Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca

Hussein bin Ali became Sharif and Emir of Mecca in 1908 under Ottoman appointment, but his autonomy eroded as the Young Turks centralized power. After failed negotiations to secure hereditary control of the Hejaz, he launched the Great Arab Revolt in 1916 - framing it as defense of Islam and historic rights, not modern nationalism - and his sons led armies against Ottoman forces while Syria and Iraq never rose. He saved up to 4,000 Armenians during the genocide. After the war he became King of Hejaz and accepted the Caliphate under local urging, but broad Muslim recognition never came. He refused to ratify Versailles in protest of the Balfour Declaration and British-French mandates, refused the Anglo-Hashemite Treaty, and Britain withdrew support. Ibn Saud invaded; Hussein abdicated in 1924, surrendered in 1925, and was deported by the British to Cyprus. Relocated to Amman in 1930 as his health failed, he died there in 1931 and was buried near al-Aqsa.