Ali of Hejaz


Ali bin Hussein, GBE was King of Hejaz and Grand Sharif of Mecca from October 1924 until he was deposed by Ibn Saud in December 1926. He was the eldest son of Hussein bin Ali, the first modern King of Hejaz, and a scion of the Hashemite family. With the passing of the kingship from his father he also became the heir to the title of caliph, but he did not adopt the office and the style of caliph.

Early life

The eldest son of Hussein, Ali bin Hussein was born in Mecca and was educated at Ghalata Serai College in Istanbul. His 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. While Hussein's sons Abdullah and Faisal were made kings of Jordan and Iraq, respectively, Ali remained the heir to his father's lands in Arabia.

Ruling Hejaz

King Hussein soon found himself embroiled in fighting with the House of Saud, based in Riyadh. Following military defeats by Abdulaziz ibn Saud, King Hussein abdicated all of his secular titles to Ali on 3 October 1924.
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 the Kingdom of Iraq during the minority of King Faisal II.

Marriage and children

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