Hussein of Jordan Hussein of Jordan Hussein bin Talal (, "Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ṭalāl"; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) reigned as King of Jordan from 11 August 1952 until his death. According to Hussein, he was a 40th-generation direct descendant of Muhammad as he belonged to the Hashemite family which has ruled Jordan since 1921. Hussein was born in Amman as the eldest child of Talal bin Abdullah and Zein Al-Sharaf. Hussein began his schooling in Amman, continuing his education abroad. After Talal became King of Jordan in 1951, Hussein was named heir apparent. The Parliament forced Talal to abdicate a year
Talal of Jordan of his father, Abdullah I, in Jerusalem. His son, Hussein, who was accompanying his grandfather at Friday prayers was also a near victim. On 20 July 1951, Prince Hussein travelled to Jerusalem to perform Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque with his grandfather, King Abdullah I. An assassin fearing that the king might normalise relations with the State of Israel, killed Abdullah, but the 15-year-old Hussein survived. During his short reign he was responsible for the formation of a liberalised constitution for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, which made the government collectively, and the ministers individually, responsible before the Jordanian