Huzaima bint Nasser (1884 – 27 March 1935) was an

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...

n princess,

Sharif Sharīf ( ar, شريف, 'noble', 'highborn'), also spelled shareef or sherif, feminine sharīfa (), plural ashrāf (), shurafāʾ (), or (in the Maghreb) shurfāʾ, is a title used to designate a person descended, or claiming to be descended, fr ...

a of Mecca. She was Queen of Syria and then Queen of Iraq by marriage to Faisal I of Iraq, and queen mother during the reign of her son.

Biography

Her father was

Amir 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 cerem ...

Nasser

Pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, gener ...

. Her mother was Dilber

Khanum Khanum, Hanum, Khanom, or Khanoum ( kz, Hanym/Ханйм, uz, Xonim/Хоним, az, Xanım, tr, Hanım, fa, خانم, hi, ख़ानुम, bn, খাঁনম/খানম, ar, خانم, ur, خانم, sq, Hanëm) is a female royal and ...

. She was the younger twin of Musbah. In 1904, in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, she married the prince Faisal son of the Sharif of Mecca. Their first born was Azza (1906–1960), followed by Rajiha (1907–1959) and Raifi'a (1910–1934), and finally by Ghazi (1912–1939), the future king of Iraq.

Queen of Syria

After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the former dominions of 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) ...

were divided between the European nations, or proclaimed independent. In 1920, Faisal was proclaimed king of

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, and so Hazima became queen of Syria. In order to reach her husband, she moved with her children into the new established royal palace in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. After only four months of reign, the kingdom of Syria was dissolved after the

Franco-Syrian War The Franco-Syrian War took place during 1920 between the Hashemite rulers of the newly established Arab Kingdom of Syria and France. During a series of engagements, which climaxed in the Battle of Maysalun, French forces defeated the forces of t ...

, and so both Faisal and Hazima lost their titles.

Queen of Iraq

In 1921, the

British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

decided to put Faisal as king of the new

Kingdom of Iraq The Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq ( ar, المملكة العراقية الهاشمية, translit=al-Mamlakah al-ʿIrāqiyyah ʾal-Hāshimyyah) was a state located in the Middle East from 1932 to 1958. It was founded on 23 August 1921 as the Kingdo ...

, over which they had an international mandate. He accepted and he was proclaimed king of Iraq. Hazima became queen, and the royal family was transferred to

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

the capital of the new kingdom. After the arrival of the queen in Bagdad in 1924,

Gertrude Bell Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell, CBE (14 July 1868 – 12 July 1926) was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist. She spent much of her life exploring and mapping the Middle East, and became highly ...

was the first to be given an audience. Bell had been entrusted by the King to manage the affairs of his family's household, and arranged for the Circassian Madame Jaudet Beg to be named lady-in-waiting or mistress of ceremonies to the queen, and the for Miss Fairley, the English governess to the crown prince, to instruct the princesses in European etiquette. Gertrude Bell had a good first impression by the queen and described both her and her daughters as beautiful, sensitive and shy. However, the queen was not pleased with the influence the king had granted Gertrude Bell within the household. She disliked the arrangements Bell made for the education of the crown prince, and in 1925, she banished Maryam Safwat from the palace because she suspected Bell for attempting to arrange a marriage between Safwat and the king. King Faisal did not feel it be politically wise for the queen and princesses to participate in public life in the Western manner. Queen Huzaima and her daughters lived secluded in

purdah Pardah or purdah (from Hindi-Urdu , , meaning "curtain") is a religious and social practice of female seclusion prevalent among some Muslim and Hindu communities. It takes two forms: physical segregation of the sexes and the requirement that wom ...

in the Harthiya villa and did not appear in public or in any mixed-gender company. While the King entertained male guests at the Palace, the queen and her daughters received women guests in the Harthiya villa and visited all-female partiers. They dressed covered in veils in public, but under their veil, they eventually dressed in Western fashion ordered from London, only shown at the women-only parties. She showed an interest in the Iraqi women's movement. In 1924, she and the king gave an audience to the first women's organisation in Iraq, the

Women's Awakening Club Women's Awakening Club (''Nadi al-Nahda al-. Nisa'iyya''), also called Women's Renaissance Club was a women's organization in Iraq, founded in 1923. It was the first women's organization in Iraq, and the start point of the Iraqi women's movement. ...

, to whom they showed patronage. In 1932, queen Huzaima attended the

Third Eastern Women's Congress Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

, which was held in Baghdad, and gave the welcome opening speech. Faisal died in 1933, and was succeeded by his son Ghazi, and so Huzaima became

queen mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also used to describe a number of ...

of Iraq. She died in Baghdad two years later, in 1935.

Children

She had four children: *Princess Azza bint Faisal. *Princess Rajiha bint Faisal. *Princess Raifia bint Faisal. * Ghazi, King of Iraq born 1912 died 4 April 1939, married his first cousin, Princess

Aliya bint Ali Aliya bint Ali of Hejaz (1911 – 21 December 1950), was an Arabian princess and a queen consort of Iraq. She was the spouse and first cousin of King Ghazi of Iraq and the queen mother of King Faisal II of Iraq. She was the second and last Quee ...

, daughter of King Ali of Hejaz.

References

External links