The Arab bid
There are disputes as to his birth year - some suggest 1852, others 1854. Husayn ibn Ali (aka Hussein bin Ali) was born in Constantinople, capital of the Ottoman Empire and was always destined to be head of the Hashemite family, one of the most powerful clans in the Empire. He and his family were the most direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), and, as such, were responsible for being Guardians of the Two Mosques, Islam's holiest shrines.
His rise to prominence began in 1909, when following the failure of the Jonturkler coup d'etat, he participated in the diplomatic congress that gave rise to the Second Tanzimat, the reinvigoration of the Ottoman state. While he primarily agreed with the modernisation, he opposed strongly the sale of land in Uhyun to foreigners and questioned the separation of the city of Jerusalem into a separate principality. It was primarily as a result of this opposition that the Sultan made substantial concessions toward Arab development and appointed the long-serving Arab Grand Vizier, Nafi al-Jabiri. It was during this time that he took the title of King of Arabia, antagonising the tribes of the southern peninsula who refused to recognise his authority.
In June, 1913, he served as the Imperial Envoy to St Petersburg, negotiating the normalisation of relations between the two empires after decades of tensions and winning the favour of the Kurds for his expansion of their kingdom at the expense of the Persians. Three years later, he served as the Commander of the Ottoman forces in overthrowing the Wahhabi Kingdom of Nejd and deposed the Saud family. He also led the negotiations with established the line of demarcation, permanently separating the Arabian peninsula into Ottoman and British spheres of influence.
The most transformational event in the life of King Hussein was the debate over the role of the Caliphate, which became a central theme of Ottoman life following the demise of the Sultan during the Great Plague of 1918-19. In the argument over the separation of church and state, it became clear that Mehmed VI would not compromise due to his fear of the power of the Hashemite family. While retaining the title of King of Arabia, King Hussein compromised by agreeing to surrender the title of Sherif, thus preventing the Ottoman Empire from plunging into civil conflict. However, the Hashemite family came to strongly resent the sacrifices they had been forced to make.
On 4 April, 1920, King Hussein, endorsed by the overwhelming majority of Arabs, announced his intention to seek Arabian independence. He stated that this would take place as a negotiated process, specifically stating that he wished to retain good relations with the Ottoman and British Empires. (Poor relations with the Persians meant that he could not do otherwise.) The Sultan, having been advised of Arab intentions, asked for a meeting in the capital, Beirut and invited the British to mediate in the dispute between the houses of Osman and Hashem.
After three weeks of intense negotiations, King Hussein agreed to postpone political secession. In return, he received substantial revisions to the Seven-Year Plan which benefited the Asiri, the Yemeni and the Nejd, as well as making substantial improvements to the Al Hasa coastline. The United Kingdom again came to the party as the international financier, but demanded in return for its investment a concession of land south of Al Kuwait, increasing the holdings of the Sabah family by approximately one third. It was agreed that the three parties would meet again to discuss the matter in 1923.
