Idris I of Morocco

Idris I (or Idris ibn Abdullah) (Arabic: إدريس بن عبدالله‎ Idrīs ibn ‘Abdallāh) was the first ruler and founder of the Idrisid dynasty and also of the kingdom of Morocco, ruling from 788 to 791. He is credited with founding the dynasty that was instrumental in the early Islamization of Morocco.

History

Idris was the great grandchild of Hasan, who was the son of Fatimah and grandson of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. His brothers Muhammad and Ibrahim had been killed by the Abbasids during an abortive rebellion, and Idris himself escaped after the defeat of another Alid uprising at the Battle of Fakhkh in 786 and took refuge in the western Maghreb (nowadays Morocco). There he established the Idrisid dynasty.

In 789 arrived in Walīla, the site of the Roman Volubilis where he founded the town of Moulay Idriss near the hill of Zerhoun surrounding the native Berber tribes. It was then occupied by the Berber tribe of the Awraba, under Ishaq ibn Mohammed. He married Kanza, daughter of Ishaq ben Mohammed the king of the tribe, fathering a son, Idris II. This event is considered a consolidation and the birth of both the Idrisid dynasty and the birth of Morocco, the second Muslim State after Al-Andalus to cut off relationships and become independent from the Muslim Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad.

Idriss I Dam

The Idriss I Dam, also known as the Idriss the First Dam, is a gravity dam on the Inaouen River, a tributary of the Sebou River. The dam is situated in the Gharb Basin and is located 27 kilometres (17 mi) northeast of Fes in Taounate Province, Morocco. The dam serves to provide irrigation for 72,300 hectares (179,000 acres) of land and its power plant generates 66 GWh of electricity annually. It is named after Idriss I It has come under criticism since it failed to deliver irrigation to the projected number of acres and it has also denied water use to historical downstream agricultural and residential users.

Environmental issues

A number of water pollutants enter the Sebou River and its tributaries, notably including pesticides and fertilisers from agricultural runoff and untreated sewage from towns along the river. In the upper parts of the watershed within the Middle Atlas is the prehistoric range of the endangered primate Barbary macaque, which animal prehistorically had a much larger range in North Africa.