Abdullah II Al-Sabah

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Abdullah II Sabah II Al-Jaber I Al-Sabah
5th Ruler of Kuwait
ReignNovember 1866 – 1892
PredecessorSabah II Al-Sabah
SuccessorMuhammad Al-Sabah
Born1814
Sheikhdom of Kuwait
Died29 May 1892(1892-05-29) (aged 77–78)
FatherSabah II Al-Sabah
MotherFatma bint Salim Al-Jarrah

Sheikh Abdullah II Sabah II Al-Jabir I Al-Sabah (1814 – 1892) (Arabic: الشيخ عبد الله الثاني صباح الثاني الجابر الصباح) was a cavalry commander in the Military of Kuwait, the fifth ruler of Kuwait and oldest son of the fourth ruler of Kuwait. He spent much of his rule dealing with natural disasters, maintaining stability as well as building stronger ties with the Ottoman Empire which supplied the most vital resource in Kuwait, drinking water. Furthermore, the first coins minted by Kuwait began during his reign[1]

Physical description[]

In his later years he was described as tall with a heavy athletic body and a long white beard. He wore a purple bisht made of silk and adorned with gold embroidery over a thawb, with a white silk scarf used as a belt. On both hands rested many diamond rings. At his waist was an ornate janbiya with a hilt made of solid gold, encrusted with pearls and gemstones.[2]

Early life[]

Under the orders of his father, on 24 April 1841[3] Abdullah II signed a one-year naval truce with Samuel Hennell,[4] who spoke on behalf of the British, which expired and was never renewed.[5] The truce prohibited Kuwait from undertaking any form of maritime offense as well as giving all mediation efforts in maritime disputes over to the British Empire.[6]

Reign[]

Abdullah II negotiated with the Al-Saud family as well as the Ottomans to maintain power.[3] Throughout his reign he rebuffed requests from British Commissioner Sir Bealy, speaking on behalf of the British Empire, to rise up against the Ottomans.[7] He ruled from November 1866 to 1892, inheriting a state that had undergone a century long increase in merchant marine and navy traffic with stable governance partly due to British support.[8] Upon becoming ruler, he quickly pivoted towards the Ottoman Empire and away from the British. He was considered a modest man with simple tastes.[9]

in 1886

A great deal of this approval hinged on his relief work during natural disasters. In 1868 a great famine struck and he worked to bring an end to the rampant starvation.[10] In September 1871 disaster struck again, this time in the maritime industry of Kuwait. Hundreds of Kuwaiti pearling vessels were sunk along with their crews due to extremely high waves. Historians are split on whether this was due to great storms in the Indian Ocean[1] or caused by the eruption of Bushehr.[11]

In 1886–87, under Abdullah II, Kuwait began minting coins in copper due to the lack of Indian rupees circulating in the local economy.[12]

Abdullah sided with the Jabir bin Mardaw, Emir of Khorramshar during the Basra and Muhamarrah conflict with the Al-Nasser tribe under his reign, and helped him consolidate power in the region.[13]

Due to his allegiance to the Ottoman Empire, in 1871, Midhat Pasha gave him the title Kaymakam which means provincial sub-governor.[14][15]

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b Michael S. Casey (2007). The History of Kuwait. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 143. ISBN 978-0313340734.
  2. ^ A. Locher (1889). With Star and Crescent: A Full and Authentic Account of a Recent Journey with a Caravan from Bombay to Constantinope, Comprising a Description of the Country, the People, and Interesting Adventures with the Natives. Aetna publishing Company. pp. 54-68.
  3. ^ a b Salwa Alghanim (15 October 1998). The Reign of Mubarak-Al-Sabah: Shaikh of Kuwait 1896-1915. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 9781860643507.
  4. ^ William Facey; Gillian Grant (1999). Kuwait By the First Photographers. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 9781860642715.
  5. ^ David H. Finnie (1992). Shifting Lines in the Sand: Kuwait's Elusive Frontier with Iraq. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 9781850435709.
  6. ^ Stuart Laycock (29 February 2012). All the Countries We've Ever Invaded. The History Press. ISBN 9780752483351.
  7. ^ E. Lauterpacht; C. J. Greenwood; Marc Weller; Daniel Bethlehem (June 1991). The Kuwait Crisis: Basic Documents. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-46308-9.
  8. ^ Francesca Davis DiPiazza (21 December 2006). Kuwait in Pictures. Twenty-First Century Books. ISBN 978-0-8225-6589-5.
  9. ^ Alan Rush (1987). Al-Sabah: History & Genealogy of Kuwait's Ruling Family, 1752-1987. Ithaca Press. ISBN 978-0-86372-081-9.
  10. ^ Mahmoud Zakaria (5 May 2015). "Spotlight on the history of Kuwait". Kuwait Times. Kuwait. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  11. ^ Rajiv Sinha; Rasik Ravindra (14 August 2012). Earth System Processes and Disaster Management. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-3-642-28845-6.
  12. ^ B. Slot (2005). Mubarak Al-Sabah: Founder of Modern Kuwait 1896-1915. Arabian. ISBN 9780954479244.
  13. ^ M. S. El-Azhary (2012). The Iran-Iraq War. UK: Routledge. p. 30. ISBN 978-1136841750.
  14. ^ Peter Sluglett (December 2002). "The Resilience of a Frontier: Ottoman and Iraqi Claims to Kuwait, 1871-1990". The International History Review. 24 (4): 790. JSTOR 40111134.
  15. ^ Soloman A. Isiorho; Charles F. Gritzner (2009). Kuwait. Infobase Publishing. p. 34. ISBN 9781438105215.
Abdullah II Al-Sabah
 Died: May 1892
Regnal titles
Preceded by Sheikh of Kuwait
1866–1892 		Succeeded by
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