Sir John Bagot Glubb, better known as Glubb Pasha (16 April 1897 – 17 March 1986), was a British soldier best known for commanding Transjordan's Arab Legion 1939-1956. During World War I, he served in France and was then transferred to Iraq in 1920, a British colony at the time.

Educated at Cheltenham College, he became an officer of the Arab Legion in 1930. The next year he formed the Desert Patrol a force consisting of exclusively beduins to curb the raiding problem that plagued the southern part of the country. Within a few years he had managed persuaded the beduins to abandon their habit of raiding neighbour tribes and the raids were soon a thing of the past.

In 1939, Glubb succeeded Frederick G. Peake as the commander of the Arab Legion. During this period, he transformed the legion to the best trained force in the Arab world.

He remained as the commander of the Arab Legion until March 2, 1956 when he was dismissed by King Hussein who wanted to distance himself from the British, and disprove the contention of Arab nationalists that Glubb was the actual ruler of Jordan. Differences between Glubb and Hussein had been apparent since 1952, especially over defence arrangements, the promotion of Arab officers and the funding of the Arab Legion. Despite his decommission , which was forced upon him by public opinion, he remained a close friend of the king. He spent the remainder of his life writing books and articles, mostly on the Middle East and his experiences with the Arabs.

See also

• T.E. Lawrence

Writings

• The story of the Arab Legion, (Hodder and Stoughton, 1948)
• A soldier with the Arabs, (Hodder and Stoughton, 1957)
• Britain and the Arabs, (Hodder and Stoughton, 1959)
• A short history of the Arab peoples, (Hodder and Stoughton, )

References

• James D. Lunt, Glubb Pasha, a biography, ISBN 0002726386
• Benny Morris, The Road to Jerusalem: Glubb Pasha, Palestine and the Jews, ISBN 1860648126

External links

• http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/G/Glubb-S1i.asp
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/2/newsid_2514000/2514379.stm

Photos

• Glubb Pasha on the right with King Abdullah in the middle
• The Desert Patrol