Idris I (known as Moulay Idris) was a descendant of
Muhammad who fled from
Abbasid-controlled territory after the
Battle of Fakh because he had supported the defeated pro-
Shi'a rebels. He established himself at Oualili (
Volubilis), a formerly
Roman town which by then was mostly inhabited by
Berbers and a small population of
Judeo-Christian heritage. He used his prestige as a descendant of Muhammad to forge an alliance with local Berber tribes (in particular the
Awraba) in 789 and quickly became the most important religious and political leader in the region. As the old site of Roman Volubilis was located on an open plain and considered vulnerable, the settlement moved up a few kilometers towards the mountains, presumably around the site of the current town of Moulay Idriss, leaving the old Roman ruins abandoned. Idris I died soon after in 791, possibly poisoned on the order of the Abbasid
caliph Harun al-Rashid, just before his son Idris (II) was born. The early history of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun (sometimes called simply Moulay Idriss) as a town is not widely discussed by historians. A mausoleum for Idris I presumably existed on this site, overlooking Volubilis/Oualili, since his death. The tomb was probably placed inside a
qubba (general term for a domed building or structure), and the name Oualili was eventually replaced by the name Moulay Idriss. Although the town became a site of pilgrimage early on, after Idris II it was quickly overshadowed by Fes, which became the most important city of the region. == Geography ==