Abdullah ibn Husein (1882-1951), king of Jordan (1946-1951). The son of King Husein ibn Ali of Hejaz (Al ?ijāz), he was born in Mecca but educated in Żstanbul where he was active in Arab circles; later he represented Mecca in the Ottoman legislature. During World War I, however, he and his father sided with the Allies, seeking Arab independence from Ottoman rule, and in 1916 led an Arab revolt against the Ottomans. In 1920 he was proclaimed king by the Iraqi Congress, but refused the throne. Under British auspices Abdullah became the nominal ruler (emir) of the British mandate of Transjordan in 1921, and when the mandate ended in 1926, he proclaimed himself king. His long-term aim was the creation of a kingdom embracing Syria, Iraq, and Transjordan.
