User:Hashima20/Ghazi bin Faisal

Ghazi bin Faisal (غازي بن فيصل; Ghazi bin Faisal bin Hussein bin Ali; 21 March 1912 – 4 April 1939) was King of Iraq, from 8 September 1933 until his death in 1939, and crown prince of Syria from 8 March until 24 July 1920 during the brief rule of his father, Faisal I.

He was the only son of Faisal I and the grandson of the Sharif of Mecca and King of Hejaz Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca. From the time of his birth in 1912, he was the only successor of Faisal of Iraq and Syria. He was educated in the Iraqi Military Academy from 1926 until 1932, which led to him serving in the Iraqi Air Force for only a year before the death of his father in 1933. He succeeded him to be the second King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq.

His six years of reign witnessed many revolts including: the 1935–36 Iraqi Shia revolts, the 1935 Barazan revolt and the 1935 Yazidi revolt, which were all suppressed. It also witnessed the first coup in Iraq's modern history, the 1936 Iraqi coup d'état, which was led by Bakr Sidqi, who succeeded in achieving its goals, and four parliamentary elections. It also witnessed the opening of the Basra airport and the Kut Barrage. He died in a car accident leading Abd al-Ilah to be the regent until Prince Faisal II comes of age.

Early life
Ghazi was born on 21 March 1912, in Mecca, Hejaz Vilayet while it was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. He was the only son of one of Sharif Hussein bin Ali's sons, Sharif Faisal and the daughter of Sharif Nasser bin Ali, the brother of Sharif Hussein, Sharifa Huzaima bint Nasser. Before he was born, his grandfather, Hussein bin Ali, told them to name him Awn but when he was born he was named Ghazi due to his father leading a military campaign (Ghazwa) in 'Asir Region against Mohammed bin Ali Al-Idreesi after announcing his revolt against the Ottoman government in 1911. He lived with his grandfather, who kept calling him Awn, due to his father's many trips and campaigns.

When Ghazi became six, he was sent by his grandfather, Hussein bin Ali, to the desert to learn the life's roughness and vulgarity as all the Sharifs of Mecca did, so he sent Ghazi with his cousin, 'Abd al-Ilah, to the village of Rihab, where they lived for six years. Through it, Ghazi learned how to ride horses and camels, swing a sword and fire bullets. He was taught writing by Sheikh Yaseen Al-Basyouni, his grandfather's personal Imam, and was taught Arabic grammar and Islamic studies by Sayyid Hassan Al-Alawi.



Arriving at Baghdad
After the Saudi attack on Taif, in August 1924, Hussein bin Ali moved his family to Jeddah but to insure their safety, Emir Abdullah I, Ghazi's uncle, escorted them to the Emirate of Transjordan due to the Wahhabis appearing as a threatening force to the Hashemites. They stayed in Transjordan for a year before King Faisal sent a delegation led by the Minister of Interior, Abd al-Muhsin as-Sa'dun, to bring him and his family to Iraq after the Iraqi Constitution was ratified by the parliament, in June 1924, which set the line of succession to the Iraqi throne, making Ghazi the crown prince of Iraq.

They arrived at Falluja on 5 October 1924 with Prime Minister Yasin al-Hashimi, the Minister of Finance, Sassoon Eskell, and Gertrude Bell welcoming them. The prince finally arrived at Baghdad at night where hundreds of students, workers and sheikhs stood on the roadside welcoming his parade to the royal palace. On 10 October, Prince Ghazi was invited by Al-Jaafariya school to a ceremony for the high achiever students, along with Mohammed Ridha Al-Shabibi, Naji Shawkat, Sati' al-Husri and Rasheed Khoja. It was also present by Mohammed Mahdi Al-Basir, who complained to the prince about law graduates having no job opportunities and the small size of the school, and Mulla Abboud Al-Karkhi who delivered a colloquial poem. Also two delegations from Mosul and Basra traveled to Baghdad to welcome him.

In Baghdad
Since he was only taught the basics in Hejaz, Prince Ghazi had to get his education from Baghdad. Faisal I brought him the best teachers who taught Faisal himself but they told the king that Ghazi couldn't understand any of the subjects and that he might have a lack of intelligence which caused a fear in Faisal who sent for the Minister of Awqaf, Sati' al-Husri, to speak to him in this matter. He told him that he is worried that Ghazi doesn't have the intelligence to be a crown prince or a king and if that was true, he would leave the situation to the parliament to decide whether he continue as the crown prince or not. After checking on Ghazi, Al-Husri assured Faisal that nothing was wrong with him and that the lack of intelligent was generated from him learning at a late age which can be easily repaired by following a strict schedule.

Faisal assigned Prime Minister Yasin al-Hashimi to take care of the prince's education and social life. He broached the subject on the Council of Ministers who approved, which led Al-Hashimi to form a ministerial committee that includes Mohammed Ridha Al-Shabibi, Rashid Ali al-Gaylani and Sassoon Eskell on 9 October 1924. They were also joined by Harry Sinderson. The king assigned Col. Taha al-Hashimi as the direct supervisor on Ghazi's education and on 19 November 1924, four of the best teachers were appointed for Ghazi after the Council of Ministers approved on them and his educational system. On 24 November, Ghazi's education began.

Al-Hashimi suggested, on the Council of Minister, on 28 April 1925, that Ghazi should go to theaters, cinemas, celebrations and national events to know the Iraqi society. Faisal took him on his trips to various cities and governates in Iraq. To ensure Ghazi's progress, Al-Hashimi sent monthly reports that included his social and health status and his educational progress.

In London
In a visit to Baghdad in early-1925, the British Secretary of State for the Colonies, Leo Amery, suggested sending Prince Ghazi to England to make up the lack of intelligence due to him beginning to study at an old age. In the summer of 1925, Faisal visited England where he met Amery and discussed Ghazi's necessary arrangements for his education in England and decided that he would attend Harrow School. Ghazi left Baghdad, along with Taha al-Hashimi, on 22 March 1926 to go to Alexandria where he took the Sphinx steamboat to England, arriving on 10 April. He lived with a bishop's family in a simple house in Kent to learn how to act like a proper British person. On 16 September 1926, he was accepted at Harrow School, leaving for London and beginning his proper education with a personal Arabic teacher, Sheikh Kadhim Al-Dujaili.

On 24 July 1927, Prince Ghazi and Al-Dujaili left England to go to Baghdad for the summer vacation. He arrived on 4 August where a big celebration was held of the country's officials and Sheikhs to welcome him. He stayed for a month before returning to London on 12 September to start the new semester. Faisal wanted Ghazi to study for another year in the school but they responded by saying that it is not possible for him to study for another year and that he had to take a year to prepare him to attend the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. A final report was sent by the school to Iraq to inform the prince's progress. It stated that he treats this experience as an exile that his father sent him to, and he thinks that his education is just an ordeal that will pass that will never be used. The king was disappointed when he read the report and sent for Ghazi to train in the Iraqi Military Academy for a year before attending the Sandhurst Royal Military College. He returned to Baghdad on 1 November 1928.

Military Academy
Prince Ghazi joined the Iraqi Military Academy in November 1928 as a tribesman because the only two other ways to join was to be a secondary school graduate or a primary school graduate with one or two years spent in middle school. Faisal informed them to treat him like the rest of the students, not to call him with royal titles and to focus on cavalry lessons because he wants to be a horseman. Due to him not having enough information about the Arabic language, history, geography and Islamic studies, additional hours were added and, eventually, his education was extended to four years instead of three. He also studied English and mathematics by a personal teacher, Fadhil Al-Jumaili, and after him, came Ibrahim Al-Dabbas who taught Faisal and Ali of Hejaz.

He graduated from the academy in July 1932 as an cavalry officer with a second lieutenant rank. He was the best in the academy in cavalry, receiving a saddle as an award from his father in show jumping.

Royal Guard and regent
Prince Ghazi was appointed by his father, in August 1932, in the Royal Guards department before getting promoted to the king's personal guard. He escorted the king to different parts of the world to know the conditions of these countries. Faisal ordered to transfer the Royal Court library, that contained 228 books in various subjects, to Ghazi's library in order for him to gain more information about these subjects. He also assigned a number of famous writers to help educate him.

Assyrian uprising
On 5 June 1933, King Faisal traveled to London, along with Yasin al-Hashimi, Nuri al-Said and Rustum Haider, for an invitation from King George V following Iraq being a member in the League of Nations. He appointed Ghazi as the regent of the kingdom until he returns. The Iraqi government imposed on Shimun XXIII Eshai to stay in Baghdad, leading him to be held in captivity, which was condemned by the British government. The captivation of Shimun escalated into riots led by Assyrian anti-government families in Mosul which were suppressed by the government. Due to him taking most of his trusted ministers with him to London, Faisal sent a message to Ghazi, on 28 July, ordering him to persuade the minister of interior to give secret orders to the border guards to allow the Assyrians who return to Iraq, after immigrating to Syria, to keep their weapons which was strongly rejected by him. On 5 August, 1,000 Assyrian rebels crossed the borders from Syria to Iraq to give up their weapons to the army but, instead, they attacked the military force that was stationed in Dera Bon. Their attack failed, resulting in 167 deaths and 198 injuries in total. Upon Faisal's return, he found most of his men leaning towards Ghazi who submitted to the public opinion and realized that it was wrong of him to leave his young son and take the most important men in the cabinet. Following the Simele massacre that resulted in the death of 5,000–6,000 Assyrians, Ghazi went to Simele to award victorious colours to those military and tribal leaders who participated in it.

Reign
On 1 September 1933, King Faisal left Iraq for Switzerland where, on 7 September and at 11:45 PM, he passed away out of Arteriosclerosis. The next day, the Council of Ministers held a meeting in the Royal Court where they gave Prince Ghazi their condolences and asked him to swear the oath, declaring him the new king of Iraq. The cannons fired 101 shots to authorize sitting on the royal throne and Prime Minister Abd Al-Rahman Al-Gillani issued a statement, announcing Ghazi the new king of Iraq. From 1:00 to 2:00 PM, a small coronation ceremony, consisted of dignitaries giving their condolences to the king, was held.

After the return of Senate President Sayyid Muhammad as-Sadr from his vacation, on 11 September, the parliament was gathered under his presidency. The first ten minutes was a moment of silence on the soul of King Faisal and the rest of it was Ghazi swearing the constitutional oath in front of the representatives according to Article 21 of the constitution. On 15 September, Faisal's body along with Ali of Hejaz, Nuri al-Said, Jaafar al-Askari, Rustum Haider, Tahsin Qadri, Ahmed Qadri and Husni Al-Masri. The funeral parade headed towards the Royal Court and then towards the Royal Mausoleum in Adhamiya where he was buried.