The history of Jews in Morocco goes back to antiquity. There are numerous legends which claim that they settled in the country before the destruction of the First Temple. Fez was founded by Idris I in 789 and became the capital of the kingdom in 808 under Idris II. The first inhabitants of Fez were pagan Berbers, but it also included a large number of Jews who paid him an annual tax. The Jewish population and rabbinical scholarship grew and continued uninterrupted for many centuries in this city until Jews were expelled with the creation of modern Israel. While biographies of many scholars have come down through the ages, the majority remain unknown and their existence survives only from the decrees and letters that have survived the tribulations of Moroccan Arabs and peasants, as this lot.