Abdullah was born on 30 January 1962 in Amman, to King Hussein and Hussein's British-born second wife, Princess Muna Al-Hussein (born Antoinette Avril Gardiner).[3] He is the namesake of his paternal great-grandfather, Abdullah I, who founded modern Jordan.[4][5] Abdullah's dynasty, the Hashemites, ruled Mecca for over 700 years—from the 10th century until the House of Saud conquered Mecca in 1925—and have ruled Jordan since 1921.[6][7] The Hashemites are the oldest ruling dynasty in the Muslim world.[1] According to family tradition, Abdullah is the 41st-generation agnatic descendant of Muhammad's daughter Fatimah and her husband, Ali, the fourth Rashidun caliph.[3][8]