| House of Hashim الهاشميون Hashemites | |
|---|---|
 Hashemite banner[1] | |
| Parent house | Dhawu Awn, a branch ofBanu Qatadah, ofBanu Hassan, ofBanu Hashim, ofQuraysh |
| Country |
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| Founded | |
| Founder | Hussein bin Ali |
| Current head | |
| Final ruler | |
| Titles | |
| Estate | Cf.Hashemite custodianship of Jerusalem holy sites |
| Deposition |
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TheHashemites (Arabic:الهاشميون,romanized: al-Hāshimiyyūn), officially theHouse of Hashim, are theroyal family ofJordan, which they have ruled since 1921, and were the royal family of the kingdoms ofHejaz (1916–1925),Syria (1920), andIraq (1921–1958). The family had ruled the city ofMecca continuously from the 10th century, frequently asvassals of outside powers, and ruled the thrones of the Hejaz, Syria, Iraq, and Jordan following theirWorld War I alliance with theBritish Empire.
The family belongs to the Dhawu Awn, one of the branches of theḤasanidSharifs of Mecca, also referred to as Hashemites.[2] Their eponymous ancestor is traditionally considered to beHashim ibn Abd Manaf, great-grandfather of theIslamic prophetMuhammad. Another claimed ancestor isAli ibn Abi Talib, the usurped successor of the prophet Muhammad according to Shia Islam.[3] The Ḥasanid Sharifs of Mecca (from whom the Hashemite royal family is directly descended), including the Hashemites' ancestorQatadah ibn Idris,[4] wereZaydīShīʿas until the lateMamluk or earlyOttoman period, when they became followers of theShāfiʿī school ofSunnī Islam.[5]
The current dynasty was founded bySharif Hussein ibn Ali, who was appointed asSharif and Emir of Mecca by the Ottoman sultanAbdul Hamid II in 1908, then in 1916—after concluding asecret agreement with the British Empire—was proclaimed King of Arab countries (but only recognized as King of the Hejaz) after initiating theArab Revolt against theOttoman Empire. His sonsAbdullah andFaisal assumed the thrones of Jordan and Iraq in 1921, and his first sonAli succeeded him in the Hejaz in 1924. This arrangement became known as the "Sharifian solution". Abdullahwas assassinated in 1951, but his descendantscontinue to rule Jordan today. The other two branches of the dynasty did not survive; Aliwas ousted byIbn Saud after the British withdrew their support from Hussein in 1924–1925, and Faisal's grandsonFaisal II was executed in the1958 Iraqi coup d'état.
According to historiansIbn Khaldun andIbn Hazm, inc. 968Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Hasani came fromMedina and conqueredMecca in the name of theFatimidcaliphal-Mu'izz, after the latter hadconquered Egypt from theIkhshidids.[6][7] Jafar was from the widerBanu Hashim clan, albeit a different branch to the modern dynasty. The Banu Hashim claim to trace their ancestry fromHashim ibn Abd Manaf (died c. 497 AD), the great-grandfather ofMuhammad, although the definition today mainly refers to the descendants ofFatimah bint Asad and her sonAli ibn Abi Talib, the usurped successor of the prophet Muhammad according to Shia Islam.[8]
Control of Mecca remained with the clan; when theOttoman Turks took control of Egypt in 1517 AD, Sharif Barakat quickly recognized the change in sovereignty, sending his sonAbu Numayy II to theOttoman sultanSelim I in Cairo, bearing the keys to the holy cities and other gifts. The Ottoman sultan confirmed Barakat and Abu Numayy in their positions as co-rulers of the Hejaz.[9][10][11]
Before World War I,Hussein bin Ali of the Hashemite Dhawu-'Awn clan ruled the Hejaz on behalf of theOttoman sultan. For some time it had been the practice of theSublime Porte to appoint theEmir of Mecca from among a select group of candidates. In 1908, Hussein bin Ali was appointed to theSharifate of Mecca. He found himself increasingly at odds with theYoung Turks in control atIstanbul, while he strove to secure his family's position as hereditary emirs. Hussein bin Ali's lineage and destined position as theSharif of Mecca helped foster the ambition for an independent Arab kingdom and caliphate. These pretensions came to the Ottoman rulers' attention and caused them to "invite" Hussein to Istanbul as the guest of the sultan in order to keep him under direct supervision. Hussein brought his four sons, Ali, Abdullah, Faisal, and Zeid, with him. It was not until after theYoung Turk Revolution that he was able to return to theHijaz and was officially appointed the Sharif.
Of Hussein's four sons, Abdullah was the most politically ambitious and became the planner and driving force behind the Arab revolt. Abdullah received military training in both the Hijaz and Istanbul. He was the deputy for Mecca in the Ottoman Parliament between 1912 and 1914. During this period, Abdullah developed deep interest in Arab nationalism and linked his father's interest for autonomous rule in the Hijaz to complete Arab emancipation.[12] In 1914 he met the British high commissioner,Lord Kitchener, in Cairo to discuss the possibility of the British supporting an Arab uprising against the Turks. The possibility of co-operation was raised but no commitment was made by either side. Shortly after Abdullah returned to Mecca, he became his father's foreign minister, political advisor, and one of the commanders of the Arab Revolt.
Faisal, Hussein's third son, played an active role in the revolt as commander of the Arab army, while the overall leadership was placed in the hands of his father. The idea of an Arab uprising against the Ottoman Empire was first conceived by Abdullah.[13] Only after gradual and persistent nudging did Abdullah convince his father, the conservative Sharif of Mecca, to move from the idea of home rule of a portion of Arabia within the Ottoman Empire to complete and total independence of the entire Empire's Arab provinces. Hussein recognized the necessity of breaking away from the Empire in the beginning of 1914 when he realized that he would not be able to complete his political objectives within the framework of the Ottomans. To have any success with the Arab revolt, the backing of another great power was crucial.
Hussein regarded Arab unity as synonymous with his own kingship. He aspired to have the entireArabian Peninsula, theregion of Syria, andIraq under his – and his descendants' – rule. After a year of fruitless negotiation, SirHenry McMahon conveyed the British government's agreement to recognize Arab independence over an area that was much more limited than that to which Hussein had aspired. The Arab revolt, an Anglo-Hashemite plot in its essence, broke out in June 1916. Britain financed the revolt and supplied arms, provisions, direct artillery support, and experts in desert warfare including the soon to be famousT. E. Lawrence. The Hashemites promised more than they were able to deliver, and their ambitious plan collapsed. There were only a small number of Syrian and Iraqi nationalists who joined under the Sharifan banner while others remained loyal to the Ottoman sultan.
Sharif Hussein bin Ali rebelled against the rule of the Ottomans during theArab Revolt of 1916.[14] For Hashemite contribution to the Allied forces effort to bring down the Ottoman Empire, Britain promised its support for Arab independence. However, theMcMahon–Hussein correspondence left territorial limits governing this promise obscurely defined leading to a long and bitter disagreement between the two sides.
_I_of_Iraq_(left)_probably_with_his_brother_Emir_Abdullah_of_Transjordan%2c_at_the_palace%2c_Baghdad%2c_Iraq_LOC_matpc.13171.jpg)
After the war, the British devised a "Sharifian Solution" to "[make] straight all the tangle" of their various wartime commitments.[16] This proposed that three sons of Sharif Hussein would be installed as kings of newly created countries across the Middle East.[17]
Given the need to rein in expenditure and factors outside British control, including France'sremoving of Faisal from Syria in July 1920, andAbdullah's entry into Transjordan (which had been the southern part of Faisal's Syria) in November 1920, the eventual Sharifian solution was somewhat different, the informal name for a British policy put into effect bySecretary of State for the ColoniesWinston Churchill following the 1921Cairo conference.[18][19]
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Hussein bin Ali had five sons:
Hussein bin Ali continued to rule an independent Hejaz, of which he proclaimed himself king, between 1916 and 1924, after the collapse of Ottoman power, with the tacit support of the BritishForeign Office. His supporters are sometimes referred to as "Sharifians" or the "Sharifian party". Hussein bin Ali's chief rival in the Arabian Peninsula, the king of theNajd (highlands),Ibn Saud, annexed the Hejaz in 1925 and established his own son,Faysal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, as governor. The region was later incorporated intoSaudi Arabia.
InTransjordan, the British governmentgranted its independence in 1921 with Abdullah as ruler. The degree of independence that was afforded to the Arab states by colonial powers was an ongoing issue at the time, however in the case of Transjordan, the independence enjoyed was limited; with substantial influence and control reserved byBritish government in London. In domestic affairs the local ruler was given a considerable amount of power nonetheless; but these powers were exercised in an autocratic manner by the Hashemite family while remaining under the superintendence of theBritish Resident inAmman, as well as the Britishhigh commissioner in Jerusalem.[20] Abdullahwas assassinated in 1951, but his descendantscontinue to rule Jordan today.
In Iraq, the Hashemites ruled for almost four decades, until Faisal's grandsonFaisal II was executed in the1958 Iraqi coup d'état.
The descendants of Iraqi Hashemite princeRa'ad ibn Zaid have been awarded Jordanian citizenship and are addressed in the style of His Royal Highness and Prince in Jordan. Descendants includePrince Zeid bin Ra'ad, a Jordanian diplomat, who served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2014 to 2018, andPrince Mired bin Ra'ad.
A number of Dhawu Awn clansmen migrated with EmirAbdullah I toTransjordan in the early 1920s. Several of their descendants have gained prominent positions in the Jordanian state, including the positions of Chief of the Royal Court, Prime Minister, and Ambassador. Descendants of the Dhawu Awn clansmen are referred to asSharifs and, other than Zaid ibn Shaker, have not been awarded princely title. Examples include former Prime Ministers and Royal Court ChiefsSharif Hussein ibn Nasser,[23]Sharif Abdelhamid Sharaf,[24]Queen Zein Al-Sharaf (wife ofKing Talal and mother of KingHussein) and her brother Sharif Nasser bin Jamil.[25]
Princely title in Jordan is typically restricted only to patrilineal descendants of any of the four sons ofHussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca.
Sharif Ali bin al-Hussein was the leader of theIraqi Constitutional Monarchy political party and currently uses the title "Sharif".
Queen Dina Abdul-Hamid also was a member of the House of Hashim. She was entitled to use the honorific titlesharifa ofMecca as anagnatic descendant ofHasan ibn Ali, the grandson ofMuhammad.
PrinceZaid ibn Shaker, former PM and Commander-in-chief of the Jordanian military, was a member of the Dhawu Awn clan whose father Shaker ibn Zaid migrated to Transjordan with his cousinAbdullah I of Jordan. He was awarded the non-hereditary title of "prince" in 1996. His children, one son and one daughter, are addressed as "Sharifs" – not princes.[26]
TheJa'alin are ofArab origin and trace their origins to Ibrahim Ja'al, anAbbasid noble, whose clan originally hailed from theHejaz in theArabian Peninsula and married into the localNubian population. Ja'al was a descendant ofal-Abbas, an uncle ofMuhammad. The Ja'alin trace their lineage toAbbas, uncle of Muhammad.[27] According to theRoyal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland in 1888, the name Ja'alin does not seem to be derived from any founder of a tribe, but rather from the root Ja'al, an Arabic word meaning "to put" or "to stay", and in this sense it is those who settle.[28] Various researchers have suggested that the Ja'alin areArabizedNubians.[a] A few 19th-century travellers claimed thatNubian was still spoken among them.[32]
The Zaydi denomination of the (Ḥasanid) Sharifian rulers of Mecca and the Imāmi-Shiʿi leanings of the (Ḥosaynid) emirs of Medina were well known to medieval Sunni and Shiʿi observers. This situation gradually changed under Mamluk rule (for the development over several centuries, up to the end of the Mamluk period, see articles by Mortel mentioned in the bibliography below). A number of Shiʿite and Sunnite sources hint at (alleged or real) sympathy for the Shiʿa among the Hāshemite (officially Sunni) families of the Ḥejāz, or at least some of their members
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Jā'alin".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 103. Citation:The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, edited by Count Gleichen (London, 1905)
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