Al-khasawneh

Al-Khasawneh or Khasawneh (Arabic: الخصاونه) (other transliterations of the name include Khassawneh, khassaweneh, Khasawinah, Khassawnih, Khasawnih, Khasawineh, Khassawineh, Khassawneh, Khasawne, Khasawna, and Khasawnah all of which may also be preceded by 'Al' or 'El') is a prominent Arab Muslim clan descending from the noble family of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq and Imam Husayn ibn Ali.

History

The Al-Khasawneh tribal history originated in the Hijaz region (Mecca and Medina) of Arabia. After leaving this region they first settled in Karak (modern day Jordan) before being deported to a small West Bank village in Palestine known as Deir Ghassan. Much later, some of the clan members returned to a village in a region near Karak. The Balgsawneh group migrated back to Deir Ghassan. Those that go by the al-Khasawneh name today are dominant in Jordan's northern city, Irbid's outskirt villages of Nu'eima and Idoun.

الخصاونة : تنتسب هذه العشيرة الى (محمد ابي الفيض من اعقاب جعفر الصادق من سلالة الحسين بن علي بن ابي طالب). قدموا من الحجاز وسكنوا اولا في الكرك ثم رحلوا الى دير غسان بفلسطين وبعد زمن عاد قسم منهم الى قرية كثربه بجوار الكرك وسموا بالغساونة نسبة الى دير غسان وبتوالي الايام حرفت الغساونة الى الخصاونة وهو اسمهم الذي يعرفون به اليوم ويسكنون في قرية ايدون والنعيمة. ويتفرع من هذه العشيرة الفرق التالية:

الحمود, الموسى, العيسى, الناصر, النواصر, , آل هنداوي

خرج منهم فرع الى قرية بيت جبرين بفلسطين يقال لهم فيها اليوم "آل العزه" , وهنالك قسم من (آل العزه) ذهب الى العراق يقال لهم فيها عشيرة "العزاوي

The Al-Khasawneh in Northern Jordan

In Ottoman times Northern Jordan was known as the sanjak of Ajloun, Al-Khasawneh appeared in the second part of the 16th century in Ein Al-Sharah in the mountainous part of Ajloun where they were engaged in constant clashes with bedouin tribes and other local forces. Resulting in their ability to become a dominant group in the area known as Al-Asar district (nahiyah of Ajloun). An Ottoman document of 1757 speaks of their sheikh Musa Al-Hamad as the sheikh of the Banu Obaid group and of being responsible for contributing to the protection of the annual caravan of pilgrimage or hajj to Mecca, which was a highly lucrative and sought after office. Later on that part of Al-Asar district was renamed the Banu Obaid district as a classic case of a newcomer group bestowing their name to a geographic area. It continues to be know by that name and the Al-Khasawneh are the traditional hereditary sheikhs of the district although the Nuseirat clan have competed with them at times for the sheikhdom of the district.

In the second part of the 18th century a famous rebel Dhaher al Omar, of Galilee and later Acre was able to extend his rule, through his son Ahmad to the Ajloun area. The Ottomans, preoccupied with their war against Russia ending in the Kunuk Kenarcha treaty of 1775 had no choice but to acquiece to Dhaher's territorial expansion, Musa Al-Hamad led in connection with his bedouin allies a number of battles against Dhaher and his son, but later was appointed a member of a consultative group of sheikhs by Ahmad, son of Dhaher al Omar, who nevertheless remained suspicious of his intentions. When in the early 1770s Ahmad was informed that Musa was trying to raise a revolt against him, he invited Musa to his citadel at Tubna in the Koura district of Ajloun, where he was killed after dinner. After 1775 the Ottomans, now free to tackle Dhaher, sent both Hussein Pasha and Ahmad beik, later Pasha, El-Jazzar against Dhaher, he was killed and this signalled the beginning of a revolt in Ajloun where the Al-Khasawneh and their allies attacked the citadel of Tubna. In the event, Ahmad son of Dhaher escaped to Palestine and threw himself at the mercy of Ottoman officials who took him to Istanbul.

For Al-Khasawneh, having stood firmly by the Ottomans, this was an auspicious turn of events and soon Musa's two sons, Saleh and Musa II, where able to regain their father's possessions and to move to the village of Husn where they and their descendants continued to the leading family of the area.

Musa II also fought against Napoleon's army in the battle of Mount Tabor of northern Palestine, where the French were led by general Kleber and later by Napoleon himself.

In 1869 the Khasawneh where asked by the Ottoman government to move out of Husn. They took advantage of that and took possession of the villages of Idoun and Nu'eima with 6 or 7 ruined villages which they were able to defend against marauding nomadic tribes and other forces and they continue to be some of the largest land owners on northern Jordan.

In the 1860s the Ottomans introduced a system of elected local government in what was known as the council of Ajloun, where the old prominent clans of Ajloun were represented, the Al-Khasawneh always had an elected member, this was part of a larger process taking place all over the Middle East where the Ottoman were co-opting local forces into local and central government.

Sub-Branches

The different branches of the clan are as follows: Al Hmoud, Al- Nawasir, Al-Musa, Al Essa, Al Nasser, Al Enoiser, Al Hindawi. A separate branch settled in the village of Beit Guvrin in Palestine, and is called today "Al-Azzah." There is also another part of Al-Azzah clan that settled in Iraq, which is known as the Azzawi clan.

Al-Musa

The ancestral tree of the Al-Musa branch (traced back to Ali ibn Abi Talib) is as follows (in Arabic):

موسى بن موسى بن حمد بن اسماعيل بن علي المحمد أبو الفيض العلي أبو شاك الأحمد الباز الأشهب الأحمد العياد المحمد شمس الدين العبدالرحمن العلي اليحيى الثايت الحازم الأحمد الأحمد العلي الحسن الرفاعة المهدي محمد أبا القاسم الحسن الحسن الموسى الثاني ابراهيم المرتضى الموسى الكاظم جعفر الصادق محمد الباقر بن زين العابدين بن الحسين السبط بن علي بن أبي طالب ا

Al-Nawasir

The ancestral tree of the Al-Nawasir branch (traced back to Ali ibn Abi Talib) is as follows (in Arabic):

ناصر بن حمد بن اسماعيل بن علي المحمد أبو الفيض العلي أبو شاك الأحمد الباز الأشهب الأحمد العياد المحمد شمس الدين العبدالرحمن العلي اليحيى الثايت الحازم الأحمد الأحمد العلي الحسن الرفاعة المهدي محمد أبا القاسم الحسن الحسن الموسى الثاني ابراهيم المرتضى الموسى الكاظم جعفر الصادق محمد الباقر بن زين العابدين بن الحسين السبط بن علي بن أبي طالب ا