British Colonialism and Orientalism in Arabia: Glubb Pasha in Transjordan, 1930-1946

Abstract

Of all British officials who served in the Emirate of Transjordan during the British mandate (1921-1946), it was John Glubb who earned the most attention both in the public mind and in the historiography of Jordan –– and rightly so. Glubb had enormous influence on the development of the Emirate of Transjordan, and later the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, from 1930 until 1956. He was associated with the most successful and lasting British colonial project in the Middle East –– the Arab Legion –– and played a crucial role in the integration of the nomadic tribes into the modern state structure. Arriving in Transjordan in 1930 after serving ten years as a District Officer in Iraq, and against the background of a vicious inter-tribal war along the SaudiTransjordanian border, Glubb formed the Desert Patrol –– a small but effective police force based on voluntary recruitment among the nomads. Within a few years, Glubb and his men not only stopped tribal raiding and pacified the desert, but also submitted the nomadic tribes to the rule of the central government and expanded the reach of the administration to the desert. Glubb emerged within a