Princess Nafissa Khanum (died 14 July 1958) was an Iraqi Princess, the mother 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 ...

. She was the maternal grandmother 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 died during 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 was the daughter of Emir Abdullah bin Muhammad Pasha, Grand Sharif and Emir of Mecca. She married

Ali bin Hussein, King of Hejaz Ali bin Hussein bin Ali al-Hashimi (; 1879 – 13 February 1935), was King of Hejaz and Grand Sharif of Mecca from October 1924 until he was deposed by Ibn Saud in December 1925. He was the eldest son of King Hussein bin Ali and a scion of th ...

, in 1906 in Yeniköy,

Bosphorus The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental bo ...

. Her husband was King of Hejaz in 1924–1925. The family moved to Iraq after the deposition of her husband in 1925. Her daughter married king

Ghazi of Iraq Ghazi ibn Faisal () (21 March 1912 – 4 April 1939) was King of Iraq from 1933 to 1939 having been briefly Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Syria in 1920. He was born in Mecca, and was the only son of Faisal I. He died in a car accident in B ...

ande became queen of Iraq in 1933. Nafissa became a widow in 1935. In 1939, her grandson Faisal II became king of Iraq. 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 ...

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 ...

, 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,

Princess Abadiya 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, and the aunt of King Faisal II of Iraq. She was murdered in the massacr ...

(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 Princess 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 Defence. The king, as well as the princesses Abadiya and Hiyam, were reportedly still alive during the transport, but the king died along the way. During the transport, 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. Hiyam was the only member of the family to survive.

Issue

She had one son and four daughters: * Princess Khadija Abdiya – born 1907 – died 14 July 1958. * Princess Aliya – born 1911 – died 21 December 1950, married her first cousin, Ghazi I King of Iraq, becoming Queen Aliya of Iraq. * Crown Prince Abd al-Ilah – born 14 November 1913 – died 14 July 1958, married three times first to Melek el-Din Fauzi in 1936 divorced in 1940, then to Faiza al-Tarabulsi in 1948 divorced 1950 and finally to Hiyam 'Abdu'l-Ilah in 1958. * Princess Badiya – born June 1920 - died London 9 May 2020, married Sharif Al-Hussein bin Ali. They had a son, Sharif Ali bin Al-Hussein and 2 daughters. * Princess Jalila – born 1923 – died 28 December 1955, married Sharif Dr. Ahmad Hazim Bey.

References

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