National Culture Section 19:

Political History of
Jordan
 Contents

01 The era of independence

02 King Abdullah I

03 King Talal Bin Abdullah

‫“ان للعرب حق جلي كتب بدماء الشهداء تحت اعالم ”‬
‫البطولة و الوفاء‬

‫‪—King Abdullah I‬‬

 Introduction

Members of the Hashemite Royal family in Jordan are direct

descendants of the Prophet Muhammad through his daughter
Fatima. King Abdullah II represents the 43rd generation of
this line.
Emir Abdullah, second son of Sharif Hussein, who ruled
Mecca and Hijaz until 1925, established regional control of
the newly created Transjordan on April 11, 1921. Abdullah’s
adherence to his father’s passion for a united Arab front was
immediately obvious as Abdullah fought hard for political and
military independence from colonial power of Great Britain.
On May 15, 1923, Abdullah’s efforts began to prove
successful–the Anglo-Transjordan Treaty replaced the British
Mandate and established Jordan as a semi-autonomous
nation. Immediately, Emir Abdullah was recognized as Head
of State and the national armed forces were created.
Transjordan, the Hashemite Kingdom, and the Palestine war

During World War I the Arabs joined the

British against the Ottomans.

In the revolution of 1916, assisted by

Colonel T.E. Lawrence, the
Arabs severed the Hejaz Railway.
That year the British and French signed : Sykes
(British Prime Minister)-Picot (Representative of
France) Agreement which resulted in:

1. Divided Arab World between Britain and France

2. Palestine was under British Mandate and was
therefore a special case
3. Borders of the Arab World were redrawn
4. Jordan and most of Iraq was under British rule
5. Syria, Lebanon, and part of Mosul, Iraq were
under France
6. British government benefited from this
agreement in which it linked its colonies in India
with the middle East – trade route
The History of Jordan

In 1917, Balfour Promise, a national home for the

Jewish in Palestinians territories was made.
In July of this year the army of Prince Faisal ibn
Hussein (of the Hashemite dynasty) captured Al-
ʿAqabah, and by October 1918,
Amman and Damascus were in Allied hands.
In 1920 the Conference of San Remo in Italy created
two mandates; one, over Palestine, was given to
Great Britain, and the other, over Syria, went to
France.
This act effectively separated the area now occupied
by Palestine and Jordan from that of Syria
 In November 1920 Abdullah, Faisal’s brother,
arrived in Maʿān (then part of the Hejaz) with 2,000
armed supporters intent on gathering together
tribes to attack the French, who had forced Faisal
to relinquish his newly founded kingdom in Syria.

By April 1921, however, the British had decided

that King Abdullah would take over as ruler of what
then became known as Transjordan
Sharif Hussein Bin Ali
● Seeing an opportunity to liberate Arab lands from
Turkish oppression, and trusting the honor of
British officials who promised their support for a
unified kingdom for the Arab lands, Sharif
Hussein bin Ali, Emir of Mecca and King of the
Arabs, launched the Great Arab Revolt.

● Sharif Hussein had been informed through letters

with Sir Henry McMahon, the British High
Commissioner of Egypt at the time that a revolt
by the tribes of the Arabian Peninsula would
result in an independent Arabian empire
spanning the Middle East.
● The Revolt was an enormous success, but the
outcome was not what was agreed upon in the
Hussein-McMahon Correspondence.

● Instead, the British and French divided the land

according to the secret Sykes-Picot Agreement
they had negotiated between themselves in
1916.

● Hussein was given the Hejaz region in the

Arabian Peninsula but was driven out in 1925
by Ibn Saud.
 Ottoman Empire
● In the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire was experiencing a
period of rapid decline in all aspects, including the economy
and the spread of ignorance and illiteracy.
● Jordan suffered from the neglect that affected its infrastructure
during the Ottoman era.
● This was related to several aspects, including the construction
works of the Ottoman state, which were carried out if they had
a religious connotation only.
● Based on this, the Qatraneh Palace was built because it
protects the convoys of pilgrims.
● Schools, hospitals, wells, and orphanages were neglected, and
the Hijazi railway was one of the most significant achievements
that were accomplished during the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid
II.
● The heart of the Hejaz lands, made it a target for attacks during
the Arab revolution and was destroyed during the First World
War.
Era of independence
In Jordan, achieving independence was a prolonged
process. Jordan underwent Ottoman rule, which
persisted for a considerable period of time (1516-
1918) and was a general era of stagnation, which was
followed by the British colonization (1921-1946), which
essentially replaced the Ottoman rule. Jordan was
granted independence in 1946. This was
accomplished following World War II through a treaty
signed in London. Following the treaty's signing, the
kingdom was renamed The Hashemite Kingdom of
Jordan under the rule of King Abdullah the First.
Jordan, following its independence, was at the
forefront of the mission to liberate Palestinian territory,
notably the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
 First National Conference

In 1948, the Arab League decided to form an entirely

Palestinian Government. This government was to be
constituted in Gaza (which was within Egypt's borders at
the time). This also tactically sought to limit Jordan's
dominance in Palestine as neighboring countries felt
threatened by the strength and dominance of King
Abdullah the First. Jordan's independence signified that it
was evolving into a political force to be reckoned with -
and one that is distinct from its neighboring Arab
countries. Jordan also secured religious authority in
addition to political legitimacy as King Abdullah I was a
descendant of the Prophet. Religious legitimacy was
viewed as a potential threat since it was a sort of
legitimacy that others were unable to obtain.
 Since King Abdullah I saw this strategy as
detrimental to Palestinians, he convened the
Palestinian National Convention in December
1948.This convention was held in Jericho and focused
on three issues:- unity between the two banks-
Unification of Palestinian territory - which meant the
Gaza administration would not be established and
Gaza would no longer be affiliated with Egypt.-
Jordanian and Palestinian unity under King Abdullah
In the 1950s, the Jordanian House of Representatives
was disbanded following the convention. Both banks
were represented in new elections held 1950. The
new Parliament urged for cohesion between the two
banks, each was allotted 20 chairs, for a total of 40.
The Great Palestinian
Movement
● The Great Revolt spanned over 3 years,
occurring between 1936-1939.

● The Palestinians rebelled against the British

Government’s Palestinian Mandate and the
influx of Jewish immigrants, resulting from
the policy of open-ended Jewish immigrants;
Fighting for Independence. Jordan hugely
supported the Palestinians in this struggle for
independence in 1938.
● The Palestinian, Jordanian and Syrian
troops were lead by ‫عز الدين القسام‬

● The revolt was eventually suppressed by

British forces using political concessions
and threats under martial law as well as
brute force.

● Sadly, the death toll of Arabs was tenfold

that of Jewish people and 19 times that of
British Security Forces; estimated at 5000
people.
King Abdullah I
● Born 1882, Mecca
● Died 1951, Jerusalem

● Abdullah, the second son of Hussein Ibn Ali

the ruler of the Hejaz, was educated
in Istanbul in what was then the Ottoman
Empire.
● On March 8, 1920, the Iraqi Congress
proclaimed Abdullah constitutional
king of Iraq.
● But he declined the Iraqi throne, which was
given to his brother Faisal I.
● Upon Faisal’s ascent to the throne Abdullah
occupied Transjordan
● What Motivated Prince Abdullah I to rule
Jordan is for it to lead the efforts in aims of
disseminating Arab rights, unifying Arabs
under one flag.
● Abdullah Established the first Jordanian
Government on April 11, 1921, headed by a
Lebanese Druze, Rasheed Tula’e, as a
gesture of the unity of the Arab World.
 King Talal Bin Abdullah

King Talal was the successor of his father King Abdullah I

after his assassination. He is Jordan’s shortest serving
monarch. He reigned from 1951 – 1952 but despite his short
reign he is renowned for the establishment of Jordan’s
modern liberalized constitution and for strengthening of
Jordan’s relationship with Egypt and Saudi Arabia. He was
widely known as an arab patriot and anti-imperialist and he
used to despise the Brits and their influence in the region. In
1952, the Jordanian Parliament voted unanimously on the
forced abdication of King Talal because he was suffering from
a mental illness, specifically Schizophrenia and was deemed
not fit to rule, he was then exiled to Turkey where he lived
until his death in 1972.
The Regency Council
After the abdication of King Talal bin Abdullah in
1952 his son King Hussein who was the crown prince
of Jordan at that time was named as his successor but
he needed to wait to become 18 years old (in the
islamic calendar) to be enthroned and thus a regency
council consisting of three men was made, the Prime
Minister and heads of the Senate and House of
Representatives. During that time King Hussein
completed his studies at the Royal Military Academy
Sandhurst. On 2 May 1953 he was officially
enthroned