The Quraysh tribe, claiming descent from Ishmael through Adnan, established dominance over Mecca around the 5th century AD under Qusayy ibn Kilab (~400 AD), who consolidated control of the Ka’ba and established the political institutions of Mecca. The Quraysh became the guardians of the Ka’ba and administrators of the Hajj pilgrimage — a politically and economically invaluable position, as Mecca’s religious status made it a protected zone where tribal warfare was suspended and trade could occur safely. By Muhammad’s time the Quraysh were the dominant commercial power of the Hijaz, running caravans to Syria in summer and Yemen in winter (the ‘journey of winter and summer’ referenced in Quran 106). Muhammad was born into the Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh — a respected but not the wealthiest clan.