Khadija Abdiya bint Ali (1907 – 14 July 1958) was an Iraqi princess. She was the daughter of Ali, King of Hejaz, and Princess Nafissa, sister of Crown Prince

'Abd al-Ilah Abd al-Ilah of Hejaz () (; also written Abdul Ilah or Abdullah; 14 November 1913 – 14 July 1958) was a cousin and brother-in-law of Ghazi of Iraq, King Ghazi of the Kingdom of Iraq, Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq and was regent for his nephew Fai ...

, and the aunt of King

Faisal II of Iraq Faisal II (; 2 May 1935 – 14 July 1958) was the last King of Iraq. He reigned from 4 April 1939 until July 1958, when he was killed during the 14 July Revolution. This regicide marked the end of the thirty-seven-year-old Hashemite monarchy in ...

. She was murdered in the massacre of the royal family during the

14 July Revolution The 14 July Revolution, also known as the 1958 Iraqi military coup, was a ''coup d'état'' that took place on 14 July 1958 in Iraq, resulting in the toppling of King Faisal II and the overthrow of the Hashemite-led Kingdom of Iraq. The Ira ...

Life

She spend her childhood in

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

. Her father was deposed in 1924, and she followed her family in exile to Iraq, were her uncle had been made king in 1921. Her brother 'Abd al-Ilah served as regent of Iraq for their nephew king Faisal II when her became king as a minor in 1939. When her sister queen

Aliya bint Ali Aliya bint Ali of Hejaz (, "''noble born''"; 19 January 1911 – 21 December 1950), was an Arabian princess and a queen consort of Iraq. She was the spouse and first cousin of King Ghazi of Iraq and the queen mother of King Faisal II of Iraq. Sh ...

died in 1950, she was asked to act as a mother figure for the king. She never married, was described as somewhat Spartan, and devoted herself to supervising the palace staff. On 14 July 1958, the Royal

Al-Rehab Palace The Al-Rehab Palace () was a palace in Baghdad, Iraq, constructed on the orders of King Faisal II. It was the private residence of the Iraqi royal family between 1937 and 1958, during the reign of Faisal II. History The palace was constructed ...

in Baghdad, was attacked by the rebels during the 14 July Revolution. When the defenders of the palace realized they were vastly overnumbered, and that it would be impossible to defend the royal family, they agreed to hand them over to the rebels, who stated that they would transport them to custody in the Ministry of Defense. The royal family, consisting of the king, the crown prince,

Princess Hiyam Princess Hiyam (1933–1999) was the Iraqi Crown Princess through marriage to Crown Prince 'Abd al-Ilah. She was the aunt by marriage to King Faisal II of Iraq. She survived the massacre of the royal family during the 14 July Revolution. She was ...

, Princess Nafissa (mother of the crown prince), and Princess Abadiya (the king's aunt), as well as some members of the royal staff, left the palace via the kitchen. When passing the kitchen garden through a row of rebel soldiers, the soldiers opened fire. The king was hit in the head and neck, while the crown prince, Nafissa and Abadiya were all hit in the back, and Hiyam in the leg or hip. The rebels had agreed that the crown prince and the prime minister should be killed, but there had been different opinions as what to do with the king, and no decisions at all in regard to the female members of the family. After the massacre, the bodies were taken to cars to be transported to the Ministry of Defense. The king, Abadiya, and Hiyam were reportedly still alive, but the king died during the trip. The cars stopped, and the bodies of the king and the crown prince were taken out, the former being hanged, the latter being defiled and dragged through the streets.

References

* Gourji C. Bekhor. (1990). ''Fascinating life and sensational death: the conditions in Iraq before and after the Six-Day War'', G.C. Bekhor. {{Authority control 20th-century Iraqi women 20th-century Iraqi people 1907 births 1958 deaths People murdered in 1958 Executed Iraqi people Executed Iraqi women Princesses of Iraq Murdered royalty People executed by Iraq by firing squad People murdered in Iraq Children of prime ministers