Rāšid et les Idrissides: l’histoire “originelle” du Maroc entre marginalisation et glorification

Abstract

The dynasty of Idrisids is considered as the first of Morocco’s Islamic history. Nevertheless only the two figures of Idrīs I and Idrīs II are known by the general public and take up the specialists’ attentions. The character of Rāsid is completely left apart by the researchers. And yet he is the one who led future Idrīs I from Mecca to Volubilis, the one who succeeded him as head of the state and who had governed the country for twelve years (three times longer than Idrīs), and finally the one who minted coins with his name. I recently deal with this question in another article: the coins are from Volubilis, but also from the capital of the Rustumides, Tāhirt, that Rāsid certainly conquered. Moreover, he could have founded Fez for the first coins are minted in the city during his regency. All of this leads us to believe that this mysterious figure has played an important role and deserves a bigger place in the history books than he has today.