1. German explorer Hermann Burchardt photographed Mubarak in 1903, in what is an iconic photograph.
19 Facts About Mubarak Al-Sabah
1. 2.
Mubarak Al-Sabah was given four more Ottoman honors as reward for his services in the Qatar campaign, though the value of his contributions is disputed.
3.
On 8 May 1896, Mubarak Al-Sabah killed his half-brothers Muhammad and Jarrah, enabling himself to assume the Kuwaiti throne.
4.
One theory is that Mubarak Al-Sabah resented being constantly sent away on tribal expeditions out into the desert.
5.
The most plausible theory is that Mubarak Al-Sabah felt he did not receive his rightful share of the family wealth and property, causing contention and a strong desire to seize it.
6.
Mubarak Al-Sabah acted to bribe the Ottoman bureaucracy through lavish gift-giving in order to gain support for his appointment as kaymakam [sub governor] of Kuwait like his previous brothers.
7.
Mubarak Al-Sabah, comforted by British protection felt free to pursue his own policies and mounted an invasion into Najd with an army of Kuwaiti townspeople.
8.
The campaign was moderately successful until the Battle of Sarif on 17 March 1901 where most of Mubarak Al-Sabah's force was destroyed, including the deaths of his brother and two nephews.
9.
Slot challenges Anscombe's claim that Mubarak Al-Sabah had a dream of being the Arab leader of the Arabian Peninsula; rather, Slot contends, it was a maneuver to contain and balance the power in the region that resulted from an alliance between the Rashidi Amir in al-awadhi, Mubarak Al-Sabah's enemy Yusuf Al-Ibrahim, and the Baghdad Military Command.
10.
Mubarak Al-Sabah requested on 28 May 1901 for British protectorate status, but it was denied due to the international tensions surrounding Kuwait.
11.
The Ottomans slowly realized that the growing British presence around Kuwait was a sign of Mubarak Al-Sabah's secret dealing with the British.
12.
Mubarak Al-Sabah carried on different activities that helped Kuwait gain more power and sovereignty apart from the Ottomans.
13.
The British government recognised Mubarak Al-Sabah by appointing him an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire in the 1911 Delhi Durbar Honours, with further recognition as an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India in the 1914 Birthday Honours.
14.
Mubarak Al-Sabah engaged in affairs concerning the neighboring areas around him, which caused consternation on both the Ottoman and the British sides.
15.
Mubarak Al-Sabah supported and smuggled British guns to local Arabian leaders.
16.
In 1905 Mubarak Al-Sabah served as a mediator between the Saudis and the Ottomans, while simultaneously shaping Saudi strategy during the negotiations.
17.
In support of the war effort Mubarak Al-Sabah sent a force to Umm Qasr, Safwan, Bubiyan, and Basra to expel the Ottomans in November 1914.
18.
Mubarak Al-Sabah soon removed the Ottoman symbol that was on the Kuwaiti flag and replaced it with "Kuwait" written in Arabic script.
19.
Mubarak Al-Sabah died on 28 November 1915 due to an attack of malaria aggravated by a bad heart.