Zaid bin Hussein, GCVO, GBE (Arabic: زيد بن الحسين; (28 February 1898 – 18 October 1970) was an Iraqi prince who was a member of the Hashemite dynasty and the head of the Royal House of Iraq from 1958 until his death, after the royal line founded by his brother Faisal I of Iraq died out.

Zaid bin Hussein
Head of the royal houses of Iraq and Syria
Tenure14 July 1958 – 18 October 1970
PredecessorFaisal II
SuccessorRa'ad bin Zeid
Born28 February 1898
Ottoman Empire
Died18 October 1970(1970-10-18) (aged 72)
Paris, France
SpouseFahrelnissa Zeid
IssuePrince Ra'ad bin Zeid
HouseHashemite
FatherHussein bin Ali
MotherAdila Khanum
Map presented by TE Lawrence to the Eastern Committee of the War Cabinet in November 1918

Biography edit

Prince Zaid was the fourth son of Hussein bin Ali, who was the Sharif and Emir of Mecca, and only son of Hussein and his Ottoman-Turkish third wife, Adila Khanum. He was educated at Galatasaray High School in Stamboul (Istanbul), Constantinople College and Balliol College, Oxford.

From 1916 to 1919, Prince Zeid was the Commander of the Arab Northern Army. In 1918, T. E. Lawrence suggested that he be made king of a truncated north-western Syria.[1] The advent of French rule resulted in his assignment in 1923 to the Iraqi Cavalry and he was promoted to Colonel.

Zeid was also Iraqi ambassador in Berlin and in Ankara in the 1930s and in London in the 1950s.

On 14 July 1958 Prince Zeid became Head of the Royal House of Iraq, following the assassination of his grand-nephew King Faisal II by General Muhammad Najib ar-Ruba'i, who proclaimed Iraq to be a republic. Zeid and his family continued to live in London, where the family resided during the coup, as Zeid was the Iraqi ambassador there.

Prince Zeid died in Paris on 18 October 1970, and was buried in the Royal Mausoleum at Raghdan Palace, Amman, Jordan.[citation needed] His son prince Ra'ad bin Zeid succeeded him as head of the Royal House of Iraq.

Marriage and children edit

In November 1933, Zeid married Princess Fahrelnissa Zeid in Athens, Greece. Together they had one son:

Ancestry edit

Hashim
(eponymous ancestor)
Abd al-Muttalib
Abu TalibAbdallah
Muhammad
(Islamic prophet)
Ali
(fourth caliph)
Fatimah
Hasan
(fifth caliph)
Hasan Al-Mu'thanna
Abdullah
Musa Al-Djawn
Abdullah
Musa
Muhammad
Abdullah
Ali
Suleiman
Hussein
Issa
Abd Al-Karim
Muta'in
Idris
Qatada
(Sharif of Mecca)
Ali
Hassan
(Sharif of Mecca)
Abu Numayy I
(Sharif of Mecca)
Rumaythah
(Sharif of Mecca)
'Ajlan
(Sharif of Mecca)
Hassan
(Sharif of Mecca)
Barakat I
(Sharif of Mecca)
Muhammad
(Sharif of Mecca)
Barakat II
(Sharif of Mecca)
Abu Numayy II
(Sharif of Mecca)
Hassan
(Sharif of Mecca)
Abdullah
(Sharif of Mecca)
Hussein
Abdullah
Muhsin
Auon, Ra'i Al-Hadala
Abdul Mu'een
Muhammad
(Sharif of Mecca)
Ali
  Hussein
(Sharif of Mecca King of Hejaz)
  Ali
(King of Hejaz)
  Abdullah I
(King of Jordan)
  Faisal I
(King of Syria King of Iraq)
Zeid
(pretender to Iraq)
'Abd Al-Ilah
(Regent of Iraq)
  Talal
(King of Jordan)
  Ghazi
(King of Iraq)
Ra'ad
(pretender to Iraq)
  Hussein
(King of Jordan)
  Faisal II
(King of Iraq)
Zeid
  Abdullah II
(King of Jordan)
Hussein
(Crown Prince of Jordan)


References edit

  1. ^ "Lawrence's Mid-East map, as displayed at Imperial War Museum, London". BBC News. 2005-10-11. Archived from the original on 2021-05-06. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
  2. ^ Kamal Salibi (15 December 1998). The Modern History of Jordan. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 9781860643316. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  3. ^ "Family tree". alhussein.gov. 1 January 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
Zeid bin Hussein
Born: 28 February 1898 Died: 18 October 1970
Titles in pretence
Preceded by — TITULAR —
King of Syria and Iraq
14 July 1958 – 18 October 1970
Reason for succession failure:
Kingdom abolished in 1920 & 1958
Succeeded by