end.
Talalâs marriage to his cousin Sharifa Zain bint Jamil (1916â94), who was herself of Hashemite ancestry, and the birth of their first son gave him the benefit of a settled family life. They lived on Jebel Amman, one of the capitalâs seven hills, in a modest five-roomed villa set in a small plot of land. Although Talal was crown prince, his salary from the state was modest, leading them to live fairly frugally. Zain was a remarkable person: well educated, fluent in four languages, highly intelligent and
12
Picking up the Pieces
The June War opened a new chapter in the life of Hussein. It faced him with the most serious test to date of his ability to survive. His main preoccupation in the weeks that followed the war was with picking up the pieces. In Arabic the defeat of June 1967 was referred to as Al-Naqsah, meaning âThe Setbackâ or temporary reversal. This was in contrast to the Al-Nakbah, or âThe Catastropheâ, of 1948. For Jordan, however, 1948 was less than a catastrophe, while 1967 was more than a setback. For the Hashemite dynasty the defeat suffered in 1967 was much worse than that suffered in 1948. In 1948 King Abdullah managed to salvage East Jerusalem and the West Bank from the dismal wreckage of Arab Palestine. In June 1967 King Hussein lost what his grandfather had gained on the battlefield and later incorporated into the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. A heavy, almost crushing sense of personal responsibility for the loss lay on Husseinâs shoulders. The result was an emotionally disturbed state and mood swings that alternated between bouts of resignation and fatalism and sober realism in dealing with the bitter consequences of defeat. Hussein was bitter towards Israel, the West, the Soviet Union, Nasser and the other Arab leaders but above all he was bitter towards himself.
The losses sustained by Jordan in the course of the June War were extremely heavy, and the regimeâs prospects of survival were correspondingly poor. The government was bewildered and impotent. The army was defeated and dispirited. Seven hundred Jordanian soldiers had died in the war and over 6,000 were wounded or missing. Jordan lost its entire air force, 80 per cent of its armour and a great deal of other equipment. At the end of the war only four out of the armyâs eleven brigades remained operational. 1 The Iraqi troops in Jordan were a destabilizing force. Having arrived too late to take much of a part in battle,
1. Hussein ibn Ali, King of the Hijaz, 1924
2. King Abdullah of Trans-Jordan in the courtyard of Raghadan Palace, Amman, 1948
3. Sir John Glubb, 1951
4. Hussein with his father, Prince Talal, and his mother, Princess Zain Al-Sharaf, 1939
5. Members of the royal family standing behind the flag-draped coffin of assassinated King Abdullah in the royal cemetery at Amman. From right to left behind coffin: Hussein, Prince Naif, Prince Abd al-Ilah, the Iraqi Regent, and Prince Fahd of Saudi Arabia, July 1951
6. Hussein entering the Parliament building for the Accession to the Throne Ceremony, 2 May 1953. Sharif Nasser bin Jamil, his uncle and ADC, is seen behind him
7. Hussein as a cadet with his detail on the shooting range, Sandhurst, 1953
8. 18-year-old Hussein and 24-year-old Dina Abdul Hamid dancing in London, 1953
9. Hussein with his cousin Faisal II of Iraq during a visit to Baghdad, 1955
10. Hussein and his British wife, Princess Muna, on their wedding day, 25 May 1961
11. Hussein at the wheel of his Mercedes Gull Wing, Lebanon,
c
. 1960
12. Crown Prince Abdullah, wearing the robes and dagger that originally belonged to his great-grandfather, 1963
13. Hussein with the royal family (
left to right
) back row: Prince Mohammad and Princess Ferial; Crown Prince Hassan; Princess Basma; Princess Muna; the King; Alia; Queen Zain with Abdullah (on her lap) and Faisal,
c
. 1965
14. Hussein walks through frontline trenches during his visit to the
Talalâs marriage to his cousin Sharifa Zain bint Jamil (1916â94), who was herself of Hashemite ancestry, and the birth of their first son gave him the benefit of a settled family life. They lived on Jebel Amman, one of the capitalâs seven hills, in a modest five-roomed villa set in a small plot of land. Although Talal was crown prince, his salary from the state was modest, leading them to live fairly frugally. Zain was a remarkable person: well educated, fluent in four languages, highly intelligent and
12
Picking up the Pieces
The June War opened a new chapter in the life of Hussein. It faced him with the most serious test to date of his ability to survive. His main preoccupation in the weeks that followed the war was with picking up the pieces. In Arabic the defeat of June 1967 was referred to as Al-Naqsah, meaning âThe Setbackâ or temporary reversal. This was in contrast to the Al-Nakbah, or âThe Catastropheâ, of 1948. For Jordan, however, 1948 was less than a catastrophe, while 1967 was more than a setback. For the Hashemite dynasty the defeat suffered in 1967 was much worse than that suffered in 1948. In 1948 King Abdullah managed to salvage East Jerusalem and the West Bank from the dismal wreckage of Arab Palestine. In June 1967 King Hussein lost what his grandfather had gained on the battlefield and later incorporated into the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. A heavy, almost crushing sense of personal responsibility for the loss lay on Husseinâs shoulders. The result was an emotionally disturbed state and mood swings that alternated between bouts of resignation and fatalism and sober realism in dealing with the bitter consequences of defeat. Hussein was bitter towards Israel, the West, the Soviet Union, Nasser and the other Arab leaders but above all he was bitter towards himself.
The losses sustained by Jordan in the course of the June War were extremely heavy, and the regimeâs prospects of survival were correspondingly poor. The government was bewildered and impotent. The army was defeated and dispirited. Seven hundred Jordanian soldiers had died in the war and over 6,000 were wounded or missing. Jordan lost its entire air force, 80 per cent of its armour and a great deal of other equipment. At the end of the war only four out of the armyâs eleven brigades remained operational. 1 The Iraqi troops in Jordan were a destabilizing force. Having arrived too late to take much of a part in battle,
1. Hussein ibn Ali, King of the Hijaz, 1924
2. King Abdullah of Trans-Jordan in the courtyard of Raghadan Palace, Amman, 1948
3. Sir John Glubb, 1951
4. Hussein with his father, Prince Talal, and his mother, Princess Zain Al-Sharaf, 1939
5. Members of the royal family standing behind the flag-draped coffin of assassinated King Abdullah in the royal cemetery at Amman. From right to left behind coffin: Hussein, Prince Naif, Prince Abd al-Ilah, the Iraqi Regent, and Prince Fahd of Saudi Arabia, July 1951
6. Hussein entering the Parliament building for the Accession to the Throne Ceremony, 2 May 1953. Sharif Nasser bin Jamil, his uncle and ADC, is seen behind him
7. Hussein as a cadet with his detail on the shooting range, Sandhurst, 1953
8. 18-year-old Hussein and 24-year-old Dina Abdul Hamid dancing in London, 1953
9. Hussein with his cousin Faisal II of Iraq during a visit to Baghdad, 1955
10. Hussein and his British wife, Princess Muna, on their wedding day, 25 May 1961
11. Hussein at the wheel of his Mercedes Gull Wing, Lebanon,
c
. 1960
12. Crown Prince Abdullah, wearing the robes and dagger that originally belonged to his great-grandfather, 1963
13. Hussein with the royal family (
left to right
) back row: Prince Mohammad and Princess Ferial; Crown Prince Hassan; Princess Basma; Princess Muna; the King; Alia; Queen Zain with Abdullah (on her lap) and Faisal,
c
. 1965
14. Hussein walks through frontline trenches during his visit to the
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