Hamdan Bin Zayed Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan
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Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan was the
ruler of Abu Dhabi This article lists the rulers of separate states on the territory of the United Arab Emirates, most of which became its emirates. List of rulers of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi Al Nahyan of Al Abu Falah dynasty List of rulers of the Emirate of ...
from 1912 to 1922.


Biography

Hamdan was the fifth son of Zayed I, Ruler of Abu Dhabi. Zayed I had many sons (at least seven) by several wives. His eldest son, Khalifa, declined the succession. Since Khalifa declined to accept leadership, his next brother, Tahnoun, was selected. Tahnoun ruled for three years (1909–12) and died peacefully at age 55. Tahnoun had no sons. When he died, his brother Hamdan (Zayed's fifth son) seized the rulership, superseding two older brothers, apart from Khalifa. Hamdan's rule was unpopular. While Abu Dhabi's population was violently anti-Wahhabi (a number of incursions into Buraimi had helped to cement Wahhabi unpopularity), Hamdan sent a mission to Ibn Saud in Riyadh, possibly in a bid to bolster his rule by gaining external allies. He is also said to have disrupted Abu Dhabi's long-standing trade relations. Hamdan's reign witnessed the breakdown of authority which had been entrenched during his powerful father's long reign. In Liwa and Buraimi, fighting broke out between the
Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...
tribes, with the Manasir and Bani Yas fighting a southern confederation of Awamir, Duru and
Al Bu Shamis The Al Bu Shamis () or Al Shawamis () (singular Al Shamsi ) is an Arab tribe of the United Arab Emirates, located mainly in the United Arab Emirates and Northern Oman. Origins The Al Bu Shamis are one of three sections of the Na'im, the others ...
. Himself becoming an ally of the Wahhabis, Hamdan managed to broker an uneasy truce.


Assassination and aftermath

In August 1922, after ruling for ten years, Hamdan was killed by his younger brother,
Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...
, who seized the throne. This murder only added to disorder within the family and the town. Several family members, including Hamdan's daughters, fled to Dubai (one of them would marry a future ruler of Dubai and become the mother of the present ruler). Two other brothers of Hamdan and Sultan began a campaign against Sultan. Intrigue and strife were rife as factions emerged in the confusion following the murder. There were other difficulties also: Sultan inherited the unstable interior that Hamdan had barely pacified, pitching him into a series of wars and outbreaks of peace which dogged his rule. In 1926, four years after he seized power, Sultan was killed by an older half-brother, Saqr, who then seized the throne. Saqr was the fourth son of Zayed and one of the brothers who Hamdan had superseded. Nor did it end here. Saqr himself was killed in 1928, within two years of usurping power. Many members of the family may have been involved in the plot to kill Saqr, including the eldest brother, Khalifa, who nevertheless held fast to his promise not to sit on the throne. The actual murder was carried out by members of the Manasir tribe. It was Shakhbut, eldest son of Hamdan's assassin Sultan, who finally became ruler in 1928. Shakhbut (born in 1905) would rule Abu Dhabi from 1928 to 1966 and would be succeeded by his full brother, Zayed, who would rule from 1966 to 2004.


Personal life

Hamdan married twice. One of his spouses was Shamsa bint Mijren Al Falasi from Dubai. They had a daughter named Latifa and a son named Hamdan who was born after his death. He was also married to Shamsa bint Ahmed Al Suwaidi, with whom he had a daughter, named Maryam. Latifa was taken to Dubai with her mother when her father was killed. Latifa, later married
Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum (; 11 June 1912 – 7 October 1990) was an Emirati royal, politician and a founder of the United Arab Emirates. Al Maktoum was the first vice president and second prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, a ...
. She is the mother of the rulers of Dubai,
Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum (; 15 August 1943 – 4 January 2006) was an Emirati royal and politician who served as the second vice president, first and third prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, and ruler of Dubai. He was pr ...
and
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (; born 15 July 1949) is an Emirati politician and royal who is the current ruler of Dubai, and serves as the Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, vice president and Prime Minister of the United Arab ...
. Hamdan's other daughter, Maryam was married to Hazza bin Sultan Al Nahyan until his death in 1958. Sheikha Maryam died in November 2020.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamdan bin Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan Sheikhs of Abu Dhabi Hamdan Zayed Khalifa 20th-century Arab people 20th-century monarchs in the Middle East