A legendary symbol of Jordan’s evolution

The Shaykh of Shaykhs: Mithqal Al Fayiz and Tribal Leadership in Modern Jordan
Yoav Alon
California: Stanford University Press, 2016
Pp. 224

Mithqal Al Fayiz (1880-1967) is a legend, occupying an important place in Jordan’s early history. He is also a bit of an enigma, and many of his actions seem paradoxical. Though he remained loyal to the Ottomans and didn’t join the Great Arab Revolt led by the Hashemites, he was one of the first tribal leaders to ally himself with Sharif Abdullah Bin Hussein who would become Jordan’s first King. “This alliance formed in the early 1920s was crucial to the process that would lead to the creation of modern Jordan.” (p. 50) 

Also in the 1920s, he initiated contacts with the Zionist movement, but then supported the 1936-39 Palestinian Revolt and enjoyed good relations with Hajj Amin Al Husseini. There are many other examples of his shifting alliances and manoeuvres to play one party out against the other. (Perhaps the only constant was his opposition to British control of the territory he called home, and he repeatedly outsmarted British colonial officers.)

It might seem difficult to make sense of Mithqal’s contradictory stances in order to weave a coherent narrative of his life, but in this biography, Yoav Alon does so elegantly and logically, based on a nuanced view of history and detailed knowledge of Jordan’s history in particular. To Alon, Mithqal was quite rational and principled if one views him through the lens of what was expected of a tribal leader in his times. Serving from 1921 until his 1967 death as the paramount shaykh of the Bani Sakhr, the strong tribal confederation which once moved between southern Syria, central Jordan and Wadi Sirhan, Mithqal was responsible for the welfare and status of a very large community, and he took this quite seriously. His actions were guided by the imperatives of ensuring his and his followers’ prosperity and autonomy, which could be difficult when drought, taxes and the decline of raiding and camels’ value threatened the tribes with poverty. 

Mithqal was not alone in soliciting support from diverse quarters in the pre-state days of shifting authorities and competing versions of nationalism. “The shaykhs’ simultaneous dealings with rival forces earned them a reputation as shameless mercenaries and unscrupulous opportunists… What was erroneously condemned as greediness provides a poor explanation for the behaviour of Mithqal and the other shaykhs. In fact, the shaykhs conformed to the structure and dynamics of tribal society and politics and were busy accumulating economic resources to sustain their leadership… [Their] main ideology remained their loyalty to their families, tribes, and confederacies.” (p. 40-1) 

Other seemingly contradictory aspects of Mithqal’s life simply echo Jordan’s evolution from a predominantly rural, nomadic society to an increasingly modern, urbanised one, governed by a centralised state. While living his early life in a mobile desert encampment, by 1922 Mithqal was the biggest landowner in Jordan. Whereas the Bani Sakhr originally scorned farming, much of his land was cultivated, especially at his Umm Al ‘Amad farm. After marrying into a prominent Amman family, the Khayrs, he maintained a residence in the city for his wife, in order to attend to the governmental affairs in which he was increasingly involved. 

Mithqal first rose to prominence due to his exceptional skills at leading raids, but was later a chief enforcer of Emir Abdullah’s successful campaign to end raiding. In the course of his life, he fulfilled many other functions required of a sheikh in changing times: generous host, mediator, judge, intermediary between the tribes and the government, Legislative Council member, etc. Throughout, Alon highlights his great adaptability, especially notable in a man who remained illiterate. Other qualities, often the same ones that had made him a successful raid leader, were more crucial: courage, charisma, honour, planning, shrewd calculations and creating consensus rather than giving orders. He was a force to be reckoned with, living up to his name: “Mithqal in Arabic means weight or gravitas — and he was indeed a heavyweight!” (p. 6)

Alon is senior lecturer in Middle East History at Tel Aviv University, and this is his second book on Jordan, following “The Making of Jordan: Tribes, Colonialism, and the Modern State” (2009). He acknowledges the help of many people in his research and writing. Perhaps most interesting to Jordanians is his thanks to Al Fayiz family for their full cooperation and “for not trying to influence the way I wrote about their founder… The best part of the research was always in Jordan.” (pp. x-xi)

In telling Mithqal’s story, Alon strikes a delicate balance between empathy and objectivity. His account is entertaining, full of anecdotes and fascinating personal, political and sociological details. Particularly intriguing is the chapter on Mithqal’s home life — how guests were received in tent or diwan, how multiple wives coexisted or didn’t, how his Amman house differed from his Umm Al ‘Amad headquarters, etc. Though backed up by extensive scholarly sources (English, Arabic and Israeli), at times Alon’s telling of Mithqal’s life reads like a legend or romantic adventure — a Jordanian version of King Arthur and his knights with a dash of Robin Hood mixed in.