emirate · Egypt, North Africa and Sudan

Idrisid dynasty

788 CE – 974 CE · capital Fez

The first Islamic dynasty to rule much of Morocco, founded by a descendant of the Prophet who built the city of Fez.

Origins

Idris ibn Abd Allah, a great-grandson of Hasan ibn Ali, fled Arabia after a failed Alid revolt at Fakhkh in 786. In 788 the Awraba Berbers of Volubilis, heirs to the Kingdom of Altava, recognised him as imam. He conquered much of northern Morocco and founded a town on the Fez river before being poisoned, reportedly by an Abbasid agent, in 791.

Rule and society

His posthumous son Idris II made Fez a capital, settling refugees from Córdoba and Kairouan in its two quarters. The Idrisids spread Islam and Arabic among Berber tribes and gave Moroccan Islam its tradition of sharifian descent. In 859 Fatima al-Fihri founded the al-Qarawiyyin mosque in Fez. After 828 the realm was divided among Idris II's sons, and the Sulaymanid emirate held Tlemcen.

Decline and legacy

In the 10th century the Idrisids were caught between the Fatimids and the Caliphate of Córdoba. The last emir, al-Hasan ibn Kannun, surrendered to Córdoba in 974 and was later killed. Idrisid descent remained prestigious, and the tomb of Idris II is a national shrine.

Connections (3)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Idrisid dynasty. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/idrisid-dynasty
MLA
“Idrisid dynasty.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/idrisid-dynasty. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Idrisid dynasty.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/idrisid-dynasty.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Idrisid dynasty’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/idrisid-dynasty (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻