Mecca scholarship governed by the Hashemite Sharifs. In 930, Mecca was attacked and sacked by Qarmatians, a millenarian Ismaili Muslim sect led by Abū-Tāhir Al-Jannābī and centered in eastern Arabia. The Black Death pandemic hit Mecca in 1349. In 1517, the Sharif, Barakat bin Muhammed, acknowledged the supremacy of the Ottoman Caliph but retained a great degree of local autonomy. In 1803 the city was captured by the First Saudi State, which held Mecca until 1813. This was a massive blow to the prestige of the (Turkish) Ottoman Empire, which had exercised sovereignty over the holy city since 1517. The Ottomans
Climate of Mecca high throughout the year and in summer it may reach . The following are extreme weather events in Mecca and the surrounding area. Climate of Mecca Mecca features a hot desert climate. Mecca retains its hot temperature in winter, which can range from at night to in the day. Summer temperatures are extremely hot, often being over during the day, dropping to at night. Rain usually falls in Mecca in small amounts between November and January. The rainfall, as scant as it is, also presents the threat of flooding and has been a danger since the earliest times. According to