The Hashemite name is derived from Hashem, a grandson of Qusai and the great-grandfather of the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him). The Hashemites of Jordan are thus direct descendants of the Prophet through his daughter, Fatima, and her husband, Ali.
Ali and Fatima had two sons: Al-Hassan and Al-Hussein. The direct descendants of their eldest son, Hassan, are known as “Sharifs” (nobles), while the descendants of Hussein are called “Sayyids” (lords). Hassan was the last of this line to hold disputed claim to the caliphate, but his progeny eventually established themselves as hereditary emirs of Mecca, the role continuing under Ottoman rule.
They ruled Mecca for 724 years (598-1344 Hijri, corresponding to 1201-1925 AD). Under the Hashemite banner and his father’s inspiration, Abdullah (the founder of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan) led the Arab forces of the Great Arab Revolt, with his brothers Ali, Feisal and Zeid against the Ottoman occupational forces.
By the end of the First World War, they had liberated Damascus, modern Jordan, and most of the Arabian Peninsula.
The royal family of Jordan, the Hashemites, is descended through the Sharifian branch of lineage, in which they have ruled Jordan since 1921, and were the royal family of the kingdoms of Hejaz (1916–1925), Syria (1920), and Iraq (1921–1958), following their World War I alliance with the British Empire; this arrangement became known as the "Sharifian solution".
Hashemite royal family of Jordan
