Tunisia, giving Fes a more Arab character than other Maghrebi cities. When Idris II died in 828, the Idrisid state spanned from western Algeria to the [[Sous]] in southern Morocco and had become the leading state of Morocco, ahead of the principalities of [[Sijilmasa]], [[Barghawata]] and [[Nekor]] which remained outside their control.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|51–52}}<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|86}}

=== The successors of Idris II ===
The dynasty's power would slowly decline following Idris II's death. Under his son and successor [[Muhammad ibn Idris|Muhammad]] (828–836) the kingdom was divided amongst seven of his brothers, whereby eight Idrisid statelets formed in Morocco and western Algeria.<ref name=":052" /> Muhammad himself came to rule Fes, with only nominal power over his brothers. His brother Al-Qasim ruled [[Tangier]] and its surroundings. 'Umar ruled over the Sanhaja and the [[Ghomaras|Ghumara]] in the Rif region.<ref name=":052" /> Isa was given control of the coastal [[Tamasna|Tamesna]] regions near the [[Bou Regreg]], including [[Chellah|Shallah]] (Chellah), and was based at Wazeqqūr (a town near modern-day [[Khenifra]]).<ref name=":052" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last1=Garcia-Arenal |first1=Mercedes |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BwXpacrOE-YC&dq=Wazeqq%C5%ABr+morocco&pg=PA278 |title=Genèse de la ville islamique en al-Andalus et au Maghreb occidental |last2=Moreno |first2=Eduardo Manzano |publisher=Casa de Velázquez; Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |year=1998 |isbn=978-84-00-07766-2 |editor-last=Cressier |editor-first=Patrice |pages=257–284 |language=fr |chapter=Légitimité et villes idrissides |editor-last2=Garcia-Arenal |editor-first2=Mercedes}}</ref> Yahya was given Hiṣn Daī (a site probably near modern [[Beni Mellal]]).<ref name=":052" /><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Park |first1=Thomas K. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8KiCl5-MxMMC&dq=idrisid+yahya+morocco&pg=PA62 |title=Historical Dictionary of Morocco |last2=Boum |first2=Aomar |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-8108-6511-2 |pages=62 |language=en |chapter=Beni Mellal}}</ref> Hamza was given Walili. 'Ubayd Allah (or 'Abd Allah) was given the south, including the territory of the Lamta tribes and a town named [[Tamdoult|Tamdult]].<ref name=":052" /><ref name=":2" /> Agadir (later Tlemcen) was left under the control of Muhammad Ibn Sulayman, Idris II's cousin and the son of [[Sulyaman I of Tlemcen|Sulayman]], the brother of Idris I whom the latter had left in charge of the city, constituting the [[Sulaymanid dynasty]].<ref name=":052" /><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Brett |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZTNTz3POoZUC |title=The Cambridge History of Africa |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1978 |isbn=978-0-521-21592-3 |editor-last=Fage |editor-first=J. D. |pages=553 |language=en |chapter=The Arab conquest and the rise of Islam in North Africa}}</ref>

Soon after this territorial division Isa revolted against his brother Muhammad. Muhammad entrusted his other brother Umar to punish him. Umar successfully drove Isa from power, who was forced to take refuge in Chellah.<ref name=":052" /> Umar then turned north to punish his other brother, al-Qasim, because the latter had refused to join him and Muhammad against Isa. Al-Qasim fled to [[Asilah]] and settled nearby, while Muhammad gave Umar governorship of Tangier as a reward. Upon Umar's death in September or October 835 his son [[Ali ibn Umar]] was granted all of his father's domains in turn.<ref name=":052" /> Muhammad himself died seven months later in the March or April 836. His son [[Ali ibn Muhammad]] inherited his position and ruled for 13 years (836–849) in a competent manner, ensuring the stability of the state. After his death in 849 he was succeeded by his brother [[Yahya ibn Muhammad]] (or Yahya I), who also enjoyed a peaceful reign.<ref name=":052">{{EI2 | last = Eustache | first = D. | title = Idrīsids | volume = 3 | pages = 1035–1037 | doi =10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_3495}}</ref>[[File:Idrisids coin minted at Al Aliyah Morocco 840 CE.jpg|thumb|170px|left|[[Idrissid dirham|Idrisid dirham]], minted at al-'Aliyah ([[Fez, Morocco|Fes]]), [[Morocco]], 840 CE. The coin features the name of [[Ali]]: a son-in-law of [[Muhammad]], the fourth [[Ali as Caliph|Caliph]], and an ancestor of the Idrisids.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Discover Islamic Art - Virtual Museum - object_ISL_ma_Mus01_F_2_en|url=http://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;ma;Mus01_F;2;en|access-date=2020-07-25|website=islamicart.museumwnf.org}}</ref>|alt=]]During this time [[Islam]]ic and [[Arabic culture]] gained a stronghold in the towns and Morocco profited from the [[trans-Saharan trade]], which came to be dominated by Muslim (mostly Berber) traders. The city of Fes also flourished and became an important religious center.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|52}} During Yahya's reign more Arab immigrants arrived and the famous mosques of [[University of al-Qarawiyyin|al-Qarawiyyin]] and [[Andalusian Mosque|al-Andalusiyyin]] were founded.<ref name=":052" /> Even so, the Islamic and Arabic culture only made its influence felt in the towns, with the vast majority of Morocco's population still using the [[Berber languages]] and often adhering to Islamic heterodox and heretical doctrines. The Idrisids were principally rulers of the towns and had little power over the majority of the country's population.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|52}}

=== Decline and fall ===
After the death of Yahya I in 863 he was succeeded by his less competent son, Yahya II, who divided up the Idrisid realm yet again among the extended families. Yahya II died in uncertain circumstances in 866 after fleeing his palace. After an episode of disorder in Fes his cousin Ali ibn Umar took over power.<ref name=":052" /> In 868, under the leadership of the Abd al-Razzaq the Berber [[Khariji]] [[Sufri]] tribes of Madyuna, Ghayata and [[Miknasa]] of the Fes region formed a common front against the Idrisids. From their base in [[Sefrou]] they were able to defeat Ali ibn Umar and occupy Fes. Fes refused to submit, however, and another [[Yahya ibn al-Qasim|Yahya]], the son of al-Qasim, was able to retake the city and establish himself as the new ruler, Yahya III. Thus the ruling line had passed from the sons of Muhammad to the son of Umar and now the sons of al-Qasim.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|52}}<ref name=":052" />

Yahya III ruled over the entire Idrisid realm and continued to attack the Sufris. In 905 however he died in battle against another family member, [[Yahya ibn Idris ibn Umar]] (a grandson of Umar), who then took power as Yahya IV.<ref name=":052" /> At this point, however, the [[Fatimid Caliphate|Fatimids]] in the east began to intervene in Morocco, hoping to expand their influence. In 917 the [[Miknasa]] and its leader Masala ibn Habus, acting on behalf of their Fatimid allies, attacked Fes and forced Yahya IV to recognize Fatimid suzerainty, before deposing him in 919<ref name=":052" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Bosworth |first=Clifford Edmund |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SaMkDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA9-IA1 |title=The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=1996 |isbn=9780748621378 |chapter=The Idrisids}}</ref> or 921.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|63}} He was succeeded by his cousin Musa ibn Abul 'Afiya, who had already been given charge over the rest of the country. The Idrisid [[Hassan I al-Hajam]], a grandson of al-Qasim, managed to wrest control of Fez from 925 but in 927 Musa returned, captured Hassan and killed him, marking the last time the Idrisids held power in Fes.<ref name=":052" />

From Fes, the Miknasa began pursuing the Idrisid family across Morocco. The family took refuge at the fortress of [[Hajar an-Nasar|Hajar an-Nasr]] in northern Morocco, where the Miknasa besieged them.<ref name=":052" /> Soon after, however, civil war broke out among the Miknasa when Musa switched allegiance to the [[Caliphate of Córdoba|Umayyads of Cordoba]] in 931 in an attempt to gain more independence. The Fatimids sent Humayd ibn Yasal (or Hamid<ref name=":15" />), the nephew of Masala ibn Habus, to confront Musa, defeating him in 933 and forcing him to fall back into line.<ref name=":052" /><ref name=":15" />{{Rp|63}} The Idrisids took advantage of the situation to break the siege of their fortress and defeat the Mikanasa Zenata troops. Once the Fatimids were gone, however, Musa once again threw off their authority and recognized the Umayyad caliph. The Fatimids sent their general Maysur to confront him again, and this time he fled. He was pursued and killed by the Idrisids.<ref name=":052" />

After this Idrisids settled among the [[Jbala]] tribes in the Rif region of north-west Morocco where they partially rebuilt their power base from Hajar an-Nasr, alternately acknowledging either the [[Caliphate of Córdoba|Umayyads of Cordoba]] (under [[Abd al-Rahman III|Abd ar-Rahman III]]) or the Fatimids as overlords.<ref name=":052" /> [[Al-Qasim Jannun|Al-Qasim al-Gannun ibn Muhammad]] ruled here from 938 until 948 in the name of the Fatimids.<ref name=":052" /><ref name=":1" /> His son and successor, Ahmad, known as [[Abul-Aish Ahmad|Abul-'Aysh]], recognized the Umayyads instead but ran afoul of them when he refused to let them occupy Tangier. He was besieged there and forced to retreat, retaining only the areas around [[Basra, Morocco|al-Basra]] and Asilah while the Umayyads occupied the rest of northern Morocco.<ref name=":052" /> He eventually left for Al-Andalus, leaving his brother [[Al-Hasan ibn al-Qasim Jannun|Hasan ibn al-Qasim al-Gannun]] as the new leader in 954.<ref name=":052" /><ref name=":1" /> In 958 the Fatimids sent a new general, [[Jawhar (general)|Jawhar]], to invade Morocco. His success forced the Idrisids to again accept Fatimid overlordship.<ref name=":052" /><ref name=":15" />{{Rp|75}} Soon afterwards, however, when Jawhar and the Fatimids were busy taking control of Egypt, the Umayyads made a comeback. In 973 their general, Ghalib, invaded Morocco.<ref name=":15" /> The Idrisids were expelled from their territories and al-Hasan, along with many other Idrisids or their sons, were taken as hostages to Cordoba in 974.<ref name=":052" /> The remaining Idrisids in Morocco acknowledged Umayyad rule.<ref name=":15" /> Al-Hasan was later expelled from Cordoba and fled to Egypt, which was now under Fatimid rule. In 979 [[Buluggin ibn Ziri]], the Fatimid governor of Ifriqiya (after the Fatimid Caliphs had their capital to [[Cairo]]), returned to defeat the Umayyads and impose Fatimid overlordship in the western Maghreb again. In 985<ref name=":1" /> he returned to Morocco with Fatimid support, but that same year he was defeated by another Umayyad general sent by [[Almanzor|al-Mansur]] and then assassinated on the way to Cordoba.<ref name=":052" /> This brought a final end to the Idrisid dynasty. The Umayyads kept control over northern Morocco until their caliphate's collapse in the early 11th century. Following this, Morocco was dominated by various Zenata Berber tribes.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|91}}<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|82}} Until the rise of the [[Sanhaja]] [[Almoravid dynasty|Almoravids]] later in the century, the [[Maghrawa]] controlled [[Fez, Morocco|Fes]], [[Sijilmasa]] and [[Aghmat]] while the [[Banu Ifran]] ruled over Tlemcen, [[Salé]] (Chellah), and the [[Tadla]] region.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|91}}

== Religion ==
According to [[Encyclopædia Britannica]], "although Idrīs I had [[Shia Islam|Shīʿite]] sympathies, the state founded by his son was [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] in matters of religious doctrine."<ref>{{Cite web |title=North Africa - The Rustamid state of Tāhart |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/North-Africa/The-Rustamid-state-of-Tahart |access-date=2020-08-19 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> Primary source material and contemporary scholars have described them as a [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslim]] [[dynasty]].<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=50}}<ref>Al-Bayan Al-Maghreb (Ibn Idhari al-Marrakushi, 13th century), Vol.1, p.118 (''Arabic - Dr. Bashar A. Marouf & Mahmoud B. Awad, 2013)''</ref><ref>''Tarikh al-Tabari (Al-Tabari, 9th century) – English translation: The History of al-Tabari vol.26, p.37-38''</ref> Certain contemporary academics have described them as [[Shia Islam|Shi'a]] or [[Zaidiyyah|Zaydi Shi'a]] to one extent or another, most likely because of their political affiliation.<ref>[https://www.aus.edu/faculty/dr-meis-al-kaisi Meis Al-Kaisi], "The Development of Politico-Religious Movements: A General Overview", ''Arabic Heritage in the Post-Abbasid Period'', ed. Imed Nsiri, (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2019), 124.<br />[[Ludwig W. Adamec]], ''The Historical Dictionary of Islam'', page 145, "Idrisid Dynasty (788-985). First Shi'ite dynasty in Islamic history, founded by Idris ibn Abdullah....".<br />[[Clifford Edmund Bosworth|C.E. Bosworth]]''The New Islamic Dynasties'', page 25, "The Idrisids were the first dynasty who attempted to introduce the doctrines of Shi'ism, albeit in a very attenuated form, into the Maghrib...".<br />[[Ignác Goldziher]] and [[Bernard Lewis]], ''Introduction to Islamic theology and law'', Princeton University Press (1981), p. 218<br />[http://anthropology.msu.edu/author/maraleichtman/ Mara A. Leichtman], ''Shi'i Cosmopolitanisms in Africa: Lebanese Migration and Religious Conversion in Senegal'', page 216;"''Senegalese Shi'a also refer to the spread of Shi'i Islam to Senegal through the Idrisid dynasty and evidence of Shi'i roots in Morocco through 'Alaouis (Hydarah 2008:132-135). Cornell writes that Moulay Idris and his successors, descendants of the Prophet's grandson Hasan, brought with them to Morocco from the Arabian Peninsula "a form of archaic Shi'ism that was similar in many respects to Zaydism" (1998:200).''"</ref> The Idrisids were political opponents of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]].<ref>{{The History of al-Tabari|volume=26|pages=37-38}}</ref> Others have criticized this claim for conflating Shia theology with a political movement in a historical period where there was no Shia theology distinct from Sunni theology in this area as of yet.<ref>De Geschiedenis van Marokko & Noord-Afrika (Sofyan al Kandoussi, 2019), p.179 (Dutch history book on Morocco and North-Africa)</ref> [[Amira Bennison]] argues that Idrisid coinage suggests that Idris I portrayed himself as a religious leader whose legitimacy was based on his descent from Muhammad, which Bennison describes as a "proto-Shi'i or 'Alid position."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bennison |first1=Amira K. |title=Almoravid and Almohad Empires |date=2016 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=9780748646821 |page=233}}</ref>

The Awraba Berbers who welcomed Idris I in Volubilis were [[Muʿtazila]] and Idris relied widely on the support of Muʿtazila Berber tribes to found his state.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Ess |first=Josef van |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tIN1DwAAQBAJ&dq=idrisid+mu%27tazila&pg=PA291 |title=Theology and Society in the Second and Third Centuries of the Hijra. Volume 4: A History of Religious Thought in Early Islam |publisher=Brill |year=2018 |isbn=978-90-04-38159-9 |pages=291–292 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Qantara - The Idrisids (789- 974)|url=https://www.qantara-med.org/public/show_document.php?do_id=867&lang=en|access-date=2021-01-05|website=www.qantara-med.org}}</ref> He is also likely to have had ties to Muʿtazila figures in the [[Hejaz|Hijaz]] and further east, as he was accompanied on his journey to the Maghreb by a Muʿtazila ''[[khatib]]'' from [[Basra]] who aided him in gaining the support of the tribes.<ref name=":5" /> It is unclear, however, to what extent the community he established was Muʿtazila in character.<ref name=":5" />

== Legacy ==
Despite having fallen from power, the Idrisids spawned many sharifian families which continued to be present for centuries to come. Some Moroccans today still claim descent from them.<ref name=":052" /> In the 11th century, an Idrisid family descended from Umar (son of Idris II), the [[Hammudid dynasty|Hammudids]], were able to gain power in several cities of northern [[Morocco]] and southern [[Spain]].<ref name=":052" /><ref name=":05233">{{EI2|last=Huici Miranda|first=A.|title=Ḥammūdids|volume=3|pages=147|doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_2685}}</ref>

In Fes and in the town of [[Moulay Idriss Zerhoun|Moulay Idriss]] (near Volubilis), the tombs of Idris II and Idris I, respectively, eventually developed into important religious complexes and pilgrimage sites, like the [[Zawiya of Moulay Idris II]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Achouar|first=Amina|title=Fès, Meknès|publisher=Flammarion|year=2005}}</ref><ref name=":62">{{Cite book|last=Gaudio|first=Attilio|title=Fès: Joyau de la civilisation islamique|publisher=Les Presse de l'UNESCO: Nouvelles Éditions Latines|year=1982|isbn=2723301591|location=Paris|pages=123–131}}</ref> Several prominent sharifian families in Fez traced their lineages to Idris I,<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|last=Le Tourneau|first=Roger|title=Fès avant le protectorat: étude économique et sociale d'une ville de l'occident musulman|publisher=Société Marocaine de Librairie et d'Édition|year=1949|location=Casablanca}}</ref>{{Rp|488}} and some of these played a role in maintaining or rebuilding the Zawiya of Idris II in the city.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Mezzine|first=Mohamed|title=Mulay Idris Mausoleum|url=http://www.discoverislamicart.org/database_item.php?id=monument;isl;ma;mon01;20;en|access-date=January 6, 2018|website=Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers}}</ref>

The Idrisid period also played an important role in the [[Islamization]] of the region, particularly in the spread of Islam to the Berber tribes that occupied the interior territories of present-day Morocco, outside the northern coastal regions where the earliest Muslim presence was initially concentrated.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Stephen |first=Cory |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=39JMAgAAQBAJ&pg=RA2-PA140 |title=Dictionary of African Biography |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-19-538207-5 |editor-last=Akyeampong |editor-first=Emmanuel Kwaku |pages=140–141 |language=en |chapter=Idris I |editor-last2=Gates Jr. |editor-first2=Henry Louis}}</ref><ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=52}}<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=84}} The new city of Fes also became a center of [[Arabization]] that spread to some of the surrounding Berber tribes in the area.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=84}} Idrisid towns also formed a part of the wider trade network that linked the Maghreb with the Sahara and the [[Sudan (region)|Sudan region]] (south of the Sahara). This trade network and the Muslim merchants who came to dominate it in the 9th century were important in turn to the [[Islamization of the Sudan region|Islamization of the Sudan]].<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=52}}

The Idrisid state set a precedent for [[Sharifism|Sharifian rule]], which inspired the rise of Sharifism in Morocco during the 15th century<ref name=":6" /> and which is maintained by the present-day ruling dynasty of Morocco, the [['Alawis]].<ref name=":28">{{Cite book |last=Naylor |first=Phillip |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SSUKBgAAQBAJ |title=North Africa, Revised Edition: A History from Antiquity to the Present |publisher=University of Texas Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-292-76192-6 |pages=70 |language=en}}</ref> From the 14th century, local writers began to portray the Idrisids as the starting point of an Islamic ''Maghrib al-Aqsa'' ("Furthest West", corresponding to present-day Morocco<ref>{{Cite book |last=Clancy-Smith |first=Julia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=seH9AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA12 |title=North Africa, Islam and the Mediterranean World: From the Almoravids to the Algerian War |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-135-31213-8 |pages=12 |language=en}}</ref>).<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=81}} Both the [[Marinid dynasty]] (13th''–''15th centuries) and the [[Wattasid dynasty]] (15th''–''16th centuries) attempted at times to associate themselves with the Idrisid dynasty as a way to legitimize their own rule.<ref name=":1322">{{Cite book |last=Tuil Leonetti |first=Bulle |title=Maroc médiéval: Un empire de l'Afrique à l'Espagne |publisher=Louvre éditions |year=2014 |isbn=9782350314907 |editor-last=Lintz |editor-first=Yannick |location=Paris |pages=452–454 |language=fr |chapter=Reformer le royaume idrisside : Fès et l’historiographie officielle mérinide |editor-last2=Déléry |editor-first2=Claire |editor-last3=Tuil Leonetti |editor-first3=Bulle}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Loimeier |first=Roman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dR5yCmUejWEC&dq=idrisids+first+dynasty+of+morocco&pg=PA50 |title=Muslim Societies in Africa: A Historical Anthropology |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-253-00797-1 |pages=50 |language=en}}</ref> The ''[[Rawd al-Qirtas]]'', written by [[Ibn Abi Zar]] in the 14th century, is one of the best-known chronicles of this period and promoted the idea of continuity between Idrisid rule and contemporary Marinid rule, while at the same time downplaying the potential Shi'a character of Idris I.<ref name=":1322" /> In the national narratives of modern Morocco, the Idrisids are often portrayed as the first Moroccan dynasty and as the start of an uninterrupted tradition of monarchy to the present day.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=81}}

== The dynasty ==

===Rulers===
* [[Idris I]] – (788–791)
* [[Idris II]] – (791–828)
* [[Muhammad ibn Idris]] – (828–836)
* [[Ali ibn Muhammad|Ali (I) ibn Muhammad]] – (836–849)
* [[Yahya ibn Muhammad|Yahya (I) ibn Muhammad]] – (849–863)
* [[Yahya ibn Yahya|Yahya (II) ibn Yahya]] – (863–866)
* [[Ali ibn Umar|Ali (II) ibn Umar]] – (866–?)<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":052" />
* [[Yahya ibn al-Qasim|Yahya (III) ibn al-Qasim]] – (?–905)<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":052" />
* [[Yahya ibn Idris ibn Umar|Yahya (IV) ibn Idris]] – (905–919 or 921)<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":052" /><ref name=":15" />{{Rp|63}}
* ''[[Miknasa]] control on behalf of the [[Fatimid Caliphate|Fatimids]] – (919–925)''
* [[Al-Hajjam al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn al-Qasim]] – (925–927), last Idrisid ruler in Fes
'''Idrisid rule in northern Morocco:'''
* [[Al-Qasim Jannun|Al-Qasim Gannun]] – (938–948)
* [[Abul-Aish Ahmad]] – (948–954)
* [[Al-Hasan ibn al-Qasim Jannun|Al-Hasan ibn al-Qasim]] – (954–974, 985)<ref name=":1" />

===Genealogical chart===
{{Family tree of the Idrisid dynasty}}

===Timeline===
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  from:789 till: 791 color:s text:"[[Idriss I]]"
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  from:828 till: 836 color:s text:"[[Muhammad ibn Idris]]"
  from:836 till: 848 color:s text:"[[Ali ibn Idris]]"
  from:848 till: 864 color:s text:"[[Yahya ibn Muhammad]]"
  from:864 till: 874 color:s text:"[[Yahya ibn Yahya]]"
  from:874 till: 883 color:s text:"[[Ali ibn Umar]]"
  from:883 till: 904 color:s text:"[[Yahya ibn Al-Qassim]]"
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  from:925 till: 927 color:s text:"[[Hassan I al-Hajam]]"
  from:927 till: 937 color:eon text:"[[Fatimids|Second Fatimid overlordship]]"
  from:937 till: 948 color:s text:"[[Al Qasim Guennoun]]"
  from:948 till: 954 color:s text:"[[Abu l-Aish Ahmad]]"
  from:954 till: 974 color:s text:"[[Al-Hasan ben Kannun]]"

  barset:skip
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==See also==
* [[Muhammad al-Idrisi]] (descendant of the Idrisid dynasty)
* [[List of Shi'a Muslim dynasties]]

==Notes and references==
<references />

==Sources==
* [[Ibn Abi Zar]], ''[[Rawd al-Qirtas]]'' (contains a chronicle of the dynasty).
* Charles-André Julien, ''Histoire de l'Afrique du Nord, des origines à 1830'', Payot 1994.

{{commons category|Idrisid dynasty}}

==External links==
* {{in lang|en}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20130610132109/http://www.qantara-med.org/qantara4/public/show_document.php?do_id=867&lang=en Y. Benhima, "The Idrisids (789-974)" in ''qantara-med.org'' (2008)]
* {{in lang|fr}} [http://encyclopedieberbere.revues.org/1529 C. El Briga, "Idrisides", in ''Encyclopédie berbère, vol.24'' (Edisud 2001)]
* {{in lang|en}} [https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/282093/Idrisid-dynasty B. Duignan, "Idrīsid dynasty", in ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (2007)]
{{Idrisid dynasty topics|state=expanded}}
{{Morocco topics|state=collapsed}}
{{Algeria topics|state=collapsed}}
{{Muslim dynasties in Maghreb region}}{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Idrisid Dynasty}}
[[Category:Idrisid dynasty| ]]
[[Category:Islam in Morocco]]
[[Category:Islam in Algeria]]
[[Category:African royal families]]
[[Category:Shia dynasties]]
[[Category:Shia Islam in Morocco]]
[[Category:Zaydis]]
[[Category:Shia Islam in Algeria]]
[[Category:788 establishments]]
[[Category:Arab dynasties]]
[[Category:States and territories established in the 780s]]
[[Category:Alid dynasties]]
[[Category:Former countries]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 970s]]