Kingdom of Hejaz
| Kingdom of Hejaz | ||||||
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 Kingdom of Hejaz (green) and present Hejaz region (red)
on the Arabian Peninsula. |
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| Capital | Mecca | |||||
| Languages | Arabic · Persian Ottoman Turkish |
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| Religion | Islam | |||||
| Government | Absolute monarchy | |||||
| Sharif | ||||||
| - | 1916–1924 | Hussein bin Ali | ||||
| - | 1924–1925 | Ali bin Hussein | ||||
| Historical era | Interwar period | |||||
| - | Kingdom established | 10 June 1916 | ||||
| - | Recognized | 10 August 1920 | ||||
| - | Conquered by Nejd | 19 December 1925 | ||||
| - | Ibn Saud crowned King of Hejaz | 8 January 1926 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 1920 est. | 850,000 | ||||
The Kingdom of Hejaz was a state in the Hejaz region ruled by the Hashemite family. It became independent from the collapsing Ottoman Empire as a result of World War I when the Sharif of Mecca made a deal with the British that the Arab population would be instigated to revolt against the Turks in exchange for a unified Arab country. In 1916, the Sharif of Mecca declared himself King of Hejaz as his Sharifian Army participated with other Arab forces and the British Empire in expelling the Turks from the Arabian peninsula.
The Hejaz region had some strategic infrastructure, particularly the Hejaz railway, which was put out of operation in the war as it was used to reinforce Turkish forces in the region.
The kingdom was annexed in 1925 by the neighbouring Sultanate of Nejd under a resurgent House of Saud, and merged into the Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz, which would eventually be known as Saudi Arabia in 1932.[1][2]
Kings of Hejaz [edit]
- Husain ibn Ali (10 June 1916 – 3 October 1924)
- Ali bin Hussein (3 October 1924 – 19 December 1925)
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Madawi Al-Rasheed. A History of Saudi Arabia. Cambridge, England, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
- ^ A Brief overview of Hejaz - Hejaz history
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