Basra (Arabic: ٱلْبَصْرَة), nicknamed Basra al-Hamra (Arabic: ٱلْبَصْرَة الحَمْراءُ, lit. 'Basra the Red'), was a settlement and historic town in northwestern Morocco. It was founded in 833 by the Idrisid dynasty, under the reign of the Emir Muhammad ibn Idris II. It was originally the summer capital of the Idrisid dynasty from the 8th to 10th centuries after they were driven out of Fes by the Fatimids. It is currently located in the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region. It is situated on the road from Souk El Arbaa to Ouezzane, about 40 km from the Atlantic coast and 20 km south of Ksar el-Kebir.
It was named after the city of Basra in Iraq by the Idrisids in remembrance of it. It experienced considerable development and quickly emerged from a simple village to the summer residence of the Idrisid emirs. The geographer and traveller Ibn Hawqal in the 9th century described it as a flourishing commercial centre and mentioned that it is of medium size and is surrounded by defensive walls. He also said that it was served by two river ports as a thriving center of commerce and an important area of cotton and grain production. Its main products were cereals, wheat, barley and cotton which it exported to Ifriqiya.
