Arabia / Trans-Jordan: Kingdom of Hijaz (1916-1925): Order of Al Nahda (Order of the Renaissance), 1st Class sash badge, silver, gold and enamels, together with a representative neck cord for wear round the neck, though correctly worn as a sash badge. Unmarked, and probably of Egyptian or local manufacture. Extremely Rare.
Condition: some wear to enamel work, Very Fine.
The history of the Arab Revolt during the Great War is well documented but less well known are the details of the Order of the Al Nahda (Renaissance) which was in a number of instances bestowed by King Hussain Bin Ali of the Hijaz upon British subjects for their services during this period. In addition to the Order of Al Nahda King Hussein also instituted the Orders of Al Istiqlal (Independence). Initially little was known about these orders. The Foreign Office in London were by the early 1920's being asked for information concerning the awards but having no information appealed to the then British Agency in Jeddah. At this time the Kingdom of Hejaz was in terminal decline and the acquisition of information was difficult.
The Order of the Nahda was established to commemorate the revolt of the Hejaz against the Turks. The first distribution was made on October 15th, 1918, when Sharif Hussein declared himself King. It is supposed to be confined to people who actually took part in the revolt. The colours are those of the Hejaz flag, viz. white, black, green and red. White, black and green have been the colours of the Arab movement since it began; the red was added by Hussein.
The 1st Class of the Order was to be awarded to Ministers of State; Ambassadors and Ministers (Plenipotentiary); High Military Officers ("Staff Officers") Civil Officials of the highest class; Distinguished Notables.
British recipients of the Order of Al Nahda were published in the London Gazette. It is interesting to note that there were no awards made to British personnel of the Order of Al Istiqlal or of either of the two medals. However it must be noted that other awards of the Order of Al Nahda were made but not published in the London Gazette. It appears that notice of awards were announced by the Arab Bureau in Cairo who acquired details as published in Al Qibla, being the Royal Hijaz Official Gazette. In most instances it seems that the Arab Bureau then forwarded the brevets and decorations to the responsible authority for onwards transmission to the recipient.
For more details on this insignia, see an article published by Owain Raw-Rees in the March 2003 journal of the Orders and Medals Research Society.
Research supplied to the London Medal Company indicates that some 20 awards of the 1st Class were made. The list is as follows:
1. Fawzi Al Bakri, Notable Damascene and Honorary Deputy Assistant Commander. Al Qibla 258, 19/5/1337H,
2.Abdullah Siraj, Deputy Head Governor & Chief Justice. Al Qibla 320, 10/1/1338H
3.Abdullah bin Mohammed – no rank. Al Qibla 320, 10/1/1338H
4.Mahmoud Al Qissouni, Prime Minister & War Office Minister. Al Qibla 320, 10/1/1338H
5. Saad Dhulfiqar, Senior Advisor to His Highness Fouad I of Egypt. Al Qibla 384, 28/8/1338H
6. Kamal Pasha, Senior Advisor to His Highness Fouad I of Egypt. Al Qibla 384, 28/8/1338H
7. Abdullah Al Miteb Al Rasheed – no rank. Al Qibla 401, 3/11/1338H
8. Abdulqader Ghazzawi, Manager of Posts & Telecommunications. Al Qibla 413, 22/12/1338H
9. Hassan Khalid Abu Al Hadi, Senior Commission Member to the London Conference. Al Qibla 431, 27/2/1339H
10. Habib Lutfallah, Commission Member to the London Conference. Al Qibla 431, 27/2/1339H
11. Mohamed Al Tuwail, Head of General Protocol. Al Qibla 432, 30/2/1339H
12.George Lutfullah – no rank. Al Qibla 540, 6/4/1340H
13. Reza Pasha Al Rakabi, Military Commander of Damascus, later Prime Minister of Jordan. Al Qibla 320, 10/1/1338 (2nd Class) & Al Qibla 545, 13/4/1340H (1st Class).
14. Mohammed Amir, Head of the Haram and of Endowments. Al Qibla 576, 12/8/1340
15. Abdulqader Shuaibi, Head of the Council of Sheikhs & Guardian of God’s House. Al Qibla, 576, 12/8/1340H
16. Mohammed Towfiq Naseem Pasha, Prime Minister of Egypt. Al Qibla 648, 10/5/1341H
17. Mahmoud Fakhri Pasha, Foreign Minister of Egypt. Al Qibla 648, 10/5/1341H
18. Al Farouq Headly, Lord Headly, a British citizen, 1855-1935, converted to Islam 1913 & performed Haj in 1923. Al Qibla 710, 30/12/1341H
19. Ahmed Al Saqqaf, Head of the Hashimi Diwan. Al Qibla 766, 25/8/1342H
20. Fouad Al Khatib, Hashemite Overseas Representative and “Poet of the Revolt”. Al Qibla 766, 25/8/1342H
