Word: hejaz
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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Later the Kings reviewed Ibn Saud's bodyguard of Wahabis ("Puritan" Moslems), who wear their hair braided and march in sweeping, dun-colored abaat (gowns). Then the monarchs sat down to a banquet in the sumptuous Hejaz style. The great table groaned under the weight of sweetmeats and whole barbecued sheep. In high good humor, Ibn Saud told brave tales of his youth. For hours the feasting continued, while the Wahabis made the night ring with martial songs and poems flattering the royal Egyptian guest...
Abdullah-ibn-Husein, Emir of Trans-Jordan, is a short, plump, jovial fighting man who comes from a long line of noble fighting men. His father was Husein-ibn-Ali, onetime King of Hejaz, and he traces his ancestry in the male line straight back to the son of the daughter of Mohammed. He likes to drive in swift motorcars, breed fancy camels and play chess all night...
Lawrence was right. Abdullah fought well for the British in World War I, but his brother Faisal was a more brilliant leader. After the war the entire family was established in new Eastern kingdoms: Father Husein in Hejaz (whence his son AH was chased by that tough man Ibn Saud), Faisal in Syria (whence he was chased by the French), Abdullah in Trans-Jordan, which was set up by the British as a link between Egypt and Iraq and a potential threat to French-mandated Syria. Through the process of raiding his treasury and letting the British bail...