The first Mellah of Morocco was created in the city of Fez. Fez had long hosted the largest and one of the oldest Jewish communities in Morocco, present since the city's foundation by the Idrisids (in the late 8th or early 9th century). Since the time of Idris II (early 9th century) a Jewish community was concentrated in the neighbourhood known as Foundouk el-Yihoudi ("Caravanserai of the Jew") near Bab Guissa in the northeast of the city. Nonetheless, historical evidence also shows that the Jewish population was widely distributed in many parts of the old city (Fes el Bali) alongside the Muslim population, including near the University of al-Qarawiyyin in the heart of the city.