Hussein, King of Hejaz

Hussein bin Ali al-Hashimi was a Hejazi leader from the Banu Qatadah branch of the Banu Hashim clan who was the Sharif and Emir of Mecca from 1908 and, after proclaiming the Great Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire, King of the Hejaz, even if he refused this title, from 1916 to 1924. He accepted the Caliphate after delegations from the Hijaz and neighboring regions urged him to assume it, staying in power until 1925 when Hejaz was invaded by the Sultanate of Nejd. His Caliphate was opposed by the British and French empires, the Zionists and the Wahhabis alike. He received symbolic support from certain Hejazi religious circles and some Arab delegations, but broad Muslim recognition did not materialize. Later Arab nationalist writers sometimes portrayed him as the father of modern pan-Arabism, but some historians argue that the Hashemites were still newer converts to Arabism in 1916 and were not early Arab nationalists.