The names _sharif_――anglicized as _shereef_――that is “The Noble,” and _sayyid_ signifying “Seigneur” or “Lord,” have become, little by little, titles of nobility throughout the entire Mohammedan world, especially among the posterity of the Prophet. The head of the reigning family in Mecca is “The Shereef of Mecca” _par excellence_, and the people call him _Sayyidana_, that is “Our Master” (or Our Lord). How far the realm of these Shereefs was extended beyond Mecca depended, as long as the petty dynasties existed, entirely on the chances of circumstance; the more that confusion reigned in the surrounding Mohammedan realms and the greater the energy manifested by the ruling head of the family, the greater the portion of the Hijaz that came under his authority. The reverse was equally true. The defects of the most respected race of Islam were, to a great extent, the peculiar characteristics of the Mecca branch. They were incapable of carrying out any great undertaking. The pilgrims, except when escorted by an imposing military force, were pitilessly stripped of their every possession by the Shereef and his satellites. Like the Bedouins through whose territory the _hajjis_ or pilgrims had to pass, who counted all money and property as God-given booty, the Shereefs considered themselves justified in making Allah’s guests at Mecca submit to every kind of bleeding, and the latter had no remedy. Further, there were among the members of the noble race one quarrel after another about their heritage, so that it was almost the normal state of affairs for one head of two rival branches of the family to fill the Shereefate while the other besieged Mecca or rendered the roads thither unsafe. The stable population of Mecca were sacrificed to this struggle for mastery; the blessings of peace were an unknown luxury to them. When the Hijaz was still actually governed from the political centre of Islam, Medina was the appointed capital. For an independent local principality, such as the Shereefate, Mecca had the advantage of not being so accessible to the military forces of powers that might trouble themselves about the Hijaz. Only occasionally could the Shereefs of Mecca control Medina at the same time, as the intervening distance was too great for the transportation facilities of the country. The alpine city Ta’if, two or three days’ journey east of Mecca, where many people from Mecca resorted for the summer, and the port Jidda, one to two days’ journey to the west, ordinarily fell under the Shereef. Several smaller ports were also included under his rule. The connection with the interior, mainly inhabited by nomadic tribes, varied according to the personal relations of the Shereef with the head of the Bedouin clan.