Mecca of the English transliteration for the Arabic name of the city, although the official transliteration used by the Saudi government is "Makkah", which is closer to the Arabic pronunciation. The word "Mecca" in English has come to be used to refer to any place that draws large numbers of people, and because of this some English speaking Muslims have come to regard the use of this spelling for the city as offensive. The Saudi government adopted "Makkah" as the official spelling in the 1980s, but is not universally known or used worldwide. The full official name is "Makkah al-Mukarramah" ()
Sharifate of Mecca he chose one of the sharifs of Hejaz, Jaafar al-Musawi, and installed him as emir of Mecca in about 964. When the Ismaili Shia Fatimids conquered Egypt in 973, they began to appoint the sharifs of Mecca from the descendants of Jaafar al-Musawi. In 1012, the Emir of Mecca Abdul-Futuh declared himself caliph, but he was persuaded to give up his title in the same year. The first Sulayhid ruler conquered the whole of Yemen in 1062, and proceeded northwards to occupy the Hejaz. For a time, they appointed the Emirs of Mecca. As Sunni power began to revive after