Ali bin Hussein, GBE was King of Hejaz and Grand Sharif of Mecca from October 1924 until he was deposed by Ibn Saud in December 1925.
Background
He was the eldest son of Sharif Hussein bin Ali, the first modern King of Hejaz, and a scion of the Hashemite family. With the passing of the kingship from his father he also became the heir to the title of Caliph, but he did not adopt the khalifal office and style. The eldest son of Hussein, Ali bin Hussein was born in Mecca and was educated at Ghalata Serai College (Galatasaray High School) in Istanbul (Constantinople).
His father was appointed Grand Sharif of Mecca by the Ottoman Empire in 1908.
Career
However, his relationship with the Young Turks in control of the Empire increasingly became strained, and, in 1916, he became one of the leaders of the Arab Revolt against Turkish rule. Following the Revolt"s success, Hussein made himself the first King of Hejaz with British support. While Hussein"s sons Abdullah and Faisal were made kings of Jordan and Iraq, respectively, Ali remained the heir to his father"s lands in Arabia.
King Hussein soon found himself embroiled in fighting with the Saud, based in Riyadh.
Following military defeats by al-Saud, King Hussein abdicated all of his secular titles to Ali on 3 October 1924. (Hussein had previously awarded himself the religious title of Caliph in March of that year) In December of the following year, Saudi forces finally overran Hejaz, which they eventually incorporated into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ali and his family fled to Iraq. Ali bin Hussein died in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1935.
In 1906 Ali married Nafissa Khanum, daughter of His (or Her) Highness
