1928 Dhabyani coup d'état

In 1928 the Al Nahyan council of elders, led by Khalifa Al Nahyan orchestrated a coup against his brother, the ruling emir of Abu Dhabi Saqr Al Nahyan who himself had taken power in a coup in 1926, and assisted in orchestrating another coup in 1922

In the 1920's Abu Dhabi was rocked with a series of coups dubbed the fratricides due to an economic collapse from the pearl fields the emirate relied on being over fished and depleted.^[1] In 1922 the emir, Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan was overthrown and killed by a conspiracy consisting of his three brothers, Hazza, Sultan, and Saqr, with Sultan, the most liked of the trio among the family council, taking over as emir.^[1]^[2] After Hamdan's family fled to Dubai and the plotters realized that the emirate's coffers where empty, they quickly began to plot among one another, with Saqr able to convince Hazza to help him stage a second coup in 1926 that killed Sultan and crowned Saqr.^[1]^[2]

Plot

Since Saqr had personally killed Sultan with his own hands, he became disreputable among his family, and although he was able to seize power, the Al Nahyan council of elders quickly began to plot his removal.^[1] Saqr was not helped by his Wahhabi sympathies and when news broke that he was offering tributes to Saudi Arabia for political support, his remaining supporters in the family council turned against him.^[1]

Sheikh Khalifa, the older brother to Hamdan, Hazza, Sultan and Saqr, was the leading figure in the elder council that orchestrated the coup.^[1] Sultan's second-eldest son Hazza was able to form a pact against Saqr that included the Al-Bu Shaar section of the Al Manasir that included Saqr's youngest son Sheikh Muhammad.^[1] An elaborate plot was hatched that involved a Baluchi-origin servant from Sultan’s remaining household staff sneaking the conspirators into a New Years day celebration on January 1, 1928 to kill Saqr and take the throne.^[1] Although Saqr was able to escape from the party, one of the conspirators, Al-Bu Shaar, was able to catch up to the fleeing Saqr and executed him.^[1]

Aftermath and succession

New emir

Khalifa accepted full responsibility for the killing of his brother and banished Saqr's kids to Dubai.^[1] He installed his son Muhammad as temporary caretaker in the ruler’s fort and ruled through him via a powerful contingent of Manasir.^[1] Khalifa’s wife, who had discouraged him from pursuing inheriting the throne in 1909, didn't want her son's life put at risk becoming the new emir, so instead the family council began considering junior members of the Al Nahyan.^[1]

Muhammad had married his cousin, Sultan's daughter, and as such Khalifa sought to restore one of her brothers as the new emir.^[1] Khalifa met with Sultan's second-eldest son Khalid, who chose not to go into exile, but instead sought sanctuary with the council of elders and was in Abu Dhabi at the time of the coup.^[1] Khalid's brothers Shakhbut, Hazza, and Zayed where all in exile in Buraimi, under the protection of their grandfather's elderly wali: Ahmad bin Muhammad Al-Dhaheri.^[1]

The Bani Yas elders wanted Khalifa to crown Hazza, however, the British Empire, then the colonial overlords at the time, intervened in the coup and argued that stringent codified primogeniture be implemented, in order for the new ruler to both receive the British's blessing, and to end the string of palace coups.^[1] As such, the British favored Sultan's first-born son Shakhbut as the new emir.^[1] Shortly afterwards Khalifa invited Shakhbut back from exile, and his three brothers swore an oath of fidelity to their still influential mother, Salama, to support him.^[1]^[3]

Consequences

Shakhbut's rule would be far from stable.^[1] Merely a vehicle for the elder council to rule through, in 1954-1955 two of Saqr's son would be financed by Saudi Arabia to begin orchestrating their own coup, although this attempt would ultimately be foiled.^[1] When Shakhbut finally began ruling in his own right in the 1950's he took the emirate in a conservative Islamist direction, and following an economic crisis due to his refusal to invest in the oil industry, and Shakhbut's banning of any new construction, and the banning of stone buildings, the British helped his younger brother Zayed stage a coup in 1966.^[1]^[4]^{[better source needed]}

v t e Emirate of Abu Dhabi
Cities and areas	Abu al Abyad Abu Dhabi Al Ain Al-Aryam Island Al Faqa (shared with Dubai) Al Yahar Al Maryah Island Al Mushrif Al Nahyan Al-Wathbah Dalma Das Island Habshan Halat al Bahrani Khalifa City Liwa Oasis Madinat Zayed Marawah Mussafah Remah Ruwais Sila Sir Bani Yas Abu Dhabi Global Market Swaihan Yas Island Al Fahid Island
Municipal regions	Abu Dhabi Region Adh-Dhafrah (Gharbiyyah, Western) Region Al-Ain (Sharqiyyah, Eastern) Region
Government	Al Nahyan family (Royal House) Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (Ruler)
Culture	Cultural property of national significance in Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation Al Ain National Museum Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Louvre Abu Dhabi Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi Qasr al-Hosn Qasr Al Watan Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Sheikh Zayed Palace Museum Zayed National Museum
Transport	Abu Dhabi International Airport Al Ain International Airport Mussafah Bridge Salam Street Sheikh Zayed Bridge Zayed Port
Infrastructure	Al Lulu Island Al Nahyan Stadium Al Raha Al Reem Island Central Market Project Khalifa Port Kizad Masdar City Saadiyat Island Al Fahid Island Tallest buildings
History	Timeline of Abu Dhabi (city) 1922 Dhabyani coup d'état 1926 Dhabyani coup d'état 1928 Dhabyani coup d'état 1954-1955 Dhabyani coup attempt 1966 Dhabyani coup d'état 2011 Dhabyani coup attempt
Sister Cities	Houston Madrid Rahim Yar Khan

v t e List of modern conflicts in the Middle East
1910s	World War I Italo-Turkish War Middle Eastern theatre Battle of Robat Karim Arab Revolt Armenian genocide Assyrian genocide Mount Lebanon starvation Unification of Saudi Arabia Simko Shikak revolt 1919 Egyptian revolution Turkish War of Independence Anglo-Turkish War Al-Jazeera Front Greco-Turkish War Turkish–Armenian War Franco-Turkish War Revolts United States Mahmud Barzanji revolts
1920s	Franco-Syrian War Iraqi Revolt (1920) Intercommunal conflict in Mandatory Palestine 1922 Dhabyani coup d'état Adwan Rebellion Arab separatism in Khuzestan Great Syrian Revolt 1926 Dhabyani coup d'état 1928 Dhabyani coup d'état Sheikh Said rebellion
1930s	Ararat rebellion Ahmed Barzani revolt Simele massacre Saudi–Yemeni war (1934) Goharshad Mosque rebellion 1935–1936 Iraqi Shia revolts 1935 Yazidi revolt 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine Dersim rebellion
1940s	World War II Italian bombing of Palestine Allied invasion of Iraq Syria–Lebanon campaign Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran 1943 Barzani revolt Al-Waziri coup Al-Wathbah uprising Kurdish separatism in Iran Iran crisis of 1946 Arab–Israeli conflict 1948 Arab–Israeli War Suez Crisis 1967 Six-Day War 1973 Yom Kippur War 1982 Lebanon War
1950s	Buraimi dispute 1952 Egyptian revolution 1953 Iranian coup d'état Jebel Akhdar War Cyprus Emergency Suez Crisis Yemeni–Adenese clan violence 1958 Lebanon crisis 1958 Iraqi revolution 1959 Mosul uprising
1960s	Cyprus crisis of 1963–1964 Iraqi–Kurdish conflict First Iraqi–Kurdish War Second Iraqi–Kurdish War Dhofar rebellion North Yemen civil war Feb. 1963 Iraqi coup Mar. 1963 Syrian coup Nov. 1963 Iraqi coup Aden Emergency 1964 Hama riot Israeli–Palestinian conflict 1948 Palestine war First Intifada Second Intifada 1965 Sharjawi coup d'état 1966 Syrian coup d'état 1966 Dhabyani coup d'état 1969 Saudi Arabian coup attempt
1970s	Black September in Jordan 1972 Sharjawi coup d'état attempt Yemenite War of 1972 Turkish invasion of Cyprus Shatt al-Arab clashes Lebanese Civil War Political violence in Turkey Islamist uprising in Syria 1977 Shia uprising in Iraq NDF Rebellion Yemenite War of 1979 Iranian Revolution Consolidation of the Iranian Revolution 1979 Qatif Uprising Grand Mosque seizure 1979–1980 Shia uprising in Iraq
1980s	Iran–Iraq War 1980 Turkish coup d'état Kurdish–Turkish conflict Turkey–PKK conflict South Yemen civil war 1986 Egyptian conscripts riot 1986 Damascus bombings 1987 Sharjawi coup d'état attempt Mecca massacre Abu Nidal's executions
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1928 Dhabyani coup d'état

Plot

Aftermath and succession

New emir

Consequences

See also

References

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