A Prince of Arabia The Emir Shereef Ali Haider.
London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1948. First edition. Hardcover. 22 x 14.5 cm. Octavo. 314 pp. Red cloth in price clipped dust jacket. Frontispiece portrait + 17 additional illustrations and 1 map. Chipping to the top and edges of the jacket. Near Fine in Good dust jacket. Item #61577
The story of Ali Haider begins about 1865 when his grandfather had been deposed for the first time in favour of a rival family. It ends in 1935. Against the background of intrigue and the colorful but sinister court of Abdul Hamid and his successors it follows a fascinating course. Marriage with a British lady helped to make him suspect in the eyes of authority, and Hussein is appointed to the Emirate which Ali Haider regarded as his birthright. Only when the former rebelled in 1916 did the Turks recognise Ali Haider, who proceeded to Medina in a vain effort to establish Arab unity. There followed years of disillusion and disappointment during which he was proposed for the thrones of Iraq, Syria, and the Hedjaz, and even suggested as a possible Caliph when the Turkish Nationalists banished the ruling family from Turkey.
Price: $125.00