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 "title": "Idris II",
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 "excerpt": "Idris II (محمد بن إدريس) was the second ruler of the Idrisid dynasty of Morocco, who made Fes the capital and ruled until his death in 828.",
 "snippet": "Idris II (محمد بن إدريس) was the second ruler of the Idrisid dynasty of Morocco, who made Fes the capital and ruled until his death in 828.",
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 "markdown": "# Idris II\n\n**Idris II** (محمد بن إدريس) was the second ruler of the Idrisid dynasty of Morocco.<sup>[1](https://referenceworks.brill.com/display/entries/EIEO/SIM-3495.xml)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.archnet.org/authorities/2646)</sup> Born after his father's death, he ruled until his sudden death in AH 213 (828); under him Fes became the capital and the state acquired its Islamic institutions.<sup>[3](https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004525245_006)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[4](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/idris-ii)</sup>\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Birth | Posthumous son of Idris I<sup>[3](https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004525245_006)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.archnet.org/authorities/2646)</sup> |\n| Capital | Fes, where he founded the al-Aliyya quarter in 192/808–809<sup>[3](https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004525245_006)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://www.qantara-med.org/public/show_document.php?do_id=867&lang=en)</sup> |\n| Institutions | Vizierate, chancery (katib), judiciary (qadi), and imamate<sup>[4](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/idris-ii)</sup> |\n| Death | AH 213 (828), aged 33 or 36 depending on the source<sup>[4](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/idris-ii)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004525245_006)</sup> |\n| Succession | Twelve sons; the eldest, Muhammad, kept Fes and divided the rest among his brothers<sup>[1](https://referenceworks.brill.com/display/entries/EIEO/SIM-3495.xml)</sup> |\n\n## Accession and family\n\nIdris II was born posthumously to [Idris I](https://www.edgepedia.org/idris-i)'s Berber wife or concubine, called Kanza or Kathira, and recorded as Lalla Kanza bint Uqba al-Awrabi; he was born after his father's death.<sup>[3](https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004525245_006)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.archnet.org/authorities/2646)</sup> Because he was a child, Rashid served as regent.<sup>[3](https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004525245_006)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.archnet.org/authorities/2646)</sup>\n\nIdrisid legitimacy rested on descent from the Prophet, an imam-centered conception of religio-political order, and reciprocal loyalty between ruler and elite reaffirmed through ceremonies such as the bay'a.<sup>[3](https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004525245_006)</sup>\n\n## Reign: policies, administration, and wars\n\n**Fes as capital.** Fes grew in two stages: Idris I established Madinat Fas on the eastern bank of the Fes wadi as early as 789, and in 192/808–809 Idris II founded a second walled center on the opposite bank, known as al-Aliyya (\"the higher\") until the mid-ninth century.<sup>[3](https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004525245_006)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://www.qantara-med.org/public/show_document.php?do_id=867&lang=en)</sup> According to al-Bakri, he gained the land through an agreement with the Berber chief of the Zawagha, while Fenwick records that the *Rawd al-Qirtas* claims he purchased it for about 5,000 dirham.<sup>[3](https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004525245_006)</sup> Development of the Adwat al-Qarawiyyin district began in 193 (809), starting on 1 Rabi al-Awwal 193 (22 January 809), and refugees from Kairouan in Ifriqiya were settled there; the al-Qarawiyyin mosque itself was founded as a private oratory in 857/242 AH by Fatima al-Fahri, the daughter of a wealthy Qayrawani immigrant.<sup>[10](https://www.archnet.org/sites/1730)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[4](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/idris-ii)</sup>\n\n**Administration.** According to the TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Idris II founded the vizierate, the chancery (katib), the judiciary (qadi), and the imamate.<sup>[4](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/idris-ii)</sup> He lavished favors on newcomers, raised them to high positions, and appointed Umayr (Amr) ibn Musab al-Azdi as vizier and Amir ibn Muhammad al-Qaysi as qadi.<sup>[4](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/idris-ii)</sup> State revenues came from zakat and tithes, with no additional taxes on the population, and the army became organized with 500 horsemen from Arabs arriving from al-Andalus and Ifriqiya, in addition to volunteer Berber elements.<sup>[6](https://islamstory.com/ar/artical/23994/%D8%B3%D9%86%D9%86-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1-%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%B6%D8%A7%D9%86)</sup>\n\n**Coinage.** Idrisid dirhams, struck in roughly twenty workshops, carried legends reflecting the dynasty's Zaidite confession and insisting on its Alid pedigree; they circulated widely and have been found in hoards as far away as Russia and the Baltic countries.<sup>[5](https://www.qantara-med.org/public/show_document.php?do_id=867&lang=en)</sup>\n\n## Political influence\n\nHe left twelve sons.<sup>[1](https://referenceworks.brill.com/display/entries/EIEO/SIM-3495.xml)</sup> His eldest son Muhammad succeeded and, on the advice of his grandmother Kanza, divided the kingdom among his brothers, retaining Fes himself.<sup>[1](https://referenceworks.brill.com/display/entries/EIEO/SIM-3495.xml)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004525245_006)</sup> On his death the realm was divided among his sons into nine emirates.<sup>[4](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/idris-ii)</sup> After Idris II's death the newly fragmented Idrisid power was never again reunified.<sup>[5](https://www.qantara-med.org/public/show_document.php?do_id=867&lang=en)</sup>\n\n## End of the reign and succession\n\nIdris II died suddenly on 10 Jumada al-Akhira AH 213 at Walila.<sup>[4](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/idris-ii)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004525245_006)</sup> The TDV Islam Ansiklopedisi converts the date to 26 August 828 and gives his age as thirty-six, noting that some sources record he was poisoned by the Aghlabids.<sup>[4](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/idris-ii)</sup> Fenwick dates the death to 213/828 at Walila, at the age of 33, after he choked on a raisin.<sup>[3](https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004525245_006)</sup>\n\nMuhammad ibn Idris succeeded, kept Fes and the central administration, and divided the administration of the emirate among his brothers.<sup>[8](https://uomustansiriyah.edu.iq/media/lectures/8/8_2025_02_21!02_30_25_PM.pdf)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[1](https://referenceworks.brill.com/display/entries/EIEO/SIM-3495.xml)</sup> Fes flourished in his reign: according to a Mustansiriyya University lecture on the Idrisid state, construction multiplied, the suburbs grew, and building extended around the city on every side.<sup>[8](https://uomustansiriyah.edu.iq/media/lectures/8/8_2025_02_21!02_30_25_PM.pdf)</sup> \n\n## Historians' assessment\n\nCorisande Fenwick frames the reign as a case of founding an Islamic state in rivalry with the Abbasid caliphate, resting on Prophetic descent, the imamate, and ceremonies of loyalty.<sup>[3](https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004525245_006)</sup> Qantara-Med judges that, given the fragility of their regime, the Idrisids did not manage to constitute a sophisticated state or institutional apparatus, and that the main trapping of sovereignty they left behind is their abundant coinage.<sup>[5](https://www.qantara-med.org/public/show_document.php?do_id=867&lang=en)</sup> A journal study of Idrisid civilization treats the period from Idris II's reign onward as one of development toward a powerful civilizational and cultural state in the third Islamic century.<sup>[9](https://hiq.bou.ac.ir/article_71611.html?lang=en)</sup>\n## References\n\n1. Idrīsids, Encyclopaedia of Islam, Third Edition: https://referenceworks.brill.com/display/entries/EIEO/SIM-3495.xml\n2. Archnet Authority: Idris II: https://www.archnet.org/authorities/2646\n3. Corisande Fenwick, \"How to Found an Islamic State: The Idrisids as Rivals to the Abbasid Caliphate in the Far Islamic West\": https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004525245_006\n4. İDRÎS II, TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi: https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/idris-ii\n5. The Idrisids (789–974), Qantara-Med: https://www.qantara-med.org/public/show_document.php?do_id=867&lang=en\n6. الحضارة المغربية في عهد الدولة الإدريسية, قصة الإسلام: https://islamstory.com/ar/artical/23994/%D8%B3%D9%86%D9%86-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1-%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%B6%D8%A7%D9%86\n7. إدريس الثاني, Morocco Times: https://www.moroccotimes.info/2021/03/moulay-idriss-second.html\n8. محاضرة: الدولة الإدارسة في المغرب الأقصى, جامعة المستنصرية: https://uomustansiriyah.edu.iq/media/lectures/8/8_2025_02_21!02_30_25_PM.pdf\n9. Manifestations of Civilization in Idrisids Era and Its Cultural Roots, History of Islam journal: https://hiq.bou.ac.ir/article_71611.html?lang=en\n10. archnet.org. https://www.archnet.org/sites/1730\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › Other history › Middle East and North Africa › Maghreb (788 to 1800) › Dynasties and rulers › Early dynasties (788–1147)*\n\n*Initially written Sep 23, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026 · Last review: Sep 30, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n",
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 "credit": "\"Idris II\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/idris-ii. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.",
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 "speakable": "Idris II was the second ruler of the Idrisid dynasty of Morocco, who made Fes the capital and ruled until his death in 828."
}