HASHIMITE HOUSE (HOUSE OF HASHIM)

Notable family from Hijaz whose members are Sharifs (descendants of the prophet Muhammad through his grandson Hasan) and who have occupied leadership positions in the twentieth-century Arab world.

The Hashimites are a family whose origins lie in Quraysh family in the Hijaz. Husayn ibn Ali (1852–1931) was appointed Ottoman governor of Hijaz in 1908, later breaking with the Ottomans and leading the Arab Revolt in coordination with the British and with urban Arab nationalists in Syria. Members of the Hashimite family went on to establish three monarchical lines after World War I. The first was the short-lived Kingdom of Hijaz. Husayn was proclaimed king of Hijaz in 1924. He abdicated in favor of his eldest son, Ali (1879–1935), but Hashimite rule in their native Hijaz ended when Ali was defeated in 1925 by their archrival, Abd al-Aziz ibn Saʿud Al Saʿud.

The other two Hashimite dynasties were creations of British imperial policies. The British established Husayn's second son, Abdullah I ibn Hussein (1882–1951), as amir (prince) of Transjordan in 1920. He headed an autonomous government within the rubric of the Palestine Mandate. Trans-jordan was renamed the Hashimite Kingdom of Jordan in 1946. Abdullah was succeeded by his son, Talal ibn Abdullah (1909–1972), his grandson, Hussein ibn Talal (1935–1999), and his great-grandson, Abdullah II ibn Hussein (1962–).

Husayn ibn Ali's third son, Faisal I ibn Hussein (1889–1933), was proclaimed king of Syria by a gathering of Arab nationalists in 1920, but saw his rule end with a French occupation that same year. The British then installed him as king of Iraq in 1921. He was succeeded by his son, Ghazi ibn Faisal (1912–1939). Upon Ghazi's death, Abd al-Ilah (son of Ali ibn Husayn) served as regent until Ghazi's son Faisal II ibn Ghazi (1935–1958) was old enough to serve as king. The Hashimite monarchy in Iraq was violently overthrown in a military coup in July 1958. Husayn ibn Ali's fourth and youngest son, Zayd (1898–1970), occupied no leadership positions.

The family always has stressed its Arab nationalist credentials, as well as its sharifian lineage, attempting to turn these into important sources of legitimacy.

See also abdullah i ibn hussein; abdullah ii ibn hussein; faisal i ibn hussein; husayn ibn ali; hussein ibn talal; jordan.

michael r. fischbach