George Sale, The Koran, commonly called the Alcoran of Mohammed, translated into English immediately from the original Arabic; with Explanatory Notes, taken from the most approved Commentators. To which is prefixed A Preliminary Discource (1734)

The governors of Mecca and Medina, who have always been of the race of Mohammed, also threw off their subjection to the Khalîfs, since which time four principal families, all descended from Hasan the son of Ali, have reigned there under the title of Sharîf, which signifies noble, as they reckon themselves to be on account of their descent. These are Banu Kâder, Banu Mûsa Thani, Banu Hashem, and Banu Kitâda ¹; which last family now is, or lately was in the throne of Mecca, where they have reigned above 500 years. The reigning family at Medina are the Banu Hashem, who also reigned at Mecca before those of Kitâda ².

The kings of Yaman, as well as the princes of Mecca and Medina, are absolutely independent ³ and not at all subject to the Turk, as some late authors have imagined ⁴. These princes often making cruel wars among themselves, gave an opportunity to Selim I. and his son Solimân, to make themselves masters of the coasts of Arabia on the Red sea, and of part of Yaman, by means of a fleet built at Sues: but their successors have not been able to maintain their conquests; for, except the port of Jodda, where they have a Basha whose authority is very small, they possess nothing considerable in Arabia ⁵.

The freedom of the Arabs.
Thus have the Arabs preserved their liberty, of which few nations can produce so ancient monuments, with very little interruption from the very deluge; for tho’ very great armies have been sent against them, all attempts to subdue them were unsuccessful. The Assyrian or Median empires never got footing among them ⁶. The Persian monarchs, tho’ they were their friends, and so far respected by them as to have an annual present of frankincense ⁷, yet could never make them tributary ⁸; and were so far from being their masters, that Cambyses, on his expedition against Egypt, was obliged to ask their leave to pass thro’ their territories ⁹; and when Alexander had subdued that mighty empire, yet the Arabians had so little apprehension of him, that they alone, of all the neighbouring nations, sent no embassadors to him, either first or last; which, with a desire of possessing so rich a country, made him form a design against it, and had he not died before he could put it in execution ¹⁰, this people might possibly have convinced him that he was not invincible: and I do not find that any of his successors either in Asia or Egypt, ever