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87-614: The Federation was formed on 14 February 1958, when King Faisal II of Iraq and his cousin, King Hussein of Jordan , sought to unite their two Hashemite kingdoms as a response to the formation of the United Arab Republic between Egypt and Syria. The union lasted only six months. Faisal II was deposed by a military coup on 14 July , and the new Iraqi government officially dissolved the Federation 2 August 1958. Pan-Arabism and Arab nationalism were major movements in

174-554: A Jordanian-Iraqi union to counter the UAR; such a union formed on 14 February 1958 as the Arab Federation . Jordan and Iraq agreed to establish a unified military command with a unified military budget, 80 per cent of which was to be provided by Iraq and the remaining 20 per cent by Jordan. Troops from both countries were exchanged in the arrangement. In nearby Lebanon , President Camille Chamoun , an opponent of Nasser, viewed

261-610: A "Front of National Union" was established, bringing together the National Democrats, Independents, Communists, and the Ba'ath Party . An identical process ensued within the Iraqi officer corps with the formation of a "Supreme Committee of Free Officers". Faisal's government endeavored to preserve the military's loyalty through generous benefits, but this proved increasingly ineffective as more and more officers came to sympathize with

348-569: A 600-member National Assembly with 400 members from Egypt and 200 from Syria, and the disbanding of all political parties, including the Ba'ath. Nasser gave each of the provinces two vice-presidents, assigning Boghdadi and Abdel Hakim Amer to Egypt and Sabri al-Assali and Akram El-Hourani – a leader of the Ba'ath – to Syria. The new provisional constitution of 1958 was adopted. Though Nasser allowed former Ba'ath Party members to hold prominent political positions, they never reached positions as high in

435-567: A backlash from the Syrian business and army circles, which resulted in the Syrian coup of September 28, 1961, and the end of the UAR. According to Elie Podeh, "... this unity scheme was successful in consolidating the shaky Syrian identity. In fact, once the Syrians lost their independence they suddenly realized that they did indeed possess a different identity than the Egyptians." Despite

522-766: A changing Iraqi political and social climate exacerbated by the rapid development of pan-Arab nationalism. On the same day his cousin, Hussein, was enthroned in Jordan. Reportedly, Faisal's reign was marked by tolerance and co-existence with other faiths and branches of Islam and projects such as an irrigation project, inspired by the US project. Public buildings were built under his reign such as al-Shawy Mosque which he visited along with scholars and notables of Baghdad on TV. Faisal initially relied for political advice upon his father’s cousin Prince 'Abd al-Ilah and General Nuri al-Sa'id ,

609-459: A coup and declared Syria's independence from the UAR. Though the coup leaders were willing to renegotiate a union under terms they felt would put Syria on an equal footing with Egypt, Nasser refused such a compromise. He initially considered sending troops to overthrow the new regime, but chose not to once he was informed that the last of his allies in Syria had been defeated. In speeches that followed

696-675: A flag based on the Arab Liberation Flag of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 , but with two stars to represent the two parts of the UAR. From 1980 this has been the official flag of Syria . In 1963, Iraq adopted a flag that was similar but with three stars, representing the hope that Iraq would join the UAR. The current flags of Egypt , Sudan and Yemen are also based on the 1952 Arab Liberation Flag of horizontal red, white and black bands. In June 1960, Nasser tried to establish economic reforms that would bring

783-506: A foreign advisor with the goal of improving living conditions and construction. After various negotiations, the board received a percentage of the annual oil revenue and in 1955 it established a six-year plan with a larger budget, a quarter of which was assigned to public buildings. In an effort to secure the authority of King Faisal II and the Royal Family and to thwart possible tensions, funds needed to be invested in urban areas where it

870-424: A formal alliance between Iraq and Jordan came in 1958. In early 1958, Nasser burnished his pan-Arabist credentials by convincing Syria and Egypt to unite as one country: the United Arab Republic (UAR). He portrayed it as the first step among many, openly advocating for other countries to join the UAR, a direct threat to both Hashemite regimes which bordered Syria. To counter Nasser's pan-Arabism, al-Said approached

957-535: A letter from the British Board of Trade that was sent to a number of British architects. Some of the criticism of the plans were used as justification during the 14 July Revolution . On 1 February 1958, neighboring Syria joined with Nasser's Egypt to form the United Arab Republic which Iraq did not recognize. This prompted the Hashemite kingdoms of Iraq and Jordan to strengthen their ties by establishing

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1044-598: A look into his mind during the chaotic time. In 1952, at age 17, Faisal began plans to visit the United States and its many development projects such as agriculture, power projects, canal systems, and land reclamation schemes. Of particular interest to the King were the irrigation projects as Faisal would later tell the New York press that those were “very much needed in our country." On 12 August, 1952, Faisal began

1131-616: A similar alliance. King Hussein bin Talal , King of Jordan, sent his court minister to Baghdad, carrying a message to Faisal inviting him to go with some ministers to Amman, to consider the consequences of the event. On February 11, 1958, the King of Iraq went with some ministers, the Chief of Staff of the Army, and the Chief of the Royal Court. On the next day, Abd al-Ilah joined them, and there

1218-490: A special case, he felt obliged to back his supporters through giving Abdel Hamid Sarraj the task of sending them money and light arms, and training officers. On 14 July 1958, Iraqi army officers staged a military coup and overthrew the Kingdom of Iraq – which had just previously united with Jordan to form the rival Arab Federation . Nasser declared his recognition of the new government and stated that "any attack on Iraq

1305-403: A veteran politician and nationalist who had already served several terms as Prime Minister . However, Faisal's reign simultaneously grew increasingly unstable against a backdrop of economic inequality coupled with the rise of Communism, anti-imperialist sentiment, and mounting Pan-Arab nationalism. Hastening Faisal's demise was the decision taken by his regent (later confirmed by him) to allow

1392-562: Is a military school in Jordan that was named after him. United Arab Republic The United Arab Republic ( UAR ; Arabic : الجمهورية العربية المتحدة , romanized :  al-Jumhūriyya al-ʿArabiyya al-Muttaḥida ) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 until 1961. It was initially a short-lived political union between Egypt (including the governance of Gaza ) and Syria from 1958 until Syria seceded from

1479-609: The Arabian Nights , Wright's plans seemed to echo old Abbasid architecture in Baghdad such as circular layout and are imbued in greenery to allude to the Garden of Eden . Despite the contribution to the development of the city, some have criticized Faisal's plans for Greater Baghdad and the many styles that he introduced to be a " Westernization " of Iraq. The plans also acquired international attention as

1566-484: The Arab–Israeli conflict , the large number of Palestinians in Jordan , a lack of oil or other valuable resources in Jordan, and the unstable relationship between Abdullah and his nephew, the Iraqi regent ' Abd al-Ilah . Regardless of the issues, the two countries attempted unification in 1946 and 1947. The second time was in 1951 and 1952. King Abdullah was assassinated in 1951 and one of the succession options explored

1653-549: The Ebbets Field . The visit was covered by many news outlets nationwide that many forgot Faisal's original motives for the visit. He would also famously be on the side of Brooklyn Dodgers but reportedly couldn't tell the difference between them and the other team, the New York Giants , in which one of his aides told him that the team's names are written on the players' clothes. In the following days, he would tour

1740-543: The National Union (the single party which replaced the Ba'ath), with the help of Colonel Abdul Hamid Sarraj (a Syrian army official and Nasser sympathizer), antagonized Ba'athist leaders. The Ba'ath Party won only five percent of the seats on the higher committees, while the more traditional conservative parties won a significant majority. Sarraj was appointed the head of the National Union in Syria, and by

1827-729: The Palestinian Authority , created by the Oslo Accords , established a degree of Palestinian civil administration in Gaza. Israel retreated from Gaza in 2005 was not followed by resumption of control by Egypt. Since 2007, Gaza has been administrated by the Palestinian party Hamas . If it existed today, the United Arab Republic would be the 25th largest nation on the planet (Egypt is 30th and Syria

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1914-696: The Radio City Music Hall and the Esso Oil Company . On 16 of August, both would depart from LaGuardia Airport for Washington, D.C. , where he met President Harry Truman . Over the following weeks, he would meet other famous Americans, such as Dean Acheson , the actor James Mason , and Jackie Robinson , among others. Less than a year after his visit to the United States, Faisal attained his majority on 2 May 1953, commencing his active rule with little experience and during

2001-885: The Second World War , in which the Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq was formally allied with the British Empire and the Allies . In April 1941, his first cousin once removed 'Abd al-Ilah was briefly deposed as Regent by a military coup d'état which aimed to align Iraq with the Axis powers . The 1941 coup in Iraq soon led to the Anglo-Iraqi War . German aid proved insufficient, and the Regent 'Abd al-Ilah

2088-625: The Syrian Ba'ath Party , which was suffering from an internal crisis from which prominent members were anxious to find an escape. Syria had a democratic government since the overthrow of Adib al-Shishakli 's military government in 1954, and popular pressure for Arab unity was reflected in the composition of parliament . On 11 January 1958, the Syrian Chief of Staff Afif al-Bizri headed a Syrian delegation composed of military officers which came uninvited and unannounced to Cairo. The delegation

2175-783: The West Bank , the Golan Heights , and the Sinai Peninsula during the Six-Day War . Egypt recovered partial sovereignty over the Sinai Peninsula in 1978, but only after agreeing to recognize Israel. Anwar Sadat, who reversed many of the socialist reforms enacted under Nassar, extended diplomatic recognition to Tel Aviv despite Israel's ongoing occupation of lands seized in 1967. Israel maintained an occupation of these territories and created settlements. After 1994,

2262-455: The nationalization of banks, insurance companies, and all heavy industry, July 23, 1961. Nasser also extended his social justice principles. The land limit was reduced from 200 to 100 feddans . Interest rates for farmers were dramatically reduced to the point of elimination in some cases. A ninety percent tax was instituted on all income above £E10,000. Workers and employees were allowed representatives on management boards. They were also given

2349-696: The official flag of the Union . Iraq and Jordan were the first members, but they hoped for Kuwait to join. Nuri al-Said resigned as Prime Minister of Iraq and became the Premier of the Arab Union. He neglected to see the growing opposition in the Sunni officer corps against the regime, however. Tension between the UAR and the Arab Federation worsened. During the summer of 1958, UAR troop movements to

2436-504: The "threat" of Communism and left-leaning variants of pan-Arab nationalism . Recently, 143 drawings by Faisal using either pencil or crayon were put on display at Iraq's National Archives depicting backdrops of the war he lived through. These include drawings of aircraft, bombs, killer robots, and extreme fighting on both land and sea and drawings also depicting peaceful subjects, including landscapes, birds, and buildings, as well as maps of Europe and North Africa . These drawings offered

2523-413: The 1960s, perhaps easing the path to reconciliation. In 1975, Jordan turned away from their traditional economic relationship with Syria and instead looked to Iraq. Iraq offered Jordan a strong economy, oil money, a large market and strategic depth. With Iraq's financial aid, Jordan made some economic gains. By 1990 Iraq was "Jordan's largest market, it was repaying trade credit debts in oil, and it held out

2610-657: The Arab Sunni minority to tie themselves to farther flung Sunni populations. The Hashemites' most prominent rival for leadership in the 1950s was Gamal Abdel Nasser , the president of Egypt , the most populous Arab country. Nasser, backed by the Free Officers Movement , had replaced the old monarchy of Egypt with a secular and Arab socialism -tinged republican government, and his brand of nationalism had little patience for monarchies. The House of Saud ruled Saudi Arabia with Wahhabi religious fervor, and

2697-526: The Hashemite government of Jordan to discuss the formation of a similar union to appease Arab nationalists within Iraq. Officially formed on 14 February 1958, the Arab Union or Arab Federation united foreign policy and defense of each country but left the vast majority of other domestic programs under national jurisdiction. According to the 7th article of the Federation convention, the Arab revolt flag came to be

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2784-657: The Hashemites in Jordan. Not only were King Hussein's ruling cousins in Iraq executed, but so was the Jordanian Prime Minister Ibrahim Hashem who was visiting at the time. After the revolutionaries in Iraq declared a republic, King Hussein of Jordan requested immediate British and American aid. The British sent 4,000 soldiers to Jordan, while the US stationed troops in Beirut, Lebanon. The British forces remained until November 2, 1958, when

2871-656: The Iraqi Free Officers a year before the coup – or Qasim viewed Nasser as a threat to his supremacy as leader of Iraq. Later in July, the American government convinced Chamoun not to seek a second term. This allowed the election of Fuad Chehab as Lebanon's new president. Nasser and Chehab met at the Lebanese–Syrian border and Nasser explained to Chehab that he never wanted unity with Lebanon, but only that

2958-500: The Jordanian-Syrian border. Qasim took the opportunity, with his troops having a legitimate excuse to be in Baghdad, to overthrow the government there in the 14 July Revolution . With the fall and resulting deaths of al-Said, King Faisal II, and the rest of the Iraqi royal family, both the Hashemite regime fell and with it the short-lived Arab Federation. The deposition of the Hashemites in Iraq had immediate ramifications on

3045-686: The Middle East after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in 1919–1925. Arab nationalism was particularly popular among intellectuals and the military. Pan-Arabists often advocated for an Arab Union that would combine all the Arabs in a single state, similar to romantic portrayals of the Ottoman Empire and the old caliphates. However, it was unclear who would lead any such proposed pan-Arab state, and major fissures grew between rivals for leadership. The Hashemite dynasty fashioned themselves as

3132-791: The National Parliament and the Royal Palace . An architect competition was held for the National Bank which Swiss architect William Dunkel won. Some of the buildings designed during this time were built decades later, under Saddam Hussein , such as the Baghdad Gymnasium which was designed by Le Corbusier. Frank Lloyd Wright was also invited by Faisal to design much of Newer Baghdad, but Wright seemed to not regard Iraq as an underdeveloped nation and wanted to preserve its character. Inspired by Harun al-Rashid and

3219-666: The Royal Guard to offer no resistance and surrendered to the insurgents. Around 8 am, Captain Abdul Sattar Sabaa Al-Ibousi, leading the revolutionary assault group at the Rihab Palace , which was still the principal royal residence in central Baghdad, ordered the King, Crown Prince 'Abd al-Ilah , Crown Princess Hiyam ('Abd al-Ilah's wife), Princess Nafeesa ('Abd al-Ilah's mother), Princess Abadiya (Faisal's aunt) and several servants to gather in

3306-606: The Syrian border instigated the Arab Federation to mobilize troops to counter this move. Within Iraq, a group called the Free Officers plotted against the monarchy. They were inspired both by Iraq's turbulent history of coups and counter-coups in the past decades as well as Nasser's successful overthrow of the Egyptian monarchy in 1952, although they were not direct agents of Nasser. In July 1958, troops led by Abd al-Karim Qasim were transiting through Baghdad on their way to

3393-459: The Syrian economy more in line with the strong Egyptian public sector. However, these changes did little to help either economy. Rather than shift growth toward the private sector, Nasser embarked on an unprecedented wave of nationalizations in both Syria and Egypt . These began in July 1961, without consulting top Syrian economic officials. The entire cotton trade was taken over by the government, as well as all import-export firms. Nasser announced

3480-521: The US pledged to "support the throne [of the Hashemites in Jordan]" and "provide the country with $ 40 to $ 50 million as an annual subsidy, replacing the British subsidy". The revolution and downfall of the Hashemite dynasty in Iraq would not be the end of relations between Iraq and Jordan. The Iraqi coup plotters who had ordered the execution of the Hashemites were themselves later overthrown and killed in

3567-471: The United Arab Republic would not be permitted to see Griffith's performance. Instead of a federation of two Arab peoples, as many Syrians had imagined, the UAR turned into a state completely dominated by Egyptians. Syrian political life was also diminished, as Nasser demanded all political parties in Syria to be dismantled. In the process, the strongly centralized Egyptian state imposed Nasser's socialistic political and economic system on weaker Syria, creating

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3654-759: The United Kingdom to retain a continued role in Iraqi affairs, through the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1948 , and later the Baghdad Pact , signed in 1955. Increasing massive protests greeted news of each of these alliances, contributing to the deaths of hundreds of demonstrators and an increasing deterioration of loyalty to the Iraqi Crown. As oil revenues increased during the 1950s, the king and his advisors chose to invest their wealth in development projects, which some claimed increasingly alienated

3741-455: The affairs in Syria. By moving the latter two, both Ba'athists, to Cairo, he neutralized important political figures who had their own ideas about how Syria should be run within the UAR. In Syria, opposition to union with Egypt mounted. Syrian Army officers resented being subordinate to Egyptian officers, and Syrian Bedouin tribes received money from Saudi Arabia to prevent them from becoming loyal to Nasser. Also, Egyptian-style land reform

3828-563: The building industries, and train future Iraqi architects to not rely on Western help. The increase in the economy that subsequently enabled the plans for Greater Baghdad to be developed was due to negotiations with the British-controlled Iraq Petroleum Company in 1952 that achieved an equitable share of oil rights and a substantial increase in Iraq's revenue. Faisal also created the semiautonomous Development Board which consisted of six members including

3915-553: The country not be used as a base against the UAR. This meeting resulted in the end of the crisis in Lebanon, with Nasser ceasing to supply his partisans and America setting a deadline for retreating from the area. After the overthrow of its Hashemite monarchy in 1958, Iraq became the Arab state most supportive of the UAR. Iraq sought to join the union; however, in 1959 Qasim cancelled the unity talks. After Qasim's overthrow in 1963

4002-538: The coup, Nasser declared he would never give up his goal of an ultimate Arab union. However, he would never again achieve such a tangible victory toward this goal. After Syria's withdrawal from the union in 1961, Egypt retained its "United Arab Republic" name until 1971. In the early 1960s, Nasser sent an expeditionary army to Yemen to support the anti-monarchist forces in the North Yemen Civil War . From 5 to 10 June in 1967, Israel invaded Gaza ,

4089-413: The creation of the UAR with worry. Pro-Nasser factions in the country were mostly Muslims and Druze , while the Christian Maronite population generally supported Chamoun. These two sides began clashing, culminating in a civil war by May 1958. The former favoured merging with the UAR, while the latter feared the new country as a satellite of Communism . Although Nasser did not covet Lebanon, seeing it as

4176-426: The delegation countered and warned him that only total union with Egypt would end the "Communist threat". According to Abdel Latif Boghdadi , Nasser initially resisted a total union with Syria, favoring instead a federal union. However, Nasser was "more afraid of a Communist takeover" and agreed on a total merger. The increasing strength of the Syrian Communist Party, under the leadership of Khalid Bakdash , worried

4263-473: The dissolution of parties, and the withdrawal of the army from politics". While the plebiscite seemed reasonable to most Syrian elites, the latter two conditions were extremely worrisome. They believed it would destroy political life in Syria. Despite these concerns, the Syrian officials knew it was too late to turn back. The members of the elite in Syria viewed the merger with Egypt as the lesser of two evils. They believed that Nasser's terms were unfair, but given

4350-406: The economic difficulties, what truly produced the demise of the UAR was Nasser's inability to find a suitable political system for the new regime. Given his socialist agenda in Egypt, the Ba'ath should have been his natural ally, but Nasser was hesitant to share power. Though Amer allowed some liberalization of the economy in order to appease Syrian businessmen, his decision to rig the elections of

4437-404: The five-week tour and, along with Regent 'Abd al-Ilah, arrived at 11 AM, on the Hudson River on the RMS  Queen Mary and were given a tour around the United Nations Headquarters in Manhattan . The next day, Faisal went on a tour of the Empire State Building and after arriving at the City Hall for a reception with Mayor Vincent R. Impellitteri , he famously went to attend a game held in

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4524-402: The formation of the United Arab Republic in February 1958 only provided impetuses to ideas of a revolution. The Hashemite Arab Federation was formed between Iraq and Jordan in February 1958 with Faisal as its head, which did not quell widespread opposition. In July 1958, a group of Royal Iraqi Army officers led by Abd al-Karim Qasim mounted a coup d'état and overthrew the monarchy. Faisal

4611-419: The former student answered, "all I did was remember Palestine, and the trigger on the machine-gun just set itself off". During the regime of Saddam Hussein , Faisal II was reburied under a marble tomb located next to that of his father in the restored Royal Cemetery in Baghdad. Faisal initially asked for the hand of Princess Shahnaz Pahlavi , the eldest daughter of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi . However,

4698-482: The government as did the Egyptian officials. During the winter and the spring of 1959–60, Nasser slowly squeezed prominent Syrians out of positions of influence. In the Syrian Ministry of Industry, for example, seven of the top thirteen positions were filled by Egyptians. In the General Petroleum Authority, four of the top six officials were Egyptian. In the fall of 1958, Nasser formed a tripartite committee, consisting of Zakaria Mohieddine , al-Hawrani, and Bitar to oversee

4785-423: The hope of lucrative reconstruction contracts after the Iran–Iraq War ." 32°30′00″N 39°00′00″E  /  32.5000°N 39.0000°E  / 32.5000; 39.0000 Faisal II of Iraq Faisal II ( Arabic : الملك فيصل الثاني , romanized :  al-Malik Fayṣal al-thānī ; 2 May 1935 – 14 July 1958) was the last King of Iraq . He reigned from 4 April 1939 until July 1958, when he

4872-422: The intense pressure that their government was undergoing, they believed that they had no other choice. A plebiscite was held on 21 February 1958, with Egyptians and Syrians voting in favor of the merger. The result was announced on 22 February and Nasser was declared the new president of the United Arab Republic. Egyptian and Syrian leaders signed the protocols, although Azem did so reluctantly. Nasser became

4959-469: The massacre of the royal family, being wounded in the leg or hip. The group was then taken to cars for transport to the Ministry of Defence. The King reportedly died along the way, and the cars were stopped. The King's body was hanged, while the Crown Prince was defiled and dragged through the streets. Many years later, when the Iraqi historian Safa Khulusi met Al-Ibousi, who was once one of Khulusi's students, and questioned him on his part in Faisal's death,

5046-420: The nascent pro-republican anti-monarchist movement. In the summer of 1958, King Hussein of Jordan asked for Iraqi military assistance during the escalating Lebanon crisis . Units of the Royal Iraqi Army under the command of Colonel Abd al-Karim Qasim , en route to Jordan, chose to march on Baghdad instead, where they mounted a coup d'état on 14 July. During the 14 July Revolution , Faisal II ordered

5133-463: The offer was rejected by the princess herself. In January 1957, Faisal became engaged to Princess Kiymet Hanım, a descendant of the Mamluk dynasty of Iraq. However, the engagement was broken three months later. At the time of his death, the king was scheduled to marry to Princess Sabiha Fazile Hanımsultan (engagement in September 1957), the only daughter of Prince Muhammad 'Ali Ibrahim of Egypt and Ottoman princess Zahra Hanzade Sultan . Faisal II

5220-403: The palace courtyard (the young King had not yet moved into the newly completed Royal Palace ). According to Princess Hiyam's biography page, the royal family and royal staff left the palace through the kitchen. When they passed through the kitchen garden, rebel soldiers opened fire. The King was shot in the head and neck, while Nafeesa and Abadiya were shot in the back. Only Princess Hiyam survived

5307-450: The petroleum resources of the Middle East. It was part of the containment policy. It aligned Iraq with other Western-friendly powers including Turkey , Pakistan , and Pahlavi Iran . While Prime Minister Nuri al-Said saw the treaty as a "guarantee" to the security of the Iraqi state, his government, and the Hashemite monarchy, Nasser openly and loudly criticized the treaty as a capitulation to imperialist traitors. The third attempt at

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5394-453: The rapidly growing middle class and the peasantry. The Iraqi Communist Party increased its influence. Though the regime seemed secure, an intense dissatisfaction with Iraq's condition brewed just below the surface. An ever-widening gap between the wealth of the political elites, landowners, and other supporters of the regime on the one hand, and the poverty of workers and peasants on the other, intensified opposition to Faisal's government. Since

5481-423: The regent. The British responded by initiating an invasion of Iraq a month later and restored 'Abd al-Ilah to power. During the Second World War , Faisal was evacuated along with his mother to the United Kingdom. There, he attended Harrow School alongside his cousin Hussein , the future King of Jordan . The regency ended in May 1953 when Faisal came of age. The overthrow of the Egyptian monarchy in 1953 and

5568-437: The republic's president and very soon carried out a crackdown against the Syrian Communists and opponents of the union. This included dismissing Bizri and Azem from their posts. Advocates of the union believed that Nasser would use the Ba'ath Party for ruling Syria. Unfortunately for the Ba'athists, it was never Nasser's intention to share an equal measure of power. Nasser established a new provisional constitution proclaiming

5655-413: The rest of the year. As a part of this centralization, Sarraj was relocated to Cairo, where he found himself with little real power. September 15, 1961, Sarraj returned to Syria, and after meeting with Nasser and Amer resigned from all his posts on September 26. Without any close allies to watch over Syria, Nasser was unaware of the growing unrest of the military. On September 28 a group of officers staged

5742-409: The right to a twenty-five percent share in the profit of their firm. The average workday was also cut from eight hours to seven without a reduction in pay. Upon accepting the 1960 Best Supporting Actor award given to Hugh Griffith for his "wonderfully humorous, human, and sympathetic characterization of an Arab sheik" in Ben-Hur (1959), director William Wyler expressed regret that the people of

5829-453: The spring of 1960 had replaced Amer as the chair of the Syrian Executive Council. Under Sarraj Syria was ruled by a repressive security force designed to suppress all opposition to the regime. The immense increases in public sector control were accompanied by a push for centralization . In August 1961 Nasser abolished regional governments in favour of one central authority, which operated from Damascus February through May and from Cairo for

5916-414: The true leaders of the Arab world, but were considered overly deferential to Western interests by other Arab nationalists, and had come to power with the assent and aid of the United Kingdom . Both Jordan and Iraq remained on largely friendly terms with the Western Bloc . In Iraq, pan-Arabism was treated with suspicion by Kurds, who were not Arabs, and by Shia Muslims, who viewed pan-Arabism as an excuse by

6003-426: The two parties reached, on February 14, 1958, the declaration of the Arab Hashemite Union between Iraq and Jordan , also known as the "Arab Federation." Originally, Kuwait was to join but Britain was opposed to the unification. Faisal, as the senior member of the Hashemite family, became its head of state and the head of the Union Government, and in his absence, Hussein would head the Union Government. The Federation

6090-435: The union following the 1961 Syrian coup d'état . Egypt continued to be known officially as the United Arab Republic until it was formally dissolved by Anwar Sadat in September 1971. The republic was led by Gamal Abdel Nasser as the Egyptian president . The UAR was a member of the United Arab States , a loose confederation with the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen , which was dissolved in 1961. The United Arab Republic

6177-449: The union idea resurrected with the proposal of Egypt, Iraq, and Syria reforming the UAR. A new flag was proposed, with three stars symbolizing the three states constituting the proposed union. However, the plan for a tri-partite union never materialised. Iraq continued to use the three-star flag and later adopted it as the national flag . This three-star flag remained Iraq's national flag (with some modifications) until 2007. The UAR adopted

6264-468: The upper classes controlled the parliament, reformists increasingly saw revolution as their sole hope for improvement. The Egyptian Revolution of 1952 , led by Gamal Abdel Nasser , provided an impetus for a similar undertaking in Iraq. During his reign, Faisal initiated large-scale plans for the modernization of Greater Baghdad. The goal of this ambitious project was to improve and develop infrastructure and housing, provide essential public buildings, reform

6351-840: Was also on poor relations with the Hashemites. All of this ran up against the Cold War of the era , as governments turned to the Western Bloc, the Eastern Bloc, or both for support. The resulting struggle of how Arab nationalism intersected with it is sometimes called the Arab Cold War . There were earlier efforts to unite Jordan and Iraq in the name of Arab unity, but they had come to nothing. In particular, from an Iraqi perspective, tiny Jordan had little to offer economically or strategically and numerous liabilities. The liabilities included Jordanian King Abdullah's moderation on

6438-561: Was also open to other Arab countries joining it. Faisal's political situation deteriorated in 1956, with uprisings in the cities of Najaf and Hayy. Meanwhile, Israel 's attack on Egypt , coordinated with Britain and France in response to Nasser's nationalization of the Suez Canal , only exacerbated popular revulsion for the Baghdad Pact , and thus Faisal's rule. The opposition began to coordinate its activities; in February 1957,

6525-608: Was established on 1 February 1958 as the first step towards a larger pan-Arab state, originally being proposed to Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser by a group of political and military leaders in Syria . Pan-Arab sentiment traditionally was very strong in Syria, and Nasser was a popular heroic figure throughout the Arab world following the Suez Crisis of 1956. There was thus considerable popular support in Syria for union with Nasser's Egypt . The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party

6612-597: Was executed along with numerous members of his family in the process. Faisal was the only son of King Ghazi of Iraq and his wife, Queen Aliya , second daughter of ' Ali bin Hussein , King of the Hejaz and Grand Sharif of Mecca . Faisal's father was killed in a mysterious car crash when he was three years old; his father’s first cousin, Prince 'Abd al-Ilah , served as regent until Faisal came of age in 1953. He suffered from asthma . Faisal's childhood coincided with

6699-585: Was feared the conflict would potentially appear. Many architects from around the world were invited, among them Alvar Aalto , Walter Gropius (who designed the faculty tower and gateway monument to Baghdad University ), and Le Corbusier . Commissions for public buildings followed and the first ones went to the German architect Werner March for the Iraq Museum and the English firm J. Brian Cooper to build

6786-503: Was interpreted by the other nations of the world as a major threat to Jordan . Syria was seen as a source of instigation and shelter for Jordanian plotters against King Hussein . Egypt's own status as a state unfriendly to Western aggression in the region (and thus to the close relationship between the British, in particular, and the Jordanian and Iraqi monarchies) added to the pressure. Hussein responded by proposing to Faisal II of Iraq

6873-421: Was killed during the 14 July Revolution . This regicide marked the end of the thirty-seven-year-old Hashemite monarchy in Iraq, which then became a republic . The only son of King Ghazi and Queen Aliya of Iraq , Faisal acceded to the throne at the age of three after his father was killed in a car crash. A regency was set up under his uncle Prince 'Abd al-Ilah . In 1941, a pro-Axis coup d'état overthrew

6960-473: Was merging Jordan into Iraq, giving a combined throne to Faisal II. Eventually, Abdullah was succeeded by his son Talal instead as King of Jordan, shortly followed by Hussein in 1952. In 1955, Iraq entered the short-lived Baghdad Pact at the urging of the United Kingdom and the United States. The pact sought to block the Soviet Union from southward expansion and to prevent it from getting access to

7047-453: Was not able to address problems in Syria completely, because they were new to him, and instead of appointing Syrians to run Syria, he assigned this position to Amer and Abdel Hamid Sarraj (a Syrian army official and Nasser sympathizer). In Egypt, the situation was more positive, with a GNP growth of 4.5 per cent and a rapid growth of industry. In 1960, Nasser nationalized the Egyptian press, reducing it to his personal mouthpiece. The union

7134-462: Was received by Egyptian Chief of Staff Abdel Hakim Amer and petitioned for a Syrian-Egyptian union. Only Syrian advocates of unity, including Salah al-Din Bitar and Akram El-Hourani had prior knowledge of this delegation; Quwatli and Azem were notified a day later and considered it tantamount to a "military coup". Nasser's final terms for the union were decisive and non-negotiable: "a plebiscite,

7221-523: Was resented for damaging Syrian agriculture , the Communists began to gain influence, and the intellectuals of the Ba'ath Party who supported the union rejected the one-party system . Mustafa al-Barudi, the Syrian Minister of Propaganda, stated that 'the smallest member of the (Egyptian) retinue thought that he had inherited our country. [Egyptians] spread "like octopuses" everywhere.' Nasser

7308-1183: Was restored to power by a combined Allied force composed of the mercenary Jordanian Arab Legion , the Royal Air Force and other British units. Iraq resumed its British ties, and at the end of the war joined the United Nations . During his early years, Faisal was tutored at the Royal Al-Rehab Palace with several other Iraqi boys. During the Second World War, he lived for a time with his mother at Grove Lodge at Winkfield Row in Berkshire in England . Faisal attended Sandroyd School then Harrow School with his paternal second cousin Prince Hussein, later to become King Hussein of Jordan . The two boys were close friends, and reportedly planned early on to merge their two realms, to counter what they considered to be

7395-649: Was tantamount to an attack on the UAR". The next day American marines and British special forces landed in Lebanon and in Jordan, respectively, to prevent the two countries from opening up to pro-Nasser forces. To Nasser, the revolution in Iraq opened the road for Arab nationalism. Although most members of the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) favoured joining Iraq with the UAR, the new prime minister Abdel Karim Qasim disagreed. Said K. Aburish states reasons for this could have included Nasser's refusal to cooperate with and encourage

7482-538: Was the author of Ways to Defend Yourself (1951), an Arabic book on judo and self-defense, and he printed 50 copies of it and gave it to other kings and leaders, including to his uncle King Abdullah of Jordan. He also gave a copy of it to the League of Arab Nations hoping to reprint it and distribute it for free to the youth in Arab countries, but that never happened. Faisal held the following ranks: Martyr Faisal II College ( Kolleyet Al-Shahid Faisal Al-Thani )

7569-616: Was the leading advocate of such a union. In mid-1957, Western powers began to worry that Syria was close to a Communist takeover; it had a highly organized Communist Party and the newly appointed army 's chief of staff, Afif al-Bizri , was a Communist sympathizer. This caused the Syrian Crisis of 1957 after which Syrians intensified their efforts to unite with Egypt. Nasser told a Syrian delegation, including President Shukri al-Quwatli and Prime Minister Khaled al-Azem , that they needed to rid their government of Communists, but

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