| Adwan Rebellion | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Sultan Adwan's forces |  Transjordan United Kingdom
| ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Sultan Adwan Majed Adwan  Sayil al-Shahwān | EmirAbdullah I of JordanFrederick Peake | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Adwan Ajarmah Bani Hamidah | Arab Legion | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 300 horsemen 500 warriors[1] | 2 RAF Armored Cars | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 86 (including 13 women) | Unknown | ||||||
| About 100 killed, including Sheikh Sayil Al-Shahwan | |||||||
TheAdwan Rebellion or theBalqa Revolt[1] was the largest uprising against the newly establishedTransjordanian government, headed by Mezhar Ruslan, during its first years.
The rebellion started due to a feud between theAdwan and theBani Sakher tribes of theBalqa region led by Sultan Adwan andMithqal Al-Fayez respectively.Mithqal was favored byEmir Abdullah and the Emir earned the ire of the Adwan for it. Emir Abdulah's attempt at reconciliation with the Adwan was rebuffed. The Adwan gained the sympathy of young urban Transjordanian intellectuals who began to demand a democratic rule and had been growing increasingly envious of the Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians, who monopolized key positions of Transjordanian government.
Sultan Adwan arrived in Amman in August 1923 at the head of an armed demonstration demanding a constitutional government under the slogan "Jordan for Jordanians". He negotiated with the Emir who agreed to replace the government but arrested three figures for conspiring against the state. In response, Sultan Adwan later advanced on Amman again and occupied two gendarmerie outposts. The Adwan were defeated in a fierce battle with the Emir's forces led by British officerFrederick Peake. As a result, the revolt leader, Sultan Adwan, fled to Syria with his sons. A general pardon in March 1924 brought the matter to an end.[1]
The most serious threats toemir Abdullah's position inTransjordan were repeatedWahhabi incursions fromNajd into southern parts of his territory.[2] The emir was powerless to repel those raids by himself, thus the British maintained a military base, with a smallair force, at Marka, close toAmman.[2] This force could have been easily used against the WahhabiIkhwan. The British military, which was the primary obstacle against theIkhwan, and was also incorporated to helpEmir Abdullah with the suppression of local rebellions atKura and later bySultan Adwan.[2]
With the end of theKura affair, another challenge to Hashemite rule began to loom as the feud between theBani Sakher bedouin, led byMithqal Al Fayez—particularly favored byEmir Abdullah, and theAdwan bedouins ofBalqa, headed by SheikhSultan Adwan.[2] Dangerously exposed to theWahhabi raids from Arabia, Emir Abdullah had no intention of alienating Sultan Adwan, even if he did pay a special attention to Bani Sakher. Opposing Abdullah's tribal policies, Sultan had received support from an unexpected direction—educated members of young generation in the large towns ofIrbid,Salt andKarak, who began to criticize Abdullah's autocracy and demanded democratic rule.[2] The new generation of urban intellectuals had been growing increasingly envious of the Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians, who monopolized key positions of Transjordanian government and administration.
In August 1923, Sultan arrived inAmman at the head of an armed demonstration, openly backing popular demands for a constitutional, parliamentary government and pressure the emir for some urgent economic issues, but actually showing "who were the real masters of the Balqa region" (i.e. the Adwan and not Bani Sakher).[2] Unprepared for the showdown, Emir Abdullah received Sultan, listened to his demands and promised his due consideration.[2] To silence the opposition, the standing government was dismissed, and a new one formed.[2] However, Abdullah decided that the show of defiance of established authority could not go unpunished andMustafa Wahbi Tal and many other intellectual and political figures who had backed Sultan, were arrested and accused of conspiracy against the state.[2]
Becoming fearful of the consequences of Tal's trial, Sultan Adwan decided to strike first. He advanced on Amman in full force, and occupied twogendarmerie outposts, at the western entrances to the capital along the Amman-Jerusalem road.[2]
Unlike the previous time, Peake's forces were well prepared. Adwani forces were defeated in a fierce battle and put to flight.[2] The prisoners, taken among the attackers, were banished to theHejaz, while Sultan and his sons fled to Syria, seeking refuge inJabal al-Druze under the protection ofSultan al-Atrash.[2]
By March 1924,Sharif Hussein granted a general pardon permitted all Adwan exiles to return home upon his declaration that he was the new caliph.[2] BothKura and Adwan rebellions made Abdullah understand the basic need for an effective armed force, even if such force was under British, rather than Arab command.
Some tribal unrests continued to simmer in the country for a few years after the suppression of Adwan insurrection. In 1926, the government had to send a force to suppress a rebellion inWadi Musa, where the villagers refused to pay taxes and seized and looted the local gendarmerie post and government house.[2]