King Faisal I of Iraq

Faisal bin Hussein bin Ali al-Hashemi was King of the Arab Kingdom of Syria for a short time in 1920, and was King of Iraq from 23 August 1921 to 1933. He was a member of the Hashemite dynasty.

On 23 October 1916 at Hamra in the Wadi Safra, Faisal met Captain T. E. Lawrence for the first time. With the help of Lawrence, Faisal sided with the British army and organised the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire, helping to end the Caliphate. After a long siege he conquered Medina, defeating the defense organized by Fakhri Pasha.

Faisal was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, but Arab nationalism and independence, not religion, were his main motivations. He also worked with the Allies during World War I in their conquest of Greater Syria and the capture of Damascus, where he became part of a new Arab government in 1918.