Faisal I | |||||
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King Faisal of Iraq circa 1920
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King of Syria | |||||
Reign | 8 March 1920 – 24 July 1920 | ||||
Predecessor | Military occupation | ||||
Successor | Monarchy abolished | ||||
Prime Ministers |
See list
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King of Iraq | |||||
Reign | 23 August 1921 – 8 September 1933 | ||||
Predecessor | Military occupation | ||||
Successor | Ghazi I | ||||
Prime Ministers | |||||
Born |
Mecca, Ottoman Empire |
20 May 1885||||
Died | 8 September 1933 Bern, Switzerland |
(aged 48)||||
Burial | Royal Mausoleum, Adhamiyah | ||||
Spouse | Huzaima bint Nasser | ||||
Issue | Princess Azza of Iraq Princess Rajiha of Iraq Princess Raifi'a of Iraq King Ghazi I of Iraq |
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House | Hashemite | ||||
Father | Hussein bin Ali | ||||
Mother | Abdiyah bint Abdullah | ||||
Religion | Sunni Islam |
Full name | |
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Faisal bin Hussein bin Ali al-Hashimi |
Faisal I bin Hussein bin Ali al-Hashimi, (Arabic: فيصل بن الحسين بن علي الهاشمي, Fayṣal al-Awwal ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn ‘Alī al-Hāshimī; 20 May 1885 – 8 September 1933) was King of the Arab Kingdom of Syria or Greater Syria in 1920, and was King of Iraq from 23 August 1921 to 1933. He was the third son of Hussein bin Ali, the Grand Sharif of Mecca, who had proclaimed himself King of the Arab lands in October 1916.
Faisal fostered unity between Sunni and Shiite Muslims to encourage common loyalty and promote pan-Arabism in the goal of creating an Arab state that would include Iraq, Syria and the rest of the Fertile Crescent. While in power, Faisal tried to diversify his administration by including different ethnic and religious groups in offices. However, Faisal’s attempt at pan-Arab nationalism may have contributed to the isolation of certain religious groups.
Faisal was born in Mecca, Ottoman Empire (in present-day Saudi Arabia) in 1885, the third son of Hussein bin Ali, the Grand Sharif of Mecca. He grew up in Constantinople and learned about leadership from his father. In 1913, he was elected as representative for the city of Jeddah for the Ottoman parliament.
In 1916, on a mission to Constantinople, Faisal visited Damascus twice. On one of these visits he received the , joined with the Al-Fatat group of Arab nationalists.