Sharif of Mecca
From Academic Kids
The Sharif of Mecca — sometimes the Sheriff of Makkah, with many other variant spellings; Sherif is very common and is the one that, for example, T.E. Lawrence uses in Seven Pillars of Wisdom — was the traditional steward of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The sharif was charged with protecting the cities and their environs and ensuring the safety of pilgrims performing the Hadj. The term Sharif (literally, noble in Arabic) is a tribal title given to the protector of the tribe's members, assets, and lands.
Since 1201, the Sharifate was held by a member of the House of Hashem, which traces its lineage back to Al-Hassan, the eldest son of Muhammad's son-in-law Hazrat Ali; descendants of this family continued to hold the position until the Twentieth Century. In 1517, the Sharif acknowledged the supremacy of the Ottoman Caliph, but remained largely independent.
The Sharifate came to an end with the rule of Al-Hussein bin Ali, who rebelled against the Ottoman rule during the Arab Revolt of 1916. After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in 1918 and its subsequent dissolution in 1923, Hussein declared himself Caliph. The British granted control over the newly formed states of Iraq and Transjordan to his sons Faisal and Abdullah. In 1924, however, ibn Saud conquered the Hijaz and expelled the Hashemites from the Hejaz; the House of Saud has since exercised stewardship (http://www.saudinf.com/main/b46.htm) over the holy cities and the Hadj.
External links
- Chapter 5 (http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/l/l42s/chapter5.html) of T.E. Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom, which introduces the office of the Sherif of Mecca and the last holder of the office.fr:Chérif de la Mecque
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