On the western side of the plain of Fez, is a village con taining the sanctuary of Sidi Idris, the founder and first sovereign of Fez ; and this asylum, to which malefactors frequently betake themselves, is never violated by the em peror, or any other authority in his dominions. The coun try part of this provi•Ice is inhabited altogether by Arabs, except a-small tribe of Berebbers. See Jackson's Account of Morocco, p. 13 ; Chenier's Present State of Morocco, vol. i. ; Modern Univ. Hist. vol. xviii.; and Mayfair's Geo. grafiky, vol. vi. (q) FEZ, formerly a distinct kingdom, and the first esta blished Mahometan sovereignty in West Barbary, contain ed seven provinces, viz. Fez, El Garb, Errif, Benihassan, Temsena, Shawiya, and Tcdla. The first of these has been described above ; and the rest will be found under the article Monocco, with which they are now united as one empire. Of that empire, in short, the kingdom of Fez forms the northern division, and is separated from it by the river Morbeya on the south. It is bounded on the east by Algiers, and on the north and west by the sea. It is in habited chiefly by Arabs, who dwell in tents, and are di vided into various tribes ; but the mountainous districts of Atlas are occupied by Berebbers. The kingdom of Fez owes its origin to Sidi Idris, a descendant of Mahomet, who fled into Mauritania about the end of the eighth cen tury, to avoid the persecuting sword of the Caliph Abd Allah. He first settled at Tuilit, in the mountain of Zaa von, or Zerone, between Fez and Mequinez, where he spread the religion of Mahomet, and acquired by his vir tues so great influence among the natives, that they be came desirous to live under his government, as well as to adopt his religious creed. According to some authors, it was the son of this person, named also Idris, who founded the city, and established the monarchy of Fez, which was for a long time called by the Mahometans the court or kingdom of the 'West. The descendants of this prince con tinued to reign about 150 years ; but during the tenth cen tury great divisions began to prevail, and crowds of usur pers arose in the west of Barbary. The tribe of Zenetes, called Mequincsi, seized upon several provinces, and founded the city of Mequinez, within ten leagues of the capital. A marabout of that tribe, having by fanatical predictions seduced the minds of the people from the family of Idris, formed a considerable party in the pro vince of Temsena, and marched against the king of Fez, who was thus forced to acknowledge the authority of the Zenetes at Mequinez. Another of these innovators, who professed to be a descendant of All and Fatima, proclaim ed himself El-Mohadi, or pontiff of the Mussulmans, and accused the house of Idris of following a heretical sect. Ile succeeded in expelling the princes of that family from their governments ;* and having declared himself Caliph, he marched towards Mount Atlas to extend his domi nions. While he was thus engaged in the South, Al Habed Almonsor, one of the generals of the king of Cor dova, arrived with an army to aid the house of Idris; and, having conquered a part of the kingdom of Fez, garri soned the city of Arzilla, which remained for some time under the government of the Moors in Spain. El-Mohadi,
by this diminution of his power, and by the hatred which he excited by his cruelties, was unable to retain his usurped authority in Fez, and was obliged to pass into the eastern part of Africa. The whole of north ern Africa was, at this time, torn by divisions, in conse quence of a tradition, that, 300 years after Mahomet, ano ther director of the faithful should come from the West.
Various impostors, profiting by this belief, attempted to seize the supreme power, and were successively displaced by new, pretenders. About the middle of the eleventh century, Abu Tessifin, chief of the Morabethoons, or Mo rabites,* a tribe which originated in the neighbourhood of Tunis, traversed Mount Atlas at the head of a numerous army, and took possession of the city of Agmet. Here he fixed his residence, and extending his conquests north wards, proclaimed himself Emir El Mumenin, the chief of the faithful. His arms were constantly victorious; and, after various battles with the petty monarchs who held the different cities, he remained sovereign of Mauritania ; and founded the dynasty of the Morabites, or as they are term ed by the Spanish writers the Almoravides. He was suc ceeded in 1086 by his son Yusef, who founded or rather finished the city of Maroksh, or Morocco, which his fa ther had begun ; and there established the seat of his em pire. A multitude of Zenetes, having begun to propa gate new errors and innovations in the province of Tem sena, he sent several Morabites to recal the people to their former tenets ; but, instead of listening to their rea sonings and remonstrances, the adherents of the new doc trines put them all to death, when assembled at Anafai. Enraged by this inhuman treatment of his ambassadors, Yusef passed the Morbeya with a powerful army, and ra vaged the country of the offenders with fire and sword. The Zenetes, unable to oppose his progress, retreated towards Fez, demanding aid from its sovereign ; but this prince, instead of affording them protection, marched against them as invaders ; and coming up with them on the banks of the Buregreb, when they were harassed with hunger and fatigue, he cut the greater part of them to pieces. Yusef having rendered Temsena a complete de sert, returned victorious to Morocco; but the desolated province, having been repeopled by colonies from the kingdom of Fez, he embraced the first opportunity of at tacking the king of that country, Having entered the ter ritories of his neighbour with a numerous army, and gain ed a decisive victory over his forces, he deprived him of his kingdom, and united it to the empire of Morocco, about the end of the eleventh century. See Mod. Univ. Hist. vol. xviii.; Chenier's Present State of Morocco, vol. ii. ; Playfair's Geog. vol. vi. and Jackson's Ac. of Morocco. (g)