User:LINFAN01/sandbox

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Relationships and Alliances[edit]

Mithqal himself was born from a calculated strategic alliance between the Beni Sakher and the Ruwalla, and over the course of his lifetime he built strong mutually beneficial relations with other important figures in Arabia and abroad.

King Abdullah I[edit]

From left to right: Mithqal Pasha, King Saud bin Abdulaziz, King Abdullah I of Jordan, in the 1930s

Then Emir Abdullah I had a personal, political, and business relationship with Mithqal. Their first meeting was in 1920, when Mithqal accepted Abdullah's invitation to a meeting in Ma'an, agreeing to ally himself and his tribe with Abdullah and inviting him to Amman. With the support of Mithqal and his father-in-law Mayor Saeed Pasha Khayr, Amman turned into the Hashemites focal point in Jordan.[1] Mithqal was Abdullah's most important and powerful ally in Jordan, and in return Abdullah exempted Mithqal and his family from taxes and granted them the land that the Ottoman's confiscated to build the Hijaz railway and gifts such as the car he gave to Mithqal.[2][3]

In the summer of 1923, Mithqal conferred to him the rank of lieutenant general of the emirate's army. This was due to Mithqal's contribution and increasing involvement in protecting the emirate's borders from its eastern flank against the Wahhabi's expansionist aggression.[4]

When in 1930, Mithqal's eldest son Sultan died of illness, Mithqal refused to leave his grave after the funeral; only to be persuaded by Emir Abdullah.[5] In 1924, Mithqal and Emir Abdullah went together to Mecca to perform the Hajj.[3] Mithqal would publicly support Abdullah in his attempt to unify the country,[6] this helped cement the Emir's position in Jordan which was still governed tribally at the time.[7] Mithqal's support of Emir Abdullah (and later kings) is also noted as one of the reasons of Jordan's relative stability and its sovereign integrity as King Faisal Al Saud have noted that "if it wasn't for Beni Sakher, our borders would reach Palestine".[8] Emir Abdullah would help lend Mithqal money to cultivate his land,[9] and when the Emir's own funds were lacking, he and Mithqal would secure land deals and mortgage both of their lands to foreign bankers as the added size of both Mithqal's and the governments land helps leverage the deals to their favor.[10] In 1934, Mithqal was a guest of honor at Talal bin Abdullah's wedding.

King Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia[edit]

Mithqal maintained close relations with Abdulaziz, through his son Akef who he regularly sent to the king's court, and through his cousin Dahham Al-Fayez, whose half-sister married Abdulaziz around 1936. Dahham was invited to the king's court in Riyadh. In March 1940, when Transjordanian authorities discovered a coded correspondence between Mithqal and Ibn Saud, facilitated by Akef and Dahham. This secret contact with Ibn Saud marked a departure from Mithqal’s cautious approach since 1937–38, reflecting his concerns over growing state power encroaching on his traditional autonomy. By 1939, Transjordan had acquired many traits of a modern state, including a government monopoly on coercive power, exemplified by the expansion of the Desert Patrol to three hundred men.

The British were outraged by Mithqal’s secret correspondence with Abdulaziz and confronted him on a different matter shortly after discovering it. Speculation grew that Mithqal might depart for Saudi Arabia, a rumor he encouraged to pressure Abdullah. Despite being personally invited by Abdulaziz, Mithqal did not cross the border. His significant investments in cultivated land in Transjordan ultimately made him stay, as the immovability of this property was crucial to his decision.

Glubb pasha suspected Mithqal's connection with Ibn Saud was to impress Abdullah, but another possible motivation was that Mithqal viewed the Saudis as an insurance policy against potential future conflicts with the Transjordanian government. Mithqal had previously used the “Saudi option” as a negotiation tactic during a fallout with Abdullah in 1937 and considered moving to Saudi territory during subsequent crises.

King Saud of Saudi Arabia[edit]

With King Saud, Mithqal enjoyed a much more personal and less political friendship than he did with King Abdulaziz. Mithqal and Saud travelled together regularly throughout the Middle East region, and they both hosted each other in their respective palaces numerous times.

King Abdullah and Sheikh Mithqal at Crown Prince Talal's wedding in 1934.

King Faisal I of Iraq[edit]

Mithqal maintained a friendly relationship with King Faisal I after 1919, he knew Faisal before he became King of Iraq and famously hosted him in Um Al-Amad in 1923, where Faisal stayed the night. Mithqal also attended the reception of Faisal in Alexandria, and the ceremony of the death of King Faisal's son Ghazi.[11]

King Farouk I of Egypt[edit]

The Alawiyya dynasty of Egypt and the Al-Fayez have long-standing cordial relationships going as far back as Mithqal's grandfather, Fendi, sending his son Sattam with gifts of rare horse breeds to Ismail Pasha in the 1840s. This relationship continued with Mithqal and Farouk I's friendship. Mithqal was a guest at Farouk's wedding and would regularly frequent the Abdeen Palace.

Notable Regional Sheikhs and dignitaries[edit]

Some of Mithqal's political and tribal allies in central Jordan were his father-in-law, Saeed Pasha Kheir, his Ka'abnah counterpart Sheikh Haditha Al-Khraisha, the Hadid tribe Sheikhs Shaher and Minwer Al-Hadid. Mithqal also mended relations with Sheikh Fawaz Barakat Al-Zoubi of Al-Ramtha in Northern Jordan.

Of Jordan's merchants and businessmen, Mithqal was a focal point of agriculture in the region and had the support of his friend and trusted financier Abdul Hameed Shoman. He also would enjoyed great business and cordial relationships with Sabri Tabbaa and Ra'ouf Abujaber.

In Palestine Mithqal was a household name and would feature frequently in headlines of the Jaffa based newspaper Falastin. He was supported and had strong political relationships with both Musa Kadhim Al-Husseini and Hajj Amin Al-Husseini.

  1. ^ Alon, Yoav (20 July 2016). The shaykh of shaykhs : Mithqal al-Fayiz and tribal leadership in modern Jordan. Stanford, California. pp. 49–51. ISBN 978-0-8047-9934-8. OCLC 948961339.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ Untold histories of the Middle East : recovering voices from the 19th and 20th centuries. Singer, Amy., Neumann, Christoph K., 1962-, Somel, Selçuk Akşin. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. 2011. pp. 98–99. ISBN 978-0-203-84536-3. OCLC 658189067.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. ^ a b Alon, Yoav (20 July 2016). The shaykh of shaykhs : Mithqal al-Fayiz and tribal leadership in modern Jordan. Stanford, California. pp. 56–57. ISBN 978-0-8047-9934-8. OCLC 948961339.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ Alon, Yoav (2016). The shaykh of shaykhs Mithqal al-Fayiz and tribal leadership in modern Jordan. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 61. ISBN 9780804799348.
  5. ^ Alon, Yoav (2016). The Shaykh of Shaykhs. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 90. ISBN 9780804799348.
  6. ^ Alon, Yoav (20 July 2016). The shaykh of shaykhs : Mithqal al-Fayiz and tribal leadership in modern Jordan. Stanford, California. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-8047-9934-8. OCLC 948961339.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ^ Untold histories of the Middle East : recovering voices from the 19th and 20th centuries. Singer, Amy., Neumann, Christoph K., 1962-, Somel, Selçuk Akşin. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. 2011. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-203-84536-3. OCLC 658189067.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. ^ Torczyner, Jim (2020). Rights-Based Community Practice and Academic Activism in a Turbulent World. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. ISBN 978-1000318524.
  9. ^ Alon, Yoav (20 July 2016). The shaykh of shaykhs : Mithqal al-Fayiz and tribal leadership in modern Jordan. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-8047-9934-8. OCLC 948961339.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  10. ^ Israel's clandestine diplomacies. Jones, Clive, 1965-, Petersen, Tore T., 1954- (First ed.). Oxford. November 2013. ISBN 978-0-19-936544-9. OCLC 867049783.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  11. ^ Alon, Yoav (20 July 2016). The shaykh of shaykhs : Mithqal al-Fayiz and tribal leadership in modern Jordan. Stanford, California. pp. 39, 141. ISBN 978-0-8047-9934-8. OCLC 948961339.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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