House of Hashim / Hashmi's | |
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Coats of arms of Jordan, Iraq, and Hejaz |
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Country | Hejaz (in present-day Saudi Arabia), Syria, Iraq, Jordan |
Parent house | Dhawu Awn, a branch of Banu Qatadah, of Banu Hasan, of Banu Hashim, of Quraysh |
Titles | |
Founded | 1916 in Hejaz 1920 in Syria 1921 in Iraq and Jordan |
Founder | Hussein ibn Ali |
Final ruler |
Ali in Hejaz Faisal I in Syria Faisal II in Iraq |
Current head |
Jordan: Abdullah II Iraq: Ra'ad bin Zeid |
Deposition | 1925 in Hejaz (Saudi conquest) 1920 in Syria (Franco-Syrian War) 1958 in Iraq (14 July Revolution) |
The House of Hashim, better known as the Hashemites Hashmi (Arabic: الهاشميون, al-Hāshimīyūn; also "Hashimites" or "Hashimids"), are the royal family of the Hejaz (1916–1925), Iraq (1921–1958), and Jordan (1921–present). The family belongs to the Dhawu Awn, one of the branches of the Hasanid Sharifs of Mecca – also referred to as Hashemites – who ruled Mecca continuously from the 10th century until its conquest by the House of Saud in 1924. Their eponymous ancestor is Hashim ibn Abd Manaf, great-grandfather of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.
The current dynasty was founded by Sharif Hussein ibn Ali, who was appointed as Sharif and Emir of Mecca by Sultan Abdul Hamid II in 1908, then in 1916 was proclaimed King of the Arab Lands (but only recognized as King of the Hejaz) after initiating the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire. His sons Abdullah and Faisal assumed the thrones of Jordan and Iraq in 1921. The dynasty is the oldest ruling dynasty in the Islamic World, and the second-oldest in the world.
The Hashemites claim to trace their ancestry from Hashim ibn 'Abd Manaf (died c. 497 AD), the great-grandfather of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, although the definition today mainly refers to the descendants of Muhammad's daughter Fatimah. The early history of the Hashemites saw them in a continuous struggle against the Umayyads for control over who would be the caliph or successor to Muhammad. The Umayyads were of the same tribe as the Hashemites, but a different clan. After the overthrow of the Umayyads, the Abbasids would present themselves as representatives of the Hashemites, as they claimed descent from Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, an uncle of Muhammad. Muhammad's father had died before he was born, and his mother died while he was a child, so Muhammad was raised by his uncle Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, chief of the Hashemites.