The Hashemite Dynasty

The Hashemite family has become interwoven into the life of Jordan, having ruled it since the establishment of the modern state in 1923. It is impossible, therefore, to understand the fabric of Jordan's modern history without some knowledge of its leading strand. The Hashemites, or "Bani Hashem," are descendants of the Arab chieftain Quraysh, who first came to the holy city of Mecca during the second century A.D. The first descendent of Quraysh to rule the city came six generations later, when Qussay ascended to the leadership of Mecca in the year A.D. 480. The name "Hashem" is actually that of Qusayy's grandson, who was the great-grandfather of the Prophet Muhammad. The Hashemites are thus the direct descendants of Prophet through his daughter Fatima and her husband Ali bin Abi Talib, who was also the Prophets paternal first cousin and the fourth caliph of Islam.

Ali and Fatima had two sons: Hassan and Hussein. The direct descendants of their eldest son, Hassan, are knows as "Sharifs" (nobles), while the descendants of Hussein are called "Sayyids"(lords). King Hussein bin Talal is the head of the Sharifian branch of the Hashemite lineage, and he represents the forty-second generation of direct male descent from the Prophet Muhammad.

Various Sharifian families ruled over the Hijaz region of Arabia between A.D. 967 and 1201. Moreover, the descendants of the Sharifian patriarch Qutada ruled over Mecca, Medina and the Hijaz in unbroken succession from 1201 until 1925, although they recognized the sovereignty of the Ottoman sultan in 1517. This makes King Hussein the head of a family which, in addition to being directly descended from the Prophet, also represents over one thousand years of rule in the area, and almost two thousand years of recorded presence in the holy city of Mecca.

Source:  Keys to the Kingdom, Jordan Media Group, Amman - Jordan. 1995