Hashemi

format_list_bulleted Contenido keyboard_arrow_down

ImprimirCitar

Hashimite, Hashimite or Hashimite (Arabic: هاشمي‎) is the name given to an Arab lineage, currently reigning in Jordan and present in Morocco, which comes from the Banu Háshim or sons of Háshim, one of the most important clans of the ancient Quraish tribe, based in in Mecca, and to which Muhammad belonged (name that is usually transcribed in romanized Arabic as Muhammad).

Hashemites of the Hijaz

See also: Hiyaz

The name Hashemis is due to Háshim ibn Abd al-Manaf (died c. 510), Muhammad's great-grandfather. The Banu Háshim or ancient Hashemite clan is characterized by its struggle in the early days of Islam against the Umayyads, a rival clan from the same Quraish tribe, for control of the young Islamic State. After the Umayyads were replaced by the Abbasids, they tried to present themselves as representatives of the Hashemis, since they traced their lineage back to a Hashemite, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttálib, Muhammad's uncle.

Since the 10th century, the Hashemis have held the position of Sherifs of Mecca, in charge of protecting the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, in the Hijaz (a region of Arabia on the Red Sea coast). In the 16th century they abide by the authority of the Ottoman Empire, although they continued to have a wide autonomy of action in their domains. For a time it was the Ottomans who chose the Sherif of Mecca from among a series of candidates, the choice always falling on a Hashemite.

In 1908 Husáin ibn Ali was elected, who tried to obtain from the Sublime Porte the recognition of the hereditary nature of the title in his descendants. However, the outbreak of the First World War and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire led to Husain proclaiming himself King of the Hijaz in 1916, after the uprising known as the Arab Rebellion and with the support of the British Foreign Office.

Husain reigns over an independent Hijaz until 1924, when it is conquered by the Saudis.

Iraq and Syria Hashemis

The United Kingdom divided up part of the former Ottoman domains in the Middle East among Husayn's sons: the youngest son, Féisal, was proclaimed King of Syria in 1920; His second son, Abd Allah was proclaimed King of Iraq while the eldest of his three sons, Ali stayed in the Hijaz to inherit his father's kingdom.

Féisal's reign in Syria was short-lived, as that area was under the control of France, which was not willing to admit the reign of someone placed by the British in its area. As a consequence, the Hashemis and their supporters were expelled from Syria.

In return, the British offered the throne of Iraq to Féisal (known as Féisal I), but now, they had to place Abd Allah somewhere, so they ended up creating the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, a country literally sprung from nowhere, with very scarce water resources, and in which the vast majority of the territory is an arid desert.

King Féisal II, grandson of the previous Féisal and son of Ghazi I, of Iraq, does not have better luck, because despite managing to quell the nationalist revolt that took place during World War II, in 1958 he was dethroned by Colonel Qásim, a revolutionary nationalist who shot members of the royal family.

However, King Abd Allah of Jordan finally achieved the independence of his country in 1949 by uniting the former province of Transjordan with the territories that the UN left out of the state of Israel.