Mithqal Al-Fayez - Knowledge (XXG)

316: 488:, interest in agriculture, and further developed and cultivated the lands in Jordan for barely, wheat, lentils, olives, and other vegetables. Mithqal's role in Jordan's agriculture was crucial for the well-being of the country, as he was the first person to import a mechanical tractor and plough in the country's history. The effect of this purchase has helped the country out of a poverty-stricken famine in the mid-1930s as the production of wheat and barely has increased from 40,000 tons and 16,000 from 1936 to 113,000 tons and 53,000 tons in 1937; this effectively tripled the food supply of the land and helped in feeding its inhabitants. This increase in production has also tripled Jordan's food exports during those years, which opened the much needed revenue for the poverty stricken Transjordan of that time. 428: 361:"In any company in the world Mithkal would have stood out as a born aristocrat. He was a man of scarcely forty, medium height, slender, with beautifully formed hands, smooth, olive-tanned complexion, features of classic regularity, small pointed black beard and a small moustache, with deep brown eyes remarkable for their kindliness and intelligence- but which I learned later could turn black and flash fire.” 387: 42: 529:

agreed to his request, however the day after Mithqal ordered the arrest of the Major General, which led to Peake to stay in the stables of the Al-Fayez for at least a day. It is unclear why Mithqal ordered the arrest of Peake, and although Peake writes unfavorably of Mithqal in an undermining manner in his books, he reportedly "bore no grudge" according to C.S. Jarvis's biography of the Peake.

564: 285: 497: 356:“So this was the man of whom my princely friend has told me so many fascinating things, which now flashed through my mind in a jumble as I stood facing him- the overlord of fifty thousand flocks and twelve thousand fighting-men, a multi-millionaire even in terms of American dollars- the owner of six villages and many miles of cultivated land, and a palace” 512:, who in turn sent a messenger to Amman. A car finally arrived, but in the meantime, Mithqal was suffering from loss of blood and in great pain. Mithqal spent twenty days in an Amman hospital. He survived, but the damage was irreversible. For the rest of his life, he could hardly use that arm, which dangled nearly lifeless from his shoulder. 521: 411:, Amman turned into the Hashemites focal point in Jordan. Mithqal was Abdullah's most important and powerful ally in Jordan, and in return Abdullah exempted Mithqal and his family from taxes and granted them the land that the Ottoman's confiscated to build the Hijaz railway and gifts such as the car he gave to Mithqal. 559:

would also have major roles in Jordanian and Tribal power structures. His daughter, Sultana would become one of Jordan's most prolific philanthropists, renowned for financially supporting the education of many women in Jordan and Palestine and donating complete medical centers to impoverished areas.

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Mithqal was riding his mare in the desert accompanied by only one man. It was during the winter season, and the Bani Sakhr had migrated east towards Wadi Sirhan. Suddenly, Mithqal and his escort were surprised by an ambush set by members of an enemy tribe. A bullet grazed the side of Mithqal's head,

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Upon Fawwaz's death in the summer of 1917, Mithqal made a bid on becoming the next Sheikh of the Clan, however, Mithqal lost to his seventeen-year-old nephew, Mashour, Fawwaz's son. The tribal council preferred the young Mashhur, who was a graduate of a school in Damascus, to the illiterate Mithqal,

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Mithqal's elder brother, Fawwaz Al-Fayez, was the leader of the Bani Sakher before him, however a newspaper report from 1913 implies that the two shaykhs were acting as partners in the leadership of the Bani Sakhr under Ottoman patronage. By that time, they were generally known for their friendship

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When in 1930, Mithqal's eldest son Sultan died of illness, Mithqal refused to leave his grave after the funeral; only to be persuaded by Emir Abdullah. In 1924, Mithqal and Emir Abdullah went together to Mecca to perform the Hajj. Mithqal would publicly support Abdullah in his attempt to unify the

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In 1919, over a decade long land dispute, Major General Fredrick Peake pursued a meeting with Mithqal to discuss the dispute. However, Mithqal choose to stay in his family's headquarters in Um Al Amad, which then prompted Peake to approach him unarmed to avoid a large conflict. Initially, Mithqal

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have noted that "if it wasn't for Beni Sakher, our borders would reach Palestine". Emir Abdullah would help lend Mithqal money to cultivate his land, and when the Emir's own funds were lacking, he and Mithqal would secure land deals and mortgage both of their lands to foreign bankers as the added

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One of the first things the family did was to gather to distribute Mithqal’s huge landholdings. By the time of his death, Mithqal had accumulated at the very least 120,000 dunams (30,000 acres) in Jordan, mostly around south Amman and northern Madaba. Several years later, the family sold a large

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had a personal, political, and business relationship with Mithqal. Their first meeting was in 1920, when Mithqal accepted Abdullah's invitation to a meeting in Ma'an, agreeing to ally himself and his tribe with Abdullah and inviting him to Amman. With the support of Mithqal and his father-in-law

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tribe, his mother's tribe, where he learned to ride and battle. He also adopted their accent and it stuck with him his whole life. Mithqal would only come back to the Bani Sakher around the year 1900, and the first written evidence of him was in 1906 when he was already a prominent Sheikh in the

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tribal confederacy around the year 1885. By that point the tribe was already one of the largest and strongest nomadic tribal groups in the Syrian Desert, with an unbroken chain of leadership being passed down from father to son since his third great-grandfather Thiab bin Mohammad Al-Fayez in the

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Mithqal's health soon began deteriorating soon after the death in 1962 of his favorite wife ‘Adul, which was a severe blow to Mithqal. In the last five years of his life, he suffered from progressively declining health. Although he received superb medical treatment in Cairo, Beirut, and Europe,

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almost killing him, and he was hit in the shoulder. Mithqal and his escort fired back and managed to drive off their attackers, but Mithqal was badly wounded. His escort tied a piece of cloth around his bleeding shoulder, pulled him over his mare, and rode on quickly to seek aid.

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In the summer of 1923, Mithqal conferred to him the rank of lieutenant general of the emirate's army. This was due to Mithqal's contribution and increasing involvement in protecting the emirate's borders from its eastern flank against the Wahhabi's expansionist aggression.

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country, this helped cement the Emir's position in Jordan which was still governed tribally at the time. Mithqal's support of Emir Abdullah (and later kings) is also noted as one of the reasons of Jordan's relative stability and its sovereign integrity as

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after 1919, he knew Faisal before he became King of Iraq and famously hosted him in Um Al-Amad in 1923, where Faisal stayed the night. Mithqal also attended the reception of Faisal in Alexandria, and the ceremony of the death of King Faisal's son Ghazi.

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Mithqal himself was born from a calculated strategic alliance between the Beni Sakher and the Ruwalla, and over the course of his lifetime he built strong mutually beneficial relations with other important figures in Arabia and abroad.

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The mourning period was over and the dignitaries and ordinary people left Mithqal’s house. The bereaved family was left to deal with the huge void created by Mithqal’s demise. It was undisputed that the elder son,

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William would soon use this letter as he was stopped by bedouin thieves who ordered of him all his and his guide's belongings, and at the reading of the letter they choose to apologize and let them pass.

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In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate. This man is in my face, and in the face of Mithkal Pasha el Fayiz, shiekh of shiekhs of the Beni Sakhr, with whom, if he is touched, will be a blood

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On May 25, 2021, Mithqal was posthumously awarded the Medal of the State Centennial, on the Kingdom's on the 75th Independence, his son H.E Trad Al-Fayez received the award on his behalf. Mithqal's son,

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Mithqal quickly made a name for himself as a leader of raids. His success in battle has quickly earned him a reputation which helped to provide him with the springboard to the position of leadership.

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They arrived in the nearby camp of a Bani Sakhr tribesman and asked for his help in fetching a car to take Mithqal to a hospital. He sent one of his men by camel to the encampment of Shaykh

1448: 315: 339:, who would "surely know where Mithqal is", as they "called each other cousins and were friends for years". Emir Emin sent William with a letter in his name, which read 300:

even though the latter was more mature and experienced. Mithqal did not agree with his younger cousin taking the position, in return, he was given the title of Pasha by

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size of both Mithqal's and the governments land helps leverage the deals to their favor. In 1934, Mithqal was a guest of honor at Talal bin Abdullah's wedding.

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in Um Al-Amad. The mosque was built by Akef, in commemoration of his late father. The opening was attended by King Hussein, pretender to the Iraqi Throne

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William would spend months with Mithqal and the Bani Sakher, ride in battles with them, and retell famous tribal stories such as "The Eyes of Gutne" and

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broadcast a 50 minute documentary on their television channel that follows events from Mithqal's life. The documentary has also been uploaded to their

238:, Al Ghbeyen, Al Ghuful, Al A'lqam, and Al Tabtab, which comprise 32 sub-clans which further divide into more sub-clans. He also headed his own clan, 1406: 1379: 1332: 1279: 1231: 1157: 1109: 1035: 983: 935: 786: 729: 710: 1514: 276:, Mohammad, Sultan, Mashour, Mansur, Sami, Ali, Nayif, Rakan, and Al Nashmi. He also had 7 daughters, most notably Al Sheikha Sultana. 1204: 878: 1255: 1082: 853: 759: 614:

In early 2018, a TV Drama Series following Mithqal's life was announced to be in the works by the Al-Hijjawi production company.

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Adventures in Arabia when William sought to find Mithqal and experience the Arabian lifestyle in the late 1920s.

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After Mashour's death four years later in a tribal conflict, Mithqal was an uncontested choice for the title.

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diabetes and other age-related illnesses brought about his death in his late eighties in April of 1967.

1499: 403: 395: 391: 336: 214:– April 14, 1967) was a Jordanian political and tribal figure whose work helped the establishment of 1471:"King attends 75th Independence Day ceremony, bestows Order of State Centennial on leading figures" 509: 458: 366: 1424: 1350: 1297: 1249: 1175: 1127: 1053: 1001: 953: 804: 1509: 1412: 1402: 1375: 1338: 1328: 1285: 1275: 1237: 1227: 1200: 1163: 1153: 1115: 1105: 1078: 1041: 1031: 989: 979: 941: 931: 874: 849: 792: 782: 755: 688: 576: 572: 408: 1398:

The development of Trans-Jordan 1929-1939 : a history of the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan

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Untold histories of the Middle East : recovering voices from the 19th and 20th centuries

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Untold histories of the Middle East : recovering voices from the 19th and 20th centuries

608: 441: 324: 551:, would become the head of the family and the main bearer of his father’s legacy. His sons 643: 596: 485: 352:

William eventually reaches Mithqal's encampment, and writes his first impressions of him:

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