The Hashemites: Inside The Royal Family That Has Ruled Jordan For Over 100 Years

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Jordan's Amman on December 15. The visit carries added diplomatic weight, as it is the first full-scale bilateral engagement between the two countries in 37 years and coincides with the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between India and Jordan.

Set against this backdrop, the visit also draws attention to Jordan's Hashemite monarchy, which has played a central role in shaping the kingdom's political stability and foreign relations for more than a century.

The Hashemites And The Making Of Modern Jordan

The Hashemite royal family is inseparable from Jordan's national story. Since the founding of the modern state in 1921, the monarchy has shaped the country's political institutions, identity, and regional role. To understand Jordan today, one must first understand the Hashemites, a dynasty rooted in both history and faith.

Lineage Traced To The Prophet

The Hashemites, also known as Bani Hashem, trace their ancestry to the Quraysh tribe of Mecca, descendants of the Prophet Ismail, son of the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham). The tribe settled in Mecca in the second century CE, rising to prominence when Qusayy bin Kilab assumed leadership of the city around 480 CE.

The dynasty takes its name from Hashem, Qusayy's grandson and the great-grandfather of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Through the Prophet's daughter Fatima and her husband Ali bin Abi Talib, the fourth caliph of Islam, the Hashemites are direct descendants of the Prophet.

Sharifs, Sayyids And Royal Lineage

Ali and Fatima's sons, Al-Hassan and Al-Hussein, founded two branches of descent. Hassan's lineage is known as the Sharifs (nobles), while Hussein's descendants are called Sayyids (lords). Jordan's royal family descends from the Sharifian line, reinforcing its religious and historical legitimacy.

Centuries Of Rule In Mecca

Sharifian families ruled the Hijaz region between the 10th and 13th centuries. King Hussein's branch governed Mecca from 1201 until 1925, recognising Ottoman sovereignty from 1517. This legacy gives the Hashemites over a millennium of political rule and nearly two thousand years of recorded presence in Islam's holiest city.

From Arab Revolt To Independence

During the Great Arab Revolt of 1916, Sharif Hussein bin Ali led the uprising against Ottoman rule. His sons later assumed leadership across the Arab world. Abdullah became ruler of Transjordan, while Faisal briefly ruled Syria and later Iraq. The Emirate of Transjordan was established on April 11, 1921, and gained full independence from Britain in 1946, becoming the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Building The Jordanian State

King Abdullah I laid the foundations of modern Jordan, introducing constitutional governance, holding elections, and gradually securing independence through diplomacy. He was assassinated in 1951 at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

After a brief reign by King Talal, King Hussein ascended the throne in 1952 at the age of 17. His long rule brought stability during decades of regional conflict. Upon his death in 1999, his son King Abdullah II assumed the throne. He was already a major-general in the Jordanian army when he succeeded his ailing father at the age of 37.

Internal Rift Within The Royal Family

In 2021, tensions surfaced within the royal family. Prince Hamzah, the younger half-brother of King Abdullah II and a former crown prince himself, openly criticised the country's leadership. He later said he had been placed under house arrest as part of a wider clampdown on dissent. In a video shared with the BBC, Prince Hamzah accused Jordan's leadership of corruption, incompetence and sustained harassment, highlighting rare public divisions within the Hashemite monarchy.

The Monarchy's Political Role Today

In February this year, King Abdullah II firmly rejected US President Donald Trump's proposal to resettle Palestinians in Jordan. After King Abdullah's meeting Trump at the White House, the Jordanian royal court said in a post on X that “King Abdullah II stresses the need to put a stop to (Israeli) settlement expansion, expressing rejection of any attempts to annex land and displace the Palestinians.”

For many Jordanians the Hashemites remain the guarantors of continuity in an otherwise turbulent region.