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
Blackpool Mecca of the parallel Modern soul subgenre, which still exists today within and alongside the mainstream Northern soul movement. The Northern soul music of the Highland Room has been commemorated by several compilation LPs and CDs, including: In 1977 the Commonwealth Sporting Club was opened at the Mecca. It included a 25-table snooker area and boxing, squash, badminton and gym facilities. Joe Davis performed the opening ceremony, and Steve Davis described it as the "best club in the country of its time". In 1989 the club was closed and replaced by a bowling alley. Blackpool Mecca The Blackpool Mecca was a