Ghazi of Iraq

Ghazi ibn Faisal (21 March 1912 – 4 April 1939) was King of Iraq from 1933 to 1939 having been briefly Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Syria in 1920. He was born in Mecca, and was the only son of Faisal I. He died in a car accident in Baghdad in 1939, where he was succeeded by his son, Faisal II.

Early life Ghazi was the only son of the then Emir Faisal (later to become King Faisal I of Iraq) and Huzaima bint Nasser. He was born when his father was leading a campaign in 'Asir against Muhammad ibn Ali al-Idrisi of 'Asir; so he was named Ghazi (meaning warrior due to this campaign, In his childhood, Ghazi was left with his grandfather, Hussein bin Ali, the Hashemite Grand Sharif of Mecca and head of the royal house of Hashim, who called Ghazi "Awn" after his great-grandfather Awn bin Muhsin,

Simele Massacre Ghazi came to Simele to award "victorious" colors to the military and tribal leaders who, on 11 August 1933, participated in the Simele massacre of Assyrians and the looting of their homes.

Reign

On 8 September 1933, King Faisal I died, and Ghazi was crowned as King Ghazi I. On the same day, Ghazi was appointed an Admiral of the Fleet in the Royal Iraqi Navy, a Field Marshal in the Royal Iraqi Army, and a Marshal of the Royal Iraqi Air Force. A staunch pan-Arab nationalist, opposed to British interests in his country, Ghazi's reign was characterised by tensions between civilians and the army, which sought control of the government. He supported General Bakr Sidqi in his coup, which replaced the civilian government with a military one. This was the first coup d'état to take place in the modern Arab world. He was rumoured to harbour sympathies for Nazi Germany and also put forth a claim for Kuwait to be annexed to Iraq. For this purpose, he had his own radio station in al-Zuhoor royal palace in which he promoted that claim and other radical views.

Death

King Ghazi died in April 1939 in an accident at the age of 27, involving a sports car that he was driving.

Faisal, Ghazi's only son, succeeded him as King Faisal II. Because Faisal was underage, Prince Abdul Ilah served as regent until 1953.

Marriage and children On 25 January 1934, King Ghazi married his first cousin, Princess Aliya bint Ali, daughter of his uncle King Ali of Hejaz, in Baghdad, Iraq. They had only one son, Faisal II, born 2 May 1935. King Ghazi attended a banquet in the evening of that day which was attended by the Emir Abdullah of Transjordan and his son Nayef, and Prince 'Abd al-Ilah, and he invited the Prime Minister, former prime ministers, the leaders of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, and senior statesmen.

Ghazi was suspected of having an extra-marital affair with a young Iraqi servant. British sources wrote in 1938 that King Ghazi's bad reputation was tarnished "further" when a "Negro youth", who was employed at the palace, died by "accidentally" discharging his revolver when he did not remove it before his afternoon siesta. An official police expert ruled that the Palace's explanation was consistent with the police examination.

The British suspected there was more to the story, in particular, that one of Queen Aliya's "adherents" might have killed the boy, as the boy was suspected to be "the King's boon companion in debauchery" and the Queen therefore had a "deep aversion" to the boy. The King was in a panic after this incident, fearing imminent assassination.

Ancestry

Gallery