Huzaima bint Nasser (; "''firm believer''"; 1884 – 27 March 1935) was an

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

n noblewoman,

Sharif Sharīf or Sherif (, 'noble', 'highborn'), also spelled shareef, feminine sharīfa (), plural ashrāf (), shurafāʾ (), or (in the Maghreb) shurfāʾ, is a title used to designate a person descended, or claiming to be descended, from the fami ...

a of Mecca. She was Queen of Syria and then Queen of Iraq by marriage to

Faisal I of Iraq Faisal I bin Hussein bin Ali Al-Hashemi (, ''Fayṣal al-Awwal bin Ḥusayn bin ʻAlī al-Hāshimī''; 20 May 1885 – 8 September 1933) was King of Iraq from 23 August 1921 until his death in 1933. A member of the Hashemites, Hashemite family, ...

, and

queen mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the monarch, reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also ...

during the reign of her son.

Biography

Her father was

Amir Emir (; ' (), also transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremonial authority. The title has ...

Nasser

Pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...

. Her mother was Dilber

Khanum Khanum, Hanum, Hanım, Hanem, Khanom, or Khanoum (Uzbek language, Uzbek: Xonim/Хоним, , Mongolian language, Mongolian: Ханым, , , , , , , ) is a female royal family, royal and aristocracy, aristocratic title that was originally derived t ...

. She was the younger twin of Musbah. In 1904, in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, she married the prince Faisal son of the

Sharif of Mecca The Sharif of Mecca () was the title of the leader of the Sharifate of Mecca, traditional steward of the Holiest sites in Islam, Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The term ''sharif'' is Arabic for "noble", "highborn", and is used to desc ...

Hussein bin Ali. Their first born was Azza (1906–1960), followed by Rajiha (1907–1959) and

Rafia Raffia palms are members of the genus ''Raphia''. The Malagasy language, Malagasy name is derived from ' "to squeeze #Raffia wine, juice". The genus contains about twenty species of Arecaceae, palms native to tropical regions of Africa, and esp ...

(1910–1934), and finally by Ghazi (1912–1939), the future King of Iraq.

Queen of Syria

After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the former dominions of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

were divided between the European nations, or proclaimed independent. In 1920, Faisal was proclaimed King of

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, and so Hazima became Queen of Syria. In order to reach her husband, she moved with her children into the new established royal palace in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. After only four months of reign, the

Kingdom of Syria The Syrian Arab Kingdom (, ') was a self-proclaimed, unrecognized monarchy existing briefly in the territory of historical Syria. It was announced on 5 October 1918 as a fully independent Arab constitutional government with the permission of the ...

was dissolved after the

Franco-Syrian War The Franco-Syrian War took place during 1920 between France and the Hashemite rulers of the newly established Arab Kingdom of Syria. During a series of engagements, which climaxed in the Battle of Maysalun, French forces defeated the forces of th ...

, and so both Faisal and Hazima lost their titles.

Queen of Iraq

In 1921, the

British government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

decided to put Faisal as king of the new

Kingdom of Iraq The Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq was the Iraqi state located in the Middle East from 1932 to 1958. It was founded on 23 August 1921 as the Kingdom of Iraq, following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the Mesopotamian campaign of the First World W ...

, over which they had an international mandate. He accepted and he was proclaimed King of Iraq. Hazima became Queen of Iraq, and the royal family was transferred to

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

the capital of the new kingdom. After the arrival of the Queen in Bagdad in 1924,

Gertrude Bell Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell (14 July 1868 – 12 July 1926) was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist. She spent much of her life exploring and mapping the Middle East, and became highly inf ...

was the first to be given an audience. Bell had been entrusted by the King to manage the affairs of his family's household, and arranged for the Circassian Madame Jaudet Beg to be named lady-in-waiting or mistress of ceremonies to the queen, and the for Miss Fairley, the English governess to the crown prince, to instruct the princesses in European etiquette. Gertrude Bell had a good first impression by the Queen and described both her and her daughters as beautiful, sensitive and shy. However, the queen was not pleased with the influence the King had granted Gertrude Bell within the household. She disliked the arrangements Bell made for the education of the crown prince, and in 1925, she banished Maryam Safwat from the palace because she suspected Bell for attempting to arrange a marriage between Safwat and the King. King Faisal did not feel it be politically wise for the Queen and Princesses to participate in public life in the Western manner. Queen Huzaima and her daughters lived secluded in

purdah Pardah or purdah (from Hindi-Urdu , , meaning "curtain") is a religious and social practice of sex segregation prevalent among some Muslim, Zoroastrian and Hindu communities. The purdah garment is the same as a burqa, or yashmak, i.e a veil ...

in the Harthiya villa and did not appear in public or in any mixed-gender company. While the King entertained male guests at the Qasr Shashoua Palace, the queen and her daughters received women guests in the Harthiya villa and visited all-female partiers. They dressed covered in veils in public, but under their veil, they eventually dressed in Western fashion ordered from London, only shown at the women-only parties. She showed an interest in the Iraqi women's movement. In 1924, she and the King gave an audience to the first women's organisation in Iraq, the Women's Awakening Club, to whom they showed patronage. In 1932, queen Huzaima attended the Third Eastern Women's Congress, which was held in Baghdad, and gave the welcome opening speech. King Faisal I died in 1933, and was succeeded by his son, King Ghazi, and so Huzaima became

of Iraq. She died in Baghdad two years later, in 1935.

Issue

By her marriage, she had three daughters and a son: * Princess Azza bint Faisal. * Princess Rajiha bint Faisal. * Princess Rafia bint Faisal. * Ghazi, King of Iraq, born 1912 died 4 April 1939, married his first cousin, Princess Aliya bint Ali, daughter of King Ali of Hejaz.

References

External links