Banū Hāshim (Arabic: بنو هاشم) was a clan in the Quraysh tribe. Muhammad, was a member of this clan; his great-grandfather was Hashim, for whom the clan is named. Members of this clan are referred to by the Anglicised version of their name as Hashemites, Hussaini or Hasani. Descendants of Muhammad usually carry the titles Sayyid or Sharif.

Amongst pre-Islamic Arabs people classified themselves according to their Confederation, their tribe, their clan, and then their house/family. There were two Tribal Confederations; the Adnani (originating from "Adnan", the traditional ancestor of the Arabs of northern, central and western Arabia), and the Qahtani (originating from "Qahtan", the traditional ancestor of the Arabs of southern and south eastern Arabia). Banu Hashim is one of the clans of the Quraysh tribe, of the Adnani confederation. It derives its name from Hashim, the great-grandfather of Muhammad, and along with the Banu Abd Shams, Banu Al-Muttalib, and Banu Nawfal clans comprises the Banu Abd al-Manaf section of the Quraysh.

Hussain Shahi dynasty ruled from 1494-1538. Alauddin Hussain Shah, considered as the greatest of all the sultans of Bengal for bringing a cultural renaissance during his reign. He conquered Kamarupa, Kamata, Jajnagar, and Orissa and extended the sultanate all the way to the port of Chittagong, which witnessed the arrival of the first Portuguese merchants. Nasiruddin Nasrat Shah gave refuge to the Afghan lords during the invasion of Babur though he remained neutral.

However, Nasrat Shah made a treaty with Babur and saved Bengal from a Mughal invasion. The last Sultan of the dynasty, who continued to rule from Gaur, had to contend with rising Afghan activity on his northwestern border. Eventually, the Afghans broke through and sacked the capital in 1538 where they remained for several decades until the arrival of the Mughals.