1922 Dhabyani coup d'état

1922 Dhabyani coup
	; Emirate of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates
Date	August 22, 1922
Location	Emirate of Abu Dhabi24°17′N 54°13′E / 24.28°N 54.22°E
Result	Advertisement Close Coup Successful Sheikh Hamdan Al Nahyan killed; Sheikh Sultan Al Nahyan installed; Sultan deposed in a counter coup in 1926
Belligerents
Abu Dhabi	Junior Al Nahyan
Commanders and leaders
Hamdan Al Nahyan †	Sultan Al Nahyan; Hazzan Al Nahyan; Saqr Al Nahyan
Units involved
Hamdan loyalists	Sultan loyalists
Casualties and losses
4 (including Hamdan)	none

In 1922 Sheikh Sultan Al Nahyan, with a coalition of his brothers Hazza and Saqr staged a palace coup in Abu Dhabi killing their brother Hamdan, the ruling emir at the time, and crowned Sultan in his place.

Background

In 1909 longtime ruler of Abu Dhabi, Zayed Al Nahyan "The Great" died.^[1] In Islam there is no stringent monarchical inheritance laws, instead, successors typically are chosen via Shura, although Abu Dhabi's colonial overlord, the British Empire, had been pressuring the Trucial States to adopt primogeniture, this would not be adopted in Abu Dhabi until another palace coup in 1966.^[1]^[2] Zayed's eldest son Khalifa at the urging of his wife who feared for his life if he inherited, declined the throne, with it instead passing to Zayed's second eldest son Tahnoun.^[1] However, Tahnoun would die young of illness in 1912 again reopening the issue of succession.^[1] Hamdan, Zayed's fifth eldest son would inherit the throne from his brother and become the new emir, passing over several of Zayed's older sons.^[2]

Coup

Planning

Hamdan's rule was far from secure, and wasn't helped by an economic collapse in 1920–1921 within the emirate as the economy was almost entirely reliant on pearling, with the pearl fields running dry due to over fishing.^[2] However, economic conditions for a coup where only a pretense, with the real reason for the coup being inter-personal family rivalries.^[1] Hamdan, who had no adult sons of his own, had begun grooming his older brother Sultan's sons to succeed him, which would've bypassed Sultan. Additionally, Hamdan had earned the ire of nomadic Bedouins due to his insistence that they pay more taxes due to the economic shortfall and for sending tribute to Saudi Arabia. Sultan was able to convince his other, still politically active, brothers Hazza and Saqr to stage a coup and instead determine the new emir by Shura.^[2]

Events

On Tuesday, August 22, Sultan entered the Qasr Al Hosn alongside Saqr and four Bedouin retainers from the Bani Yas, as it was just after the midday majlis Hamdan was resting in the shade of the central courtyard with some of his advisors. Sultan then promptly opened fire on his brother point blank, killing him instantly, as the other members of his party opened fire on Hamdan's courtiers killing three of them. Sultan then sealed the fort, secured the keys to the treasury, and sent envoys to his brothers and tribal leaders.^[2]^[1]

Aftermath

New emir

After the coup about 20 male elders from the Al Nahyan met in the fort to determine who the new emir would be. Largely divided along tribal lines, Sultan saw support from the al‑Qubaisāt family of his mother, as well as the Manasir and most of the Suwdān.^[3] Hazza, who shared Sultan's mother, received the support of the rest of the Suwdān, and almost all of the Bani Yas, but was largely sidelined as he was unable to arrive in Abu Dhabi in time for the meeting.^[3] Saqr, who was present during the coup, but had a different mother, saw marginal support from fringe tribal leaders, with the main bulk of his support coming from his mother's family, the Al Bu Falasah of Dubai and merchants that supported inter-emirati relations.^[3]

The British also reported that Saqr had promised tax breaks to Wahhabists which they viewed as one of the principle reasons he wasn't chosen.^[3] Seeking a ruler that could lead both the coastal cities and the tribal hinterland, votes weren't held by head, which would give the Bani Yas a huge advantage, instead votes where held by section or tribe.^[3] The British were a non-factor during this council, as the political resident was in Bushire at the time, 600 km away from Abu Dhabi and was unable to react until after the coup.^[3] Instead Khalifa served as a kingmaker, while not seeking the throne himself, he threatened to stage a counter coup if Saqr was installed, and said that he would "tolerate" the rule of Sultan.^[3] Due to these factors Sultan was selected as the new emir.^[2]

Destabilization

The coup would destabilize Abu Dhabi for generations.^[2] In 1926, after Sultan failed to resolve the economic crisis, and had cut his brother's allowances, there would be another palace coup that would see Sultan dead and Saqr installed as emir without consultation from the family.^[2] However, Saqr's rule too would be short lived, as the paranoid Saqr viewed Khalifa as a potential treat and plotted his murder, resulting in Khalifa to coordinate with the council of elders to stage a third coup in 1928.^[2]

After this third coup Khalifa and the family council listened to the advice of the British and crowned Sultan's son Shakhbut as the new emir, as he was the eldest son of the last legitimate emir.^[2] However, Shakhbut too would fail to fix the economic crisis, especially after oil was discovered.^[2]

The Saudis attempted to back another coup in the 1950s to install Saqr's kids in exchange for the disputed Buraimi Oasis, but this coup would fail after international arbitration found in favor of Abu Dhabi.^[2] Afterwards Shakhbut, seeking to return Abu Dhabi to its traditional roots, outlawed stone buildings and new construction, and as such a fourth coup, this time in 1966 crowned his younger brother Zayed, finally ending the political instability.^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Zahlan, Rosemarie Said (2016). The making of the Modern Gulf States: Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman (PDF). London; New York: Routledge, Tayler & Francis Group. ISBN 978-1-315-64540-7. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Christopher Davidson. "SHEIKH SHAKHBUT AND THE GREAT DECLINE" (PDF). Retrieved 3 May 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Zahlan, Rosemarie Said (1978). The origins of the United Arab Emirates : a political and social history of the Trucial States. New York : St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-58882-3. Retrieved 4 May 2025.

[Zahlan-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Zahlan, Rosemarie Said (2016). The making of the Modern Gulf States: Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman (PDF). London; New York: Routledge, Tayler & Francis Group. ISBN 978-1-315-64540-7. Retrieved 4 May 2025.

[Davidson-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Christopher Davidson. "SHEIKH SHAKHBUT AND THE GREAT DECLINE" (PDF). Retrieved 3 May 2025.

[Tribes-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Zahlan, Rosemarie Said (1978). The origins of the United Arab Emirates : a political and social history of the Trucial States. New York : St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-58882-3. Retrieved 4 May 2025.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Emirate of Abu Dhabi
Cities and areas	Abu al Abyad Abu Dhabi Al Ain Al-Aryam Island Al Faqa (shared with Dubai) Al Yahar Al Maryah Island Al Mushrif Al Nahyan Al-Wathbah Dalma Das Island Habshan Halat al Bahrani Khalifa City Liwa Oasis Madinat Zayed Marawah Mussafah Remah Ruwais Sila Sir Bani Yas Abu Dhabi Global Market Swaihan Yas Island Al Fahid Island
Municipal regions	Abu Dhabi Region Adh-Dhafrah (Gharbiyyah, Western) Region Al-Ain (Sharqiyyah, Eastern) Region
Government	Al Nahyan family (Royal House) Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (Ruler)
Culture	Cultural property of national significance in Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation Al Ain National Museum Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Louvre Abu Dhabi Qasr al-Hosn Qasr Al Watan Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Sheikh Zayed Palace Museum Zayed National Museum
Transport	Abu Dhabi International Airport Al Ain International Airport Mussafah Bridge Port Zayed Salam Street Sheikh Zayed Bridge
Infrastructure	Al Lulu Island Al Nahyan Stadium Al Raha Al Reem Island Central Market Project Khalifa Port Kizad Masdar City Saadiyat Island Al Fahid Island Tallest buildings
History	Timeline of Abu Dhabi (city) 1922 Dhabyani coup d'état 1926 Dhabyani coup d'état 1928 Dhabyani coup d'état 1954-1955 Dhabyani coup attempt 1966 Dhabyani coup d'état 2011 Dhabyani coup attempt
Sister Cities	Houston Madrid Rahim Yar Khan

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1920s	Franco-Syrian War Iraqi Revolt (1920) Intercommunal conflict in Mandatory Palestine 1922 Dhabyani coup d'état Adwan Rebellion Arab separatism in Khuzestan Great Syrian Revolt 1926 Dhabyani coup d'état 1928 Dhabyani coup d'état Sheikh Said rebellion
1930s	Ararat rebellion Ahmed Barzani revolt Simele massacre Saudi–Yemeni war (1934) Goharshad Mosque rebellion 1935–1936 Iraqi Shia revolts 1935 Yazidi revolt 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine Dersim rebellion
1940s	World War II Italian bombing of Palestine Allied invasion of Iraq Syria–Lebanon campaign Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran 1943 Barzani revolt Al-Waziri coup Al-Wathbah uprising Kurdish separatism in Iran Iran crisis of 1946 Arab–Israeli conflict 1948 Arab–Israeli War Suez Crisis 1967 Six-Day War 1973 Yom Kippur War 1982 Lebanon War
1950s	Buraimi dispute 1952 Egyptian revolution 1953 Iranian coup d'état Jebel Akhdar War Cyprus Emergency Suez Crisis Yemeni–Adenese clan violence 1958 Lebanon crisis 1958 Iraqi revolution 1959 Mosul uprising
1960s	Cyprus crisis of 1963–1964 Iraqi–Kurdish conflict First Iraqi–Kurdish War Second Iraqi–Kurdish War Dhofar rebellion North Yemen civil war Feb. 1963 Iraqi coup Mar. 1963 Syrian coup Nov. 1963 Iraqi coup Aden Emergency 1964 Hama riot Israeli–Palestinian conflict 1948 Palestine war First Intifada Second Intifada 1965 Sharjawi coup d'état 1966 Syrian coup d'état 1966 Dhabyani coup d'état 1969 Saudi Arabian coup attempt
1970s	Black September in Jordan 1972 Sharjawi coup d'état attempt Yemenite War of 1972 Turkish invasion of Cyprus Shatt al-Arab clashes Lebanese Civil War Political violence in Turkey Islamist uprising in Syria 1977 Shia uprising in Iraq NDF Rebellion Yemenite War of 1979 Iranian revolution Consolidation of the Iranian revolution 1979 Qatif Uprising Grand Mosque seizure 1979–1980 Shia uprising in Iraq
1980s	Iran–Iraq War 1980 Turkish coup d'état Kurdish–Turkish conflict Turkey–PKK conflict South Yemen civil war 1986 Egyptian conscripts riot 1986 Damascus bombings 1987 Sharjawi coup d'état attempt Mecca massacre Abu Nidal's executions
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