Idris I of Morocco

Idris ibn Abdallah, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, fled the Abbasid persecution after the Battle of Fakhkh. He escaped to the Maghreb, where he sought refuge among the Berber tribes of the Volubilis region.

Idris I established the Idrisid dynasty in the Maghreb, recognized as the first Moroccan state. He was proclaimed imam by the Berber tribes of the Awraba confederation, founding a Shi'a-influenced polity that would rule for over a century.

Idris I founded the city of Fez on the banks of the Fez River. The city became the capital of the Idrisid state and a major center of Islamic learning and trade in North Africa, later housing the University of al-Qarawiyyin.

Idris I was poisoned by an agent of the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid, who feared the rise of an independent Shi'a state in the Maghreb. His death left his infant son Idris II as heir, with the regency managed by a Berber council.