Idrisid dynasty in the context of "Zenata"

Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to the east, and the disputed territory of Western Sahara to the south, occupied by Morocco since 1975. Morocco also claims the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta, Melilla and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, and several small Spanish-controlled islands off its coast. It has a population of approximately 37 million. Islam is both the official and predominant religion, while Arabic and Berber are the official languages. Additionally, French and the Moroccan dialect of Arabic are widely spoken. The culture of Morocco is a mix of Arab, Berber, African and European cultures. Its capital is Rabat, while its largest city is Casablanca.

The region constituting Morocco has been inhabited since the Paleolithic era, more than 300,000 years ago. The Idrisid dynasty was established by Idris I in 788, and Morocco was subsequently ruled by a series of other independent dynasties, reaching its zenith as a regional power in the 11th and 12th centuries, under the Almoravid and Almohad dynasties, when it controlled most of the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghreb. Centuries of Arab migration to the Maghreb since the 7th century shifted the demographic scope of the region. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Morocco faced external threats to its sovereignty, with Portugal seizing some territory and the Ottoman Empire encroaching from the east. The Marinid and Saadi dynasties otherwise resisted foreign domination, and Morocco was the only North African nation to escape Ottoman dominion. The Alawi dynasty, which rules the country to this day, seized power in 1631, and over the next two centuries expanded diplomatic and commercial relations with the Western world. Morocco's strategic location near the mouth of the Mediterranean drew renewed European interest. In 1912, France and Spain divided the country into respective protectorates, reserving an international zone in Tangier. Following intermittent riots and revolts against colonial rule, in 1956, Morocco regained its independence and reunified.

Idris (I) ibn Abd Allah (Arabic: إدريس بن عبد الله, romanized: Idrīs ibn ʿAbd Allāh; d. 791), also known as Idris the Elder (إدريس الأكبر, Idrīs al-Akbar), 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. 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.

The Arab migrations to the Maghreb involved successive waves of migration and settlement by Arab people in the Maghreb region of Africa, encompassing modern-day Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. The process took place over several centuries, lasting from the early 7th century to the 17th century. The Arab migrants hailed from the Middle East, particularly the Arabian Peninsula, with later groups arriving from the Levant and Iraq.

The influx of Arabs to the Maghreb began in the 7th century with the Arab conquest of the Maghreb, when Arab armies conquered the region as part of the early Muslim conquests. This initial wave of Arab migration was followed by subsequent periods of migration and settlement, notably during the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates and later Arab dynasties. However, the most significant wave of Arab migration occurred in the 11th century with the arrival of more Bedouin tribes from the Arabian Peninsula, such as Banu Hilal, Banu Sulaym, and Maqil. The last significant wave of Arab migration to the Maghreb was from Al-Andalus in the 17th century as a result of the Reconquista. These migrants established numerous Arab empires and dynasties in the Maghreb, such as the Aghlabids, Idrisids, Sulaymanids, Salihids, Fatimids, Saadians and 'Alawites.

Idrīs ibn Idrīs (Arabic: إدريس بن إدريس) known as Idris II (إدريس الثاني) and also as Idrīs the Luminous (إدريس الأزهر Idrīs al-Azhar) or Idrīs the Younger (إدريس الأصغر Idrīs al-Aṣghar) (August 791 – August 828), was the son of Idris I, the founder of the Idrisid dynasty in Morocco. He was born in Walīlī two months after the death of his father. He succeeded his father Idris I in 803.

Fez (/fɛz/) or Fes (/fɛs/; Arabic: فاس, romanized: fās) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fez-Meknes administrative region. It is one of the largest cities in Morocco, with a population of 1.256 million, according to the 2024 census. Located to the northwest of the Atlas Mountains, it is surrounded by hills and the old city is centered around the Fez River (Oued Fes) flowing from west to east. Fez has been called the "Mecca of the West" and the "Athens of Africa". It is also considered the spiritual and cultural capital of Morocco.

Founded under Idrisid rule during the 8th century CE, Fez initially consisted of two autonomous and competing settlements. Successive waves of mainly Arab immigrants from Ifriqiya (Tunisia) and al-Andalus (Spain/Portugal) in the early 9th century gave the nascent city its Arab character. After the downfall of the Idrisid dynasty, other empires came and went until the 11th century when the Almoravid Sultan Yusuf ibn Tashfin united the two settlements into what is today's Fes el-Bali (lit. 'Old Fes') quarter, a.k.a. Medina of Fez. Under Almoravid rule, the city gained a reputation for religious scholarship and mercantile activity.

Hadjar al-Nasr (Arabic: حجر النسر, lit. 'the vulture's rock') is an ancient fortress located in northern Morocco. It was constructed in the 10th century by the Idrisid dynasty. The archaeological site is situated on a rocky crest overlooking the headwaters of a tributary of the Loukkos River around 40 km almost due east of the modern city of Larache.

The fortress was probably built by Muhammad ibn Idris or one of his sons during the 9th century, and was finally destroyed in 996 by the Maghrawa chief Ziri ibn Atiyya. It served as a haven for the Idrisid dynasty's rulers, and sometimes alternated with al-Basra as their capital.

The Ḥasanids (Arabic: بنو الحسن, romanized: Banū al-Ḥasan or حسنيون, Ḥasanīyyūn) are the descendants of Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī, brother of Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī and grandson of Muhammad. They are a branch of the Alids (the descendants of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib), and one of the two most important branches of the ashrāf (the other being the descendants of Ḥasan's brother Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī, the Ḥusaynids).

In Morocco, the term is particularly applied to the descendants of Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya, to distinguish them from the Idrisid dynasty, which is also of Ḥasanid descent. The Moroccan Ḥasanids proper have produced two dynasties, the Saadi dynasty, and the Alawite dynasty, which still reigns over the country.

The Sulaymanid dynasty (Arabic: السليمانيون, romanized: as-Sulaymāniyyūn) was an Arab Muslim dynasty in present-day western Algeria, ruling from 814 to 922. The dynasty is named after the founder, Sulyaman I, who was the brother of Idris I, the founder of the Idrisid dynasty based in Fez (present-day Morocco). Both Sulayman and Idris, as great grandchildren of Hasan ibn Ali, were sharifs descended from Muhammad.