Faisal I (1883-1933) was an Arab nationalist and political leader during and following World War I. He led Arab troops in the revolt against Turkish rule and became king of newly created Iraq.

On May 20, 1883, Faisal was born in Taif near the Islamic holy city of Mecca in western Arabia, the third son of Husein ibn Ali and a member of one of Mecca's leading families, which claimed descent from the prophet Mohammed. In 1891 Faisal moved to Constantinople (Istanbul) with his father and brothers because the suspicious Sultan wished to keep Husein under political surveillance. Faisal was raised and educated in the imperial capital. A year after the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, Husein was appointed by the new Ottoman government sharif of Mecca, or protector of the holy places, a position his family had often held before. Faisal returned to Mecca and became a member of the Ottoman...