Mithqal Sattam Fendi Al Fayez (
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
: مثقال الفايز , ( – 1967) was a historical Jordanian political and tribal figure whose work helped the establishment of
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Riv ...
. Mithqal was one of the two leading
sheikh
Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...
s of
Bani Sakhr
The Beni Sakhar confederacy is one of the largest and most influential tribal confederacies in Jordan. The Bani Sakher began migrating to Jordan as early as the 16th century and grew to become an influential tribe as by around the mid 18th century. ...
; he took power in the early twentieth century, and headed the Al-Twaga half of the Bani Sakhr
tribe, which consisted of the Al-Ghbein, Al-Amir, Al-Ka'abna, Al-Hgeish, Al-Saleet, and Al-Taybeen
clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...
s. He also headed his own clan,
Al-Fayez
The House of Fayez (Arabic: الفايز or, colloquially: Al-Fayez, Alfayez, Al Fayez, Al Faiz, Al Fayiz) is a noble sheikhly Jordanian family that heads the major Jordanian clan Bani Sakher. The family's influence and prominence in the region ...
.
Early life
Mithqal Sattam Al-Fayez was born into the family of the leading shaykhs of the
Bani Sakhr
The Beni Sakhar confederacy is one of the largest and most influential tribal confederacies in Jordan. The Bani Sakher began migrating to Jordan as early as the 16th century and grew to become an influential tribe as by around the mid 18th century. ...
tribal confederacy around the year 1880. For two generations, his immediate family had led the confederacy,
one of the largest and strongest nomadic tribal groups in the Syrian Desert. Mithqal's childhood was spent with the Kawakbeh family of the
Ruwallah
The Ruwallah ( ar, الرولة, singular Ruweili/Ruwaili) are a large Arab tribe of northern Arabia and the Syrian Desert, including modern-day Jordan.
History
Until the demarcation of borders in the Middle East in the early 20th century, the Ruw ...
tribe, his mother's tribe, where he learned to ride and battle. He also adopted their accent and it stayed with him the rest of his 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 family at the age of 21.
Rise to power
![Mithqal al fayez](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Mithqal_al_fayez.png)
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.
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 with the government and faced internal opposition for that reason.
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, 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 the sultan, and was the only Arabian Sheikh to ever get this title from the Ottomans.
After Mashour's death four years later in a tribal conflict, Mithqal was an uncontested choice for the title.
Adventures in Arabia
In 1925,
William Seabrook
William Buehler Seabrook (February 22, 1884 – September 20, 1945) was an American occultist, explorer, traveler, journalist and writer, born in Westminster, Maryland. He began his career as a reporter and City Editor of the ''Augusta Chronic ...
sought to meet Mithqal after he heard about him from
Emir Emin Arslan, where the Emir sent him to
Ali Rikabi Pasha, Jordan's third prime minister, so that he would relay him to
Emir Abdullah I
AbdullahI bin Al-Hussein ( ar, عبد الله الأول بن الحسين, translit=Abd Allāh al-Awwal bin al-Husayn, 2 February 1882 – 20 July 1951) was the ruler of Jordan from 11 April 1921 until his assassination in 1951. He was the Emir ...
, 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
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.
William eventually reaches Mithqal's encampment, and writes his first impressions of him:
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
Haditha's benevolence in his book Adventures in Arabia (1927).
Relationships and Alliances
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.
King Abdullah I
Then
Emir Abdullah I
AbdullahI bin Al-Hussein ( ar, عبد الله الأول بن الحسين, translit=Abd Allāh al-Awwal bin al-Husayn, 2 February 1882 – 20 July 1951) was the ruler of Jordan from 11 April 1921 until his assassination in 1951. He was the Emir ...
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 Mayor Saeed Pasha Khayr, 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.
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.
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 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
King Faisal Al Saud 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 size of both Mithqal's and the governments land helps leverage the deals to their favor.
King Faisal I of Iraq
Mithqal maintained a friendly relationship with
King Faisal I
Faisal I bin Al-Hussein bin Ali Al-Hashemi ( ar, فيصل الأول بن الحسين بن علي الهاشمي, ''Faysal el-Evvel bin al-Ḥusayn bin Alī el-Hâşimî''; 20 May 1885 – 8 September 1933) was King of the Arab Kingdom of Syria ...
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.
Notable Regional Sheikhs and dignitaries
Saeed Pasha Kheir
Sheikh
Haditha Al-Khraisha
Haditha Ali Abdullah Al-Khraisha ( ar, حديثه علي عبد الله حميدي خلف سالم حنيف محمد (سليم العود) محمد سليمان حنيف الخريشه ) was a Bedouin tribal sheikh in Jordan in the nineteenth an ...
Sheikh Shaher Sayel Al-Hadid
Abdul Hameed Shoman
Sheikh Fawaz Barakat Al-Zoubi
Sheikh Minwer Shtewi Al-Hadid
Hamad Pasha Al-Basel
Role in Jordan's agriculture
Mithqal inherited his father's,
Sattam Al-Fayez, 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.
Ambush of the 1930s
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, 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.
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
Haditha Al-Khraisha
Haditha Ali Abdullah Al-Khraisha ( ar, حديثه علي عبد الله حميدي خلف سالم حنيف محمد (سليم العود) محمد سليمان حنيف الخريشه ) was a Bedouin tribal sheikh in Jordan in the nineteenth an ...
, 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.
Imprisonment of Major General Fredrick Peake
![Al Faiz](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Al_Faiz.jpg)
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 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.
Last years
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. Though he was fortunate enough to receive superb medical treatment in Cairo, Beirut, and Europe, diabetes and other age-related illnesses brought about his death in his late eighties in April 1967.
Mithqal's Legacy
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,
Akef Al-Fayez, would become the head of the family and the main bearer of his father’s legacy.
On July 1, 1981, the Sheikh Mithqal Al Fayez mosque was opened by
King Hussein
Hussein bin Talal ( ar, الحسين بن طلال, ''Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ṭalāl''; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 11 August 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of ...
in Um Al-Amad. The mosque was built by Akef, in commemoration of his late father. The opening was attended by, King Hussein, Akef Al-Fayez, Prince Raid Ibn Zaid, Islamic chief justice Sheikh Ibrahim Al Qatan, and Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Kamel Al Sharif.
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 portion of that land to the Jordanian government. Today,
Queen Alia International Airport
Queen Alia International Airport ( ar, مطار الملكة علياء الدولي, Maṭār al-Malika ʿAlyāʾ ad-Dawaliyy) is an international airport located in Zizya, 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of Amman, Jordan's capital city, as w ...
stands on what used to be Mithqal’s fields.
On May 25th, 2021, Mithqal was posthumously awarded the Medal of the State Centennial, on the Kingdom's on the 75th Independence, his grandson H.E Trad Al-Fayez received the award on his behalf. Mithqal's son,
Akef Al-Fayez was also posthumously awarded the medal, received by his son H.E
Faisal Al-Fayez
Faisal Akef Al-Fayez ( ar, فيصل عاكف مثقال الفايز) (born 20 December 1952 in Amman) is a Jordanian politician who was the 34th Prime Minister of Jordan from 25 October 2003 to 6 March 2005. He took office following the resigna ...
.
Mithqal in Popular Culture
Mithqal was a main character and the paramount character in the first half of
William Seabrook's Adventures in Arabia when William sought to find Mithqal and experience the Arabian lifestyle in the late 1920s.
In early 2018, a TV Drama Series following Mithqal's life was announced to be in the works by the Al-Hijjawi production company.
On May 22, 2019,
Al-Mamlaka
Al-Mamlaka ( ar, المملكة, translit-std=DIN, translit=Al-Mamlakah, literally "The Kingdom") is a Jordan-based public broadcaster based in Amman, Jordan, established by a 2015 bylaw. It was launched on 16 July 2018. The TV channel is state ...
broadcast a 50 minute documentary on their television channel that follows events from Mithqal's life. The documentary has also been uploaded to thei
Youtube channel
See also
*
Fendi Al-Fayez
Fendi Abbas Awad Al Fayez ( ar, فندي عباس عواد الفايز; 1800-1879) was an Arab leader from the Al-Fayez family who was the chief Sheikh of the Bani Sakher Clan from the 1820s up until his death. He is widely regarded as the mos ...
*
Akef Al-Fayez
*
Faisal Al Fayez
*
Al-Fayez
The House of Fayez (Arabic: الفايز or, colloquially: Al-Fayez, Alfayez, Al Fayez, Al Faiz, Al Fayiz) is a noble sheikhly Jordanian family that heads the major Jordanian clan Bani Sakher. The family's influence and prominence in the region ...
References
{{Authority control
1880s births
1967 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Tribal chiefs
Jordanian political people
Jordanian judges
Arab politicians
20th-century Jordanian politicians
20th-century judges