Near East Kingdoms

Hashemites (Arabia)

The prophet Muhammed was born in Mecca around 570 and went on to found the Islamic empire in the seventh century. The focus of the empire shifted away from Mecca towards Baghdad, but it was used as the base for Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr's opposition to the Umayyads. In the tenth century, by agreement, Mecca and Medina came under the control of the sharif of Mecca, while much of the rest of Arabia reverted to a nomadic tribal existence until it was largely unified in 1744. The Hashemites gained the position of sharif in 1201, and retained it thereafter, although they were subservient to various overlords.

The Hashemites claim descent from Ali ibn Abi Talib (Rashidun caliph in 656-661) and his wife, Fatima, daughter of Muhammed. Their base was in the Hijaz region of Arabia, along the Red Sea coast, which was mostly seized by the Al-Saud family in 1932. During the seventh century, the Hashemites and the Umayyads, separate clans of the same Quraish tribe, vied for control of the Islamic empire, but it was the latter who won that struggle.

(Information by Peter Kessler and the John De Cleene Archive, with additional information from Times Atlas of World History (Maplewood, New Jersey, 1979), from Ancient Assyria, C H W Johns (Cambridge University Press, 2012), from Arabians in Mesopotamia during the late-Assyrian, Chaldean, Achaemenian and Hellenistic Periods, R Zadok (ZDMG 131, 1981), from The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia, Trevor Bryce, from Jewish War & Jewish Antiquities, Flavius Josephus, from Petra and the Lost Kingdom of the Nabataeans, Jane Taylor (2001), from The Rulers of Mecca, Gerald de Gaury (George G Harrap & Co, 1991), and from External Links: Encyclopaedia Iranica, and Livius, and Saudi Arabia (Rulers.org).)

Hashemite Sharifs of Mecca (Arabia)
AD 967 - 1629

From AD 909, the Fatamids in today's Tunisia began establishing the Shiite (Sevener) caliphate in North Africa to rival the Orthodox Abbasid caliphate. Eventually they secured Mecca itself, during a period in which the Islamic provinces were experiencing a period of instability. The sharifs were given command shortly after the city was attacked and sacked by a Muslim sect known as the Qarmatians, led by Abu-Tahir Al-Jannabi in 930. Power thereafter remained in North Africa until the rise of the Ottoman empire, and from 1517 Mecca, along with the entire region, was under their overlordship.

967 - 980

First sharif under the Fatamids.

969

Islamic Antioch in Syria is lost to the Eastern Roman empire, taken by Michael Bourtzes and Peter the Eunuch on behalf of Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas. In the same year the Fatamids occupy Egypt and gain much of Syria along with it.

Mecca and the Great Mosque are shown here, also illustrating the long queues of pilgrims entering it in a scene which is repeated every year, even in the modern age

980 - 994

994 - 1039

1039 - 1061

1061 - 1094

1094 - 1101

1201

There is a gap in the known list of sharifs of Mecca which lasts for about a century. The rise of the Ayyubids in Egypt from 1174 eventually restores the situation to normal. Al-Malik al-Adil I manages to acquire territory between his sultanate in Damascus and in Mesopotamia, before he also overthrows al-Mansur in 1200 and rules in Egypt too. The Hashemite dynasty is subsequently introduced as hereditary sharifs of the city.

1201 - 1220

Killed at the age of 90 by Ibn Qatada Al-Hashimi.

c.1210s

The expansion of the Kanem empire in Central Africa peaks during the energetic reign of Dunama Dabbalemi. He initiates diplomatic exchanges with sultans in North Africa and apparently arranges for the establishment of a special hostel in Cairo to facilitate pilgrimages to Mecca.

1220 - 1241

Son.

1241 - 1254

1250 - 1252

In 1250, Shajar ad Durr seizes the Ayyubid sultanate with the support of her Mameluke slave-soldiers, led by Aybak. Eighty days later, she marries Aybak in order to secure the full support of her subjects, before abdicating in her husband's favour, passing all control of the sultanate over to him. The Abbasids still hold the title of caliph and hold court at Cairo, but they are weak and are soon to become puppets of the Mamelukes.

1254 - 1301

1254

Al Ashraf II, the last of the Ayyubid sultans, is removed from his position as figurehead, and the Mameluke leader Aybak takes full control of Egypt.

1301 - 1346

1324 - 1325

Mansa Musa of the Mali empire in West Africa makes the pilgrimage to Mecca with a spectacular caravan. His riches are vast, allowing him to lavish gold and other generosities along the journey and in Mecca. Upon his return in 1325, he learns that one of his generals has conquered the neighbouring Songhai capital.

1346 - 1375

1394 - 1425

1425 - 1455

1455 - 1497

Son. Served from Aug 1455.

1497 - 1525

Son.

1515 - 1517

The Ottoman sultan begins a war against Egypt which ultimately sees the latter conquered. Sultan Qansawh II al Ghawri is killed on 24 August 1515 at the Battle of Merj Dabik. Syria is immediately captured.

1517

Cairo, along with the rest of Egypt and Libya, is conquered by Ottoman empire under Selim I Yavuz. Mecca is part of the Ottoman empire from August of this year and the sharif is nominally subservient to the sultan, although in reality he is largely autonomous.

1525 - 1583

Son.

1543 - 1545

The elder brother of Kamran Mirza of Kabul is Humayun, the exiled Moghul emperor. In 1543 he arrives in Kabul following failed attempts from Amrakot to regain his territory. The two are now implacable enemies, and Humayun is forced to flee to the court of the Safavid shah of Persia. Here he receives enough support to strike out and defeat his brother Askari, governor of Kandahar, and then Kamran in Kabul just two years later, also adding Lahore to his domains. Humayun exiles his surviving brothers to Mecca, while Hindal has already died fighting on his behalf.

1583 - 1601

Son.

1601 - 1610

Son.

1610 - 1628

Son of Hussein.

1628 - 1629

Son of Hasan.

Hashemite Grand Sharifs of Mecca (Arabia)
AD 1629 - 1803

The first grand sharif was Masud I. This was a period of Ottoman domination from Turkey, but the eighteenth century saw that domination begin to weaken as the empire stagnated. As long as taxes were collected and paid on time, and the peace was maintained, the sultans in Constantinople were happy not to interfere. Regional leaders and governors began to assert themselves, most notably the Saudis in eastern Arabia.

1629 - 1630

Son of Idris (1601-1610).

1630 - 1631

Son of Hasan (1583-1601).

1631

The Ottoman empire is still the most powerful state in the region both in wealth and military capability. The personal style of government, however, cultivated among the earlier sultans has vanished. In place of sultanic government, the bureaucracy pretty much runs the show, and cracks begin to appear in the empire's unity during this century.

The Ka'ba inside the Great Mosque at Mecca

1631 - 1666

1632

The Ottoman governor of Egypt, Khalil Pasha, sends out an expeditionary force to the Hejaz to retake Mecca from Yemani tribesmen. Under Al-Mu'ayyad Muhammad, the Yemenis are fighting the Ottomans to create an independent Zaidi state in Yemen.

1666 - 1672

Son.

1669 - 1671

Brother. Governed jointly.

1667 - 1668

Son. Governed jointly.

1670

Son of Abdullah I. Governed jointly.

1672 - 1682

1682

Brother.

1682 - 1683

Son of Barakat III.

1684 - 1688

Son of Zeid (1666-1672). Second term of office.

1688 - 1690

1689 - 1690

Son. Second term of office.

1690 - 1691

1691 - 1694

1693 - 1694

Second term of office.

1694

1694 - 1702

Third term of office.

1702 - 1704

Second term of office.

1704

1704 - 1705

1705

Third term of office.

1705 - 1711

Second term of office.

1711 - 1717

Fourth term of office.

1717 - 1718

1718

Son of Said III.

1718 - 1719

1720 - 1722

1722 - 1723

Son of Yahya.

1723 - 1724

Second term of office.

1724 - 1731

Second term of office.

1731 - 1732

Son.

1732 - 1733

1733 - 1734

Second term of office.

1734 - 1752

Second term of office.

1735

Muhammad I bin Saud gains the emirate of Diriyya (on the north-western edge of Riyadh in eastern-central Arabia) from Zaid bin Markhan. The town becomes his powerbase, and soon serves as the first capital of his expanded emirate of Diriyya.

1744

The emerging power of Muhammad ibn Saud unites with a religious leader named Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab in Nejd in western-central Arabia, just across the Tuwaiq Mountains range from Riyadh.

Wahhab is the proponent of a radical form of Islam, something which forms the basis of Saudi dynastic rule from this point onwards but which is rejected by just about all other Muslims. In fact, Masud ibn Said, grand sharif of Mecca, refuses permission for Wahhabis to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. The qadhi of Mecca publicly denounces them as infidels.

1752 - 1759

Brother.

1752 - 1770

Masaad ibn Said renews the ban on Wahhabis from making the pilgrimage to Mecca. The ban remains effective until April 1770, setting the Wahhabi-supporting Saudis apart from other Muslims.

1759 - 1760

Son.

1760 - 1770

Second term of office.

1770

Brother. In office May-Jul 1770.

1770

Grand Sharif Ahmad ibn Said denies the Wahhabis permission to send a group of holy men to negotiate for approval to make the pilgrimage, effectively continuing the ban on Saudis entering Mecca.

1770 - 1773

1773 - 1788

1773

When Sarur ibn Masaad becomes grand sharif, his conditions are so expensive that the Wahhabis and Saudis refuse to comply. Sarur's second successor, Ghalib ibn Masaad, also denies the Wahhabis permission to make the pilgrimage.

1788

Brother.

1788 - 1803

Brother.

1790

Ghalib begins a fifteen year-long effort to subdue the puritanical Wahhabis and their Saudi supporters. The first six-month campaign under Gahlib's brother, Abdul Aziz ibn Masaad, reaches Anaiza in the Qasim province of central Arabia.

A second raid under Abdul Aziz produces an extended occupation of al Sha'ara in al Qasim. Other raids serve to restore order in Taraba, Ranya, and Bisha. In 1797, Ghalib participates in a fight against the Wahhabis which is so fierce that two thousand are killed, including more than forty sharifs, and Ghalib is forced to withdraw to Mecca. Even an Ottoman force which is sent out in 1797 fails to produce lasting change.

1799 - 1801

Ghalib arranges a temporary truce with the Wahhabis in 1799, and a pilgrimage caravan is permitted across Nejd, being escorted part of the way by the Saudi emir himself, Abd al-Aziz I. This takes place in 1800, but in the following year the Wahhabis violate the truce by capturing Hali on the Red Sea coast, sacking Kerbela in Iraq, and attacking the Iranian pilgrimage.

1802 - 1803

Ghalib recaptures Hali and placed a small garrison there but, in 1802, the Saudi emir overwhelms the garrison. Ghalib's brother-in-law, Othman al Madhaifi, secretly plots with the Saudi ruler, securing a promise to be made emir of Mecca and the tribes of Taif.

Othman captures Taif and Qunfidha on the coast and the Saudi emir advances on Mecca. All pretence has been dropped and warfare is now open against the Ottomans and Mecca's grand sharif. In May 1803, Ghalib withdraws with his troops to Jedda. The Wahhabis enter the city, maintaining good order as they take control.

While they are lenient, they introduce their severe practices, prohibiting smoking and the wearing of silken clothing and requiring regular prayer. Abdul Muin, brother of former Grand Sharif Ghalib ibn Masaad, is made acting governor.

However, when the Saudis besiege Jedda for eleven days and fail to take it, they withdraw to Nejd, allowing Ghalib to retake Mecca. He is allowed by the Saudis to remain in command as long as Wahhabis are exempted from customs duties at Jedda.

Hashemite Emirs & Grand Sharifs of Mecca (Arabia)
AD 1803 - 1917

Mecca was under Ottoman governors from Egypt from 1819 until 1840 while the city was under occupation. As pashas of Mecca, the representatives of Ottoman control, the grand sharifs were also able to claim the title of emir of Mecca, increasing in power until 1916, when Sharif Husayn rebelled.

1803 - 1827

1804

Despite the 1803 peace agreement with Ghalib, Su'ud I of Diriyya continues to attack some of the less compliant tribes. The Harb in particular offer fierce resistance against Saudi attacks, while the Bani Subh of the Harb even avoid surrender, taking to the mountains. The other tribes - and also the city of Medina - surrender in 1804.

1818 - 1822

Unable to spare forces to retake Mecca and Medina in the Hijaz themselves, the Ottomans send Muhammed Ali Pasha, viceroy of Egypt to destroy the 'First Saudi State', although he has already commanded over several years of hostilities in Arabia. He does so in a merciless campaign which ends with the siege of Diriyya. Arabia is temporarily occupied by the pasha's forces. However, the garrisons in Arabia are unable to prevent the rise of a new Saudi state.

1827

Aug-Sep only.

1827 - 1836

1836 - 1843

The position is vacant during the rise of the 'Second Saudi State'. In 1838, Muhammed Ali of Egypt re-occupies Arabia to destroy the Saudis and restore order, but it takes until 1843 before that mission is fully achieved.

1840 - 1851

Second term of office.

1840 - 1851

Muhammad ibn Abdul Muin, emir and grand sharif of Mecca for the second time, attacks Diriyya, making the province of al Qasim, to the north of Riyadh, autonomous from Diriyya itself. The act also forces Faisal I to pay tribute. Even more so, it enables a sheikh of the Abda division of the Shammar tribe to detach his people from Diriyya, forming the emirate of Jebel Shammar, with its capital at Hail.

1851 - 1856

Second term of office. Died 1886.

1856 - 1858

Third term of office.

1858 - 1877

1877 - 1880

1880 - 1882

Third term of office.

1882 - 1905

1887

The Rashidis are ascendant in central Arabia, reducing the Saudis from emirs to to the position of governor. Jebel Shammar conquers the remnants of Diriyya. Keeping an eye on all this regional bickering is the sharif of Mecca & Hijaz who continues to hold pre-eminence in the region now that the Saudis have been reduced.

1905 - 1908

1908 - 1916

Son. Commanded the 'Arab Revolt'. King of Hijaz in 1916.

1916

Ottoman sharif appointed to replace Husayn, unsuccessfully.

1916

Husayn is opposed in Medina by Ali Haidar Pasha, the Ottoman-designated sharif to replace Husayn, ultimately unsuccessfully.

Hashemite Kings of the Hijaz & Grand Sharifs of Mecca (Arabia)
AD 1916 - 1925

The 'Arab Revolt' which took place between 1916-1918 against the Ottoman empire was led by Husayn's eldest son, Faysal. Operations on the ground were commanded jointly by Sharif Ali, and British Army officer T E Lawrence. Lawrence managed to combine the power of several Arab tribes to drive the Turks north in a series of campaigns in coordination with the British forces in the Near East. Once the Arabs captured Damascus they secured a semblance of power (very well depicted in the feature film Lawrence of Arabia). In subsequent bargaining with the British who now controlled the region, Husayn claimed his own Saudi-dominated Arabia and Faysal became king of Greater Syria.

1916 - 1925

King. Final claimant of Islamic caliphate (1924-1925). Died 1931.

1922

Britain assumes official governance of Palestine under the terms of its League of Nations mandate. At this time, Palestine encompasses not only modern Israel and the Palestinian West Bank, but all of the Transjordan territory to the east of the river of the same name.

1923 - 1924

The Ottoman empire collapses and on 29 October 1923 a republic of Turkey is declared. On 1 November the newly founded parliament formally dissolves the sultanate, and in the same year British-administered Transjordan is separated from Palestine. On 1 March 1924, the caliphate is formally abolished, and two days later the title is claimed by Husayn. The claim is not met with universal support from fellow Arabs, especially the Saudis, who care nothing of it.

The 'Arab Revolt' of 1916-1918 was encouraged by the British as a diversion against Ottoman resistance which was also attempting to hold back the British main military advance, but even so the revolt played a vital part in destroying Ottoman hegemony over Arabia

1925

Son of Husayn. King. Last grand sharif. Died 1934.

1925

The Hashemites are overthrown in Arabia by Abdul Aziz. The Saudi Abdul Aziz declares himself king of the Hijaz in 1926. Hashemite rule to the north of Arabia continues with Husayn's sons, with Abdullah in Transjordan, and Faysal in Iraq. Husayn and Ali both find a new home in Transjordan, where Husayn continues to use the title of caliph without universal acceptance. The title is restored by the Islamic State in 2014.

Hashemite Transjordan (British Mandate)
AD 1918 - 1946

The area of modern Jordan which lies on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea was, in the second and first millennia BC, part of the kingdoms of Edom and Moab. Successive empires then controlled the region, including those of Babylon, the Persians, and the Seleucid Greeks, before a period of fragmentation in which the Nabataeans and Kedarites flourished. Then Rome became the main authority, although inroads were made by the Parthians and Sassanids. The Byzantines lost the region to the Islamic empire in the seventh century and this, in turn, was taken over by the Ottoman empire. The 'Arab Revolt' (led by the Hashemites) and the British campaign of 1916-1918 pushed them out, eventually paving the way for Arab independence following the conclusion of the Second World War.

1918 - 1922

Transjordan is controlled by the British military forces that had been instrumental in freeing all of Palestine of Ottoman control (the initial steps towards this control are shown in the feature film Lawrence of Arabia).

1921 - 1949

Son of Husayn. Emir (1921-1946), and then first king of Jordan.

1922

Britain assumes official governance of Palestine under the terms of its League of Nations mandate. At this time, Palestine encompasses not only modern Israel and the West Bank, but all of the Transjordan territory to the east of the river of the same name.

Emir Abdullah I was the principal Hashemite ruler of the Transjordan section of former Palestine during the British mandate period until 1948

1923

The Jordan state is created as a British protectorate to be governed by Abdullah, partly in reward for his agreement not to attack French-held Syria following their expulsion of his brother, Faysal in 1920.

1937

On 7 July the British 'Peel Commission' recommends partitioning Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states. Abdullah supports this as it means the Arab section will be incorporated into Transjordan. While the Jewish population reluctantly accepts the commission's findings, the other Arabs states do not, and it is eventually dropped.

1946

Following the conclusion of the Second World War, in which Jordan had remained a staunch ally of Britain, the British mandate for Transjordan comes to an end. The emirate's independence is announced on 25 May, as the 'Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan'.

Hashemite Kingdom of (the) Jordan
AD 1946 - Present Day

Modern Jordan is an important player in the region's politics, and is respected for its relative stability. With a capital at Amman in the north-west, the country is bordered to the east and south by Saudi Arabia, to the west by Israel and the Palestinian West Bank, to the north by Syria, and to the north-east by Iraq.

The region has a long history of human habitation, lying as it does on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean section of the Fertile Crescent. In the second and first millennia BC, it formed part of the kingdoms of Edom and Moab. Successive empires then controlled the region before a period of fragmentation in which the Nabataeans and Kedarites flourished. Then Rome and their successors, the Byzantines, held it before losing control to the Islamic empire in the seventh century. This, in turn, was succeeded by the Ottoman empire. The Great Arab Revolt and the British campaign of 1916-1918 pushed them out, eventually paving the way for Arab independence.

The kingdom of Jordan was founded on 25 May 1946, initially as the 'Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan', although the regional name was soon shortened, in 1949, to Jordan. The king rules as the head of a constitutional monarchy, albeit one with significant power in the hands of the king himself, something which led to limited protests during 2011. Modern Jordan is home to the descendants of so many Palestinian refugees that they actually outnumber the original population of East Bank Jordanians and, partially as a result of this, the country struggles to be economically and financially successful. It does, however, have the famed ruins of Petra within its borders as one of the world's biggest tourist-pullers.

(Additional information by Allan Rousso, and from External Link: Jordanian prince's alleged coup attempt (The Guardian).)

1946 - 1951

Founder, and former emir of Transjordan. Assassinated.

1948 - 1949

On the day following the proclamation of the creation of the state of Israel, the neighbouring Arab states of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria attack, prompting the start of the Arab-Israeli War. Saudi Arabia sends its own military contingent to support the Egyptians. The war lasts for a year before a ceasefire is agreed. The Green Line is established - temporary borders which can generally be agreed by all sides. Egypt gains the Gaza Strip while Jordan controls East Jerusalem and the West Bank region, but an estimated 700,000 Palestinians have been expelled or have fled their homeland, mostly to enter southern Lebanon or Jordan.

1948 - 1949

The British mandate for Palestine ends and the state of Israel is proclaimed by Jewish groups on 15 May 1948. The Arab Legion, the reserve force founded in 1923 which forms Jordan's army, enters post-mandate Palestine and secures the annexation of the West Bank for Transjordan.

1951

Abdullah is assassinated by a Palestinian who is fearful that the king will reach a separate peace agreement with Israel regarding the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-1949. The king's grandson, Hussein, is also shot at, but survives.

Hussein became king in 1952, steering the kingdom through difficult times in relations with Israel and during the extended the Palestinian troubles

1951 - 1952

Son. Abdicated due to health reasons. Died 1972.

1952 - 1999

Son. Born 1935. Pronounced clinically dead 05/02. d.07/02- cancer.

1967

Amid ever-increasing tensions and acrimonious relations with Israel, Egypt expels the UN peacekeepers from the Sinai and announces a partial blockade of Israel's access to the Red Sea. Expecting further military action, several Arab states begin to mobilise their troops. Israel sees this as reason enough to launch a pre-emptive attack against Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and Syria, triggering the Six Day War.

Jordan loses the Palestinian West Bank and East Jerusalem, a third of the kingdom, while Israel also gains the Golan Heights and the ancient region of Bashan from Syria, and the Gaza Strip from Egypt, and also temporarily occupies the Sinai peninsula for a second time. Jordan is also overwhelmed by the numbers of Palestinian refugees which enter the country, significantly changing the balance of the population, which is now biased away from the outnumbered native Jordanians.

1973

The Yom Kippur War (alternatively known as the Arab-Israeli War of 1973) sees the combined forces of Egypt and Syria simultaneously attack Israel during its highest holiday. Jordan does not actively participate in the conflict as it is still licking the wounds suffered in 1967. The Syrian army is held and repulsed by the Israelis while the Egyptian armies take longer to pin back. The war ends in an imposed ceasefire, supported by the USA (backers of the Israelis) and Soviet Russia (supporting the Arab forces) as tension rises between the two superpowers.

1991

The 'Madrid Conference' is organised to reignite the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The conference is the result of eight months of shuttle diplomacy by the US secretary of state. attended by Israeli, Egyptian, Syrian, and Lebanese delegations, as well as a joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation. For the first time, all of the parties to the Arab-Israeli conflict have gathered to hold direct negotiations, an historically unprecedented event.

1999 - Present

Son. Born 1962. Named crown prince on 25 January 1999.

1999 - 2004

Half-brother. Removed from the position by Abdullah.

2011

A wave of popular protests against a deeply unpopular and dictatorial government forces the president of Tunisia to flee to Saudi Arabia, paving the way for fresh elections and a new start. The protests strike a chord in Arabs across North Africa and the Near East, and similar protests are triggered in Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Syria and Yemen. In Jordan, where freedom is much less restricted, protests are limited and poorly supported. However, when civil war is sparked in Syria, Jordan is forced to accept some 600,000 refugees.

2021

Former Crown Prince Hamzah is detained by King Abdullah after organising what would have developed into a full-blown coup attempt. One of the king's cousins, Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, is also involved. The attempt is uncovered after Prince Hamzah approaches a US diplomat to secure approval and support for the attempt. The US passes on the information to the king.

Son of Abdullah. Named crown prince on 2 July 2009.