Ali of Hejaz

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Ali bin Hussein, GBE (1879–1935) was King of Hejaz and Grand Sharif of Mecca from October 1924 until December 1925. He was the eldest son of Sharif Hussein bin Ali, the first modern King of Hejaz, and a scion of the Hashemite family.

Early life

Ali bin Hussein's father was appointed Grand Sharif of Mecca by the Ottoman Empire in 1908. However, his relationship with the Young Turks in control of the Empire increasingly became strained, and, in 1916, he became one of the leaders of the Arab Revolt against Turkish rule. Following the Revolt's success, Hussein made himself the first King of Hejaz with British support. His brothers Abdullah and Faisal were made kings of Jordan and Iraq, respectively, while Ali remained the heir to his father's lands in Arabia.

Ruling Hejaz

However, King Hussein soon found himself embroiled in fighting with the Saud family, based in Riyadh. Following military defeats by the Saud family, King Hussein abdicated all of his secular titles to Ali on October 3, 1924 (Hussein had previously awarded himself the religious title of caliph in March of that year). In December of the following year, Saudi forces finally overran Hejaz, which they eventually incorporated into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ali and his family fled to Iraq. Ali bin Hussein died in Baghdad, Iraq in 1935. He had four daughters and one son, 'Abd al-Ilah, who went on to become the Regent of Iraq during the minority of King Faisal II.

Marriage and Children

In 1906 Ali married Nafissa Khanum daughter of H.H Emir Abdullah bin Muhammad Pasha Grand Sharif and Emir of Mecca at Yenikoy, Bosphorus. They had one son and four daughters:

HRH Princess Khadija Abdiya - born 1907 died July 14 1958
HRH Princess Aliya - born 1911 died December 21 1950, married HM Ghazi I King of Iraq becoming HM Queen Aliya of Iraq.
HRH Crown Prince Abdullah - born November 14 1913 died July 14 1958, married three times first to Melek in 1936 divorced in 1940, then to Faiza in 1948 divorced 1950 and finally to Hiyam 1958.
HRH Princess Badia - born June 1920, married H.H. Sharif Hussein bin Ali
HRH Princess Jalila - born 1923 died December 28 1955 married Sharif Dr. Ahmad Hazim

External links

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Last updated on Monday June 09, 2008 at 16:24:35 PDT (GMT -0700)
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