Sharifian Caliphate

Sharifian Empire
ٱلْخِلَافَةُ ٱلشَّرِيفِيَّة
1924–1931
Coat of arms of Sharifian Empire
Coat of arms
Map with the kingdom in green and the current region in red.
Map with the kingdom in green and the current region in red.
StatusEmpire
CapitalMecca (de facto)
Common languagesArabic
Religion
Sunni Islam
GovernmentCaliphate
Sharifian Caliph 
• 1924
Hussein bin Ali
Historical eraInterwar period
• Foundation
3 March 1924
• Disestablished
4 June 1931
CurrencyHejaz riyal
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Kingdom of Hejaz
Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd
Today part ofSaudi Arabia

The Sharifian Empire (Arabic: ٱلْخِلَافَةُ ٱلشَّرِيفِيَّة, lit.'ʾal-H̱ilāfaẗu ʾaš-Šarīfiyya') was a Empire proclaimed by the Sharifian leaders of the Hejaz in 1924, replacing the Ottoman Caliphate, which was abolished by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Even though the Banu Hashim held the caliphate at various points in history, Hussein bin Ali, the Sharif of Mecca, was the first and last caliph of this lineage.[1]

In the Arab world, it represented the culmination of a long struggle to reclaim the caliphate from Ottoman hands. The first Arab revolts challenging the validity of the Ottoman caliphate and demanding that an Arab Sayyid be chosen as caliph can be traced back to 1883 when Sheikh Hamat-al-Din seized Sanaa and called for the caliphate as a Sayyid.[2]

However, it was not until the end of the Ottoman caliphate, abolished by the Kemalists, that Hussein bin Ali was proclaimed caliph in March 1924. His stance towards the Ottoman caliphate was ambiguous, and while he was hostile to it,[3] he preferred to wait for its official abolition before assuming the title, so as not to break the Ummah by creating a second caliph alongside the Ottoman caliph. He also supported financially the late Ottoman dynasty in exile, to avoid them being ruined.[4]

His caliphate was opposed by the British and French Empires, Zionists, and Wahhabis,[5] but he received support from a large part of the Muslim population at the time,[6][7][8][9] as well as from Mehmed VI.[10] Although he lost the Hejaz and was exiled, then imprisoned by the British on Cyprus,[11] Hussein continued to use the title until his death in 1931.[12][13]

  1. ^ "Architect of The Great Arab Revolt: Sayyid Hussein bin Ali, King of the Arabs and King of the Hijaz (1854 – June 4, 1931)". Sayyid Ahmed Amiruddin. 2012-04-10. Archived from the original on 2022-10-06. Retrieved 2022-10-06..
  2. ^ "New Series Vol. 7 No. 6 (1 May 1917)". Trove. Archived from the original on 2024-05-25. Retrieved 2022-10-09..
  3. ^ "Source Records of the Great War Sharif Hussein's Proclamation of Independence from Turkey, 27th June 1916". archive.wikiwix.com. Archived from the original on 2023-12-14. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  4. ^ ekinci, ekrem. "HOW DID THE OTTOMAN DYNASTY SURVIVE IN EXILE?". www.ekrembugraekinci.com (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2023-12-13. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  5. ^ Al-Momani, Nidal Daoud Mohammad (2014). "Al-Sharif, Al-Hussein Bin Ali between the Zionists and the Palestinians in 1924 A decisive year in the political history of Al-Hussein". Journal of Human Sciences. 2014 (2): 312–335. doi:10.12785/jhs/20140213.
  6. ^ British Secret Service (29 March 1924). Jeddah Report 1-29 Mars 1924. Jeddah: British Secret Service. p. FO 371/100CWE 3356..
  7. ^ Kramer, Martin (1986). Islam assembled the advent of the Muslim Congresses. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-1-59740-468-6. OCLC 1113069713.[page needed]
  8. ^ نضال داود المومني (1996). الشريف الحسين بن علي والخلافة.
  9. ^ الوطن, جريدة; webmaster (2020-05-05). ""مملكة الحجاز".. وقــصـــة الـغــزو المـســلّـــح". جريدة الوطن (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 2023-05-16. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  10. ^ "Central File: Decimal File 867.9111, Internal Affairs Of States, Public Press., Newspapers., Turkey, Clippings And Items., March 22, 1924 - March 12, 1925". Turkey: Records of the U.S. Department of State, 1802-1949. 22 March 1924. Gale C5111548903.
  11. ^ Strohmeier, Martin (3 September 2019). "The exile of Husayn b. Ali, ex-sharif of Mecca and ex-king of the Hijaz, in Cyprus (1925–1930)". Middle Eastern Studies. 55 (5): 733–755. doi:10.1080/00263206.2019.1596895. S2CID 164473838.
  12. ^ Sazonov, Vladimir; Espak, Peeter; Mölder, Holger; Saumets, Andres (2020). Cultural Crossroads in the Middle East: The Historical, Cultural and Political Legacy of Intercultural Dialogue and Conflict from the Ancient Near East to the Present Day. University of Tartu Press. ISBN 978-9949-03-520-5.[page needed]
  13. ^ Bar, Shmuel (January 2016). "The implications of the Caliphate". Comparative Strategy. 35 (1): 1–14. doi:10.1080/01495933.2016.1133994. S2CID 157012525.

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