Sharif Hussein

Sharif Hussein
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Name	Sharif Hussein
Title	Sharif and Emir of Mecca
Reign	1908–1917
Predecessor	Ali bin Hussein
Successor	Ali of Hejaz
House	Hashemite
Birth date	c. 1853
Birth place	Mecca
Death date	1931
Death place	Amman

Sharif Hussein was a Hashemite noble who served as Sharif and Emir of Mecca and leader of the Hejaz during the late Ottoman period and World War I. He played a central role in the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire and negotiated with British officials including T. E. Lawrence, Sir Henry McMahon, and members of the British Cabinet about postwar Arab self-determination. Hussein later proclaimed himself King of the Hejaz and promoted Hashemite claims that reshaped politics across the Levant, including the emergence of Iraq and Transjordan under his sons.

Early life and background

Hussein was born into the Hashemite family in the mid-19th century in Mecca, a city central to Islam and the annual Hajj. His lineage traced to the Banu Hashim and the Prophet Muhammad, giving him religious prestige among Sunni Islam communities and influence with the Sharifate of Mecca elites. During the reign of the Ottoman Empire, Hussein navigated relations with Sultan Abdul Hamid II and later with Committee of Union and Progress figures such as Enver Pasha and Talaat Pasha. He maintained local alliances with families and tribes across the Hijaz and the Nejd, including interactions with the House of Saud and leaders like Abdulaziz Ibn Saud.

Rise to Sharifate and rule of Mecca

Hussein succeeded his brother as Sharif in 1908 amid shifts following the Young Turk Revolution and increasing Ottoman centralization under Sultan Mehmed V. As Sharif and Emir of Mecca he administered the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, coordinated with the Ottoman Vilayet of Hejaz authorities, and mediated pilgrim access during the Hajj. He managed relations with regional players such as the Khedive of Egypt, the Hashemite tribal confederations, and Ottoman provincial governors including Fakhri Pasha. Hussein’s rule balanced religious authority with pragmatic diplomacy toward European powers like the United Kingdom, France, and Italy interested in Arabian affairs.

Role in the Arab Revolt and relations with the British

During World War I Hussein negotiated with British Middle East officials including Sir Henry McMahon, T. E. Lawrence, David Lloyd George, and Mark Sykes, culminating in the 1915–1916 correspondence and coordination that precipitated the Arab Revolt of 1916 against the Ottoman Empire. Hussein proclaimed the revolt in June 1916, aligning with Hashemite forces commanded by his sons Faisal I of Iraq and Abdullah I of Jordan as well as commanders like Auda Abu Tayi and tribal allies from the Bedouin confederations. British military strategy involved the Egyptian Expeditionary Force under Archibald Murray and later Edmund Allenby supporting operations against Ottoman garrisons at places such as Aqaba and Jerusalem. Negotiations over postwar boundaries intersected with the Sykes–Picot Agreement, the Balfour Declaration, and the Paris Peace Conference, creating tensions between Hussein’s Hashemite aspirations and British and French mandates in the Mandate for Palestine and Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon.

Political leadership and the Hashemite claims

After the collapse of Ottoman authority in the Middle East, Hussein declared himself King of the Hejaz in 1916 and later proclaimed himself Caliph in 1924, asserting Hashemite leadership. He sought recognition from powers including the League of Nations, the United Kingdom, and France, while promoting his sons: Faisal I briefly became King of Syria and later King of Iraq with British backing, and Abdullah I became Emir of Transjordan under the British Mandate for Palestine and Transjordan. Hussein’s claims conflicted with regional rivals including the Hashemite-Saudi rivalry and the expansionist policies of Ibn Saud, who consolidated control over the Nejd and later the Hejaz. Diplomatic engagements involved figures such as Gertrude Bell and officials from the British Foreign Office as the geopolitical map of the Levant and Arab Peninsula was redrawn.

Later life, exile, and death

Following military setbacks against forces led by Ibn Saud and the Ikhwan, Hussein abdicated in favor of his son Ali of Hejaz in 1924 and went into exile. He relocated to Aden briefly and later settled in Amman under the protection of his son Abdullah I of Jordan, where he lived until his death in 1931. His final years saw diminishing territorial control as Saudi Arabia consolidated the peninsula and the Hashemite polity focused on rulership in Iraq and Transjordan.

Legacy and historical assessment

Hussein’s legacy is contested: he is credited with initiating the Arab Revolt that weakened Ottoman control and enabled the creation of modern Iraq and Jordan, yet criticized for misjudgments in dealings with the British Cabinet and in failing to secure wider Arab independence during the Paris Peace Conference. Historians compare Hussein’s ambitions to contemporaries such as Sharif Ali and assess his role in the context of imperial diplomacy alongside Mark Sykes, Arthur Balfour, and Woodrow Wilson. His Hashemite dynasty endures in the royal houses of Jordan and through historical memory in Palestine and the wider Arab world, while his interactions with Ibn Saud reshaped the map of the Arab Peninsula and contributed to the emergence of Saudi Arabia.

Category:Hashemite dynasty Category:People from Mecca Category:Arab Revolt leaders