Al-Qasim ibn Idris was an

Idrisid The Idrisid dynasty or Idrisids ( ') were an Arab Muslim dynasty from 788 to 974, ruling most of present-day Morocco and parts of present-day western Algeria. Named after the founder, Idris I, the Idrisids were an Alid dynasty descended from Mu ...

prince and ruler in parts of

Morocco 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 Algeria–Morocc ...

during the 9th century.

Life

Al-Qasim was a younger son of the second

ruler of

Idris II Idrīs ibn Idrīs () known as Idris II () and Idrīs al-Azhar/al-Aṣghar () (August 791 – August 828), was the son of Idris I of Morocco, Idris I, the founder of the Idrisid dynasty in Morocco. He was born in Volubilis, Walīlī two months aft ...

(). Upon the death of Idris II, al-Qasim's oldest brother

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

succeeded to the throne, but divided much of the country among his younger brothers. Thus al-Qasim received rule over

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

and

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

in the north. When another brother, Isa, rose in revolt, al-Qasim refused to support Muhammad, and was attacked and deprived of his domains by another brother,

Umar Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Mu ...

. Al-Qasim outlived his brother and the latter's sons, and in the reign of his great-nephew,

Yahya II Yahya ibn Yahya () was the sixth Idrisid ruler of Morocco, and the last of the main branch of the dynasty. Life Yahya was the namesake son of the fifth Idrisid emir, Yahya ibn Muhammad, and came to power in 863. Unlike the consolidating tendenci ...

(), his family received governance of the western half of the Idrisid capital,

Fes Fez () or Fes (; ) 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 nort ...

, along with the eastern frontier provinces of the

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

tribes of Luwata and

Kutama The Kutama (Berber: ''Ikutamen''; ) were a Berber tribe in northern Algeria classified among the Berber confederation of the Bavares. The Kutama are attested much earlier, in the form ''Koidamousii'' by the Greek geographer Ptolemy. The Kutama p ...

. Towards the end of the 9th century, the family of al-Qasim remained in control of northern Morocco (Tangier, Basra,

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain#Autonomous cities, autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta is one of th ...

), and his son, Yahya III, ruled over Fes for a while after evicting the

Kharijite The Kharijites (, singular ) were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the conflict with his challeng ...

rebel Abd al-Razzaq from the city. The last Idrisid rulers all descended from al-Qasim via his son Muhammad.

Genealogy

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Qasim ibn Idris Idrisid dynasty Royalty from Fez, Morocco 9th-century monarchs in Africa 9th-century Moroccan people Year of birth unknown 9th-century Arab people