Sheikh Abdullah II Sabah II Al-Jabir I Al-Sabah (1814 – 1892) ( ar, الشيخ عبد الله الثاني صباح الثاني الجابر الصباح ) was a cavalry commander in the

Military of Kuwait The Kuwait Military Forces ( ar, القوات المسلحة الكويتية, Al-Quwwat Al-Musallahah Al-Kuwaitiyah) are the military forces of the State of Kuwait. They consist of the Kuwait Air Force, the Kuwait Army, the Kuwait Navy & the ...

, the fifth ruler of the

Sheikhdom of Kuwait ) , image_map = kuwait in its region 1913-1922.jpg , image_map_caption = , capital = Kuwait City , latd = , latm = , latNS = , longd = ...

(1866 – 1892) and oldest son of the fourth ruler of Kuwait. He spent much of his rule dealing with natural disasters, maintaining stability as well as building stronger ties with the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

which supplied the most vital resource in Kuwait, drinking water. The first coins minted by Kuwait were issued during his reign.

Early life

Under the orders of his father, on 24 April 1841 Abdullah II signed a one-year naval truce with Samuel Hennell, who spoke on behalf of the British, which expired and was never renewed. The truce prohibited Kuwait from undertaking any form of maritime offense as well as giving all mediation efforts in maritime disputes over to the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

Reign

Abdullah ruled from November 1866 to 1892, inheriting a state that had undergone a century long increase in merchant marine and navy traffic with stable governance partly due to British support. Upon becoming ruler, he quickly pivoted towards the Ottoman Empire and away from the British. He also negotiated with the Al Saud family to maintain power. Throughout his reign he rebuffed requests from the British Commissioner,

Lewis Pelly Lieutenant General Sir Lewis Pelly, (14 November 1825 – 22 April 1892) was a British East India Company officer, and then an imperial army and political officer. At the end of his life, he was a Conservative Member of Parliament for Hackney ...

, speaking on behalf of the British Empire, to rise up against the Ottomans. He was considered a modest man with simple tastes. البيزة الكويتية

A great deal of this approval hinged on his relief work during natural disasters. In 1868 a great famine struck and he worked to bring an end to the rampant starvation. In September 1871 disaster struck again, this time in the maritime industry of Kuwait. Hundreds of Kuwaiti pearling vessels were sunk along with their crews due to extremely high waves. Historians are split on whether this was due to great storms in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

or caused by the eruption of

Bushehr Bushehr, Booshehr or Bushire ( fa, بوشهر ; also romanised as ''Būshehr'', ''Bouchehr'', ''Buschir'' and ''Busehr''), also known as Bandar Bushehr ( fa, ; also romanised as ''Bandar Būshehr'' and ''Bandar-e Būshehr''), previously Antio ...

. In 1886–87, under Abdullah II, Kuwait began minting coins in copper due to the lack of Indian rupees circulating in the local economy. Abdullah sided with the Jabir bin Mardaw,

Emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...

of Khorramshar during the Basra and Muhamarrah conflict with the Al-Nasser tribe under his reign, and helped him consolidate power in the region. Due to his allegiance to the Ottoman Empire, in 1871, Midhat Pasha gave him the title

Kaymakam Kaymakam, also known by many other romanizations, was a title used by various officials of the Ottoman Empire, including acting grand viziers, governors of provincial sanjaks, and administrators of district kazas. The title has been retained a ...

which means provincial sub-governor.

Physical description

In his later years he was described as tall with a heavy athletic body and a long white beard. He wore a purple bisht made of silk and adorned with gold embroidery over a

thawb Thawb ( ar, ثَوْب "garment"), also spelled thobe or tobe and known by various other names in different regions, is an ankle-length robe, usually with long sleeves. It is commonly worn in the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East, North Afri ...

, with a white silk scarf used as a belt. On both hands rested many diamond rings. At his waist was an ornate

janbiya A jambiya, also spelled janbiya, jambya, jambia and janbia ( ar, جنۢبية ''janbīyah''), is a specific type of dagger with a short curved blade with a medial ridge that originated from the Hadhramaut region of Yemen. They have spread all ov ...

with a hilt made of solid gold, encrusted with pearls and gemstones.

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabah, Abdullah 19th-century monarchs in the Middle East 19th-century Ottoman military personnel 1814 births 1892 deaths House of Al-Sabah Rulers of Kuwait Arabs from the Ottoman Empire