ABSTRACT

Not too long after the outbreak of the Arab revolt in the Hijaz, three postage stamps appeared in Mecca marking the birth of a new sovereign entity. They were designed, in Sir Ronald Storr's words, to carry the news of 'the Arab Revolution . . . self-paying and incontrovertible, to the four corners of the earth'.1 Issuing stamps was not the only measure Sharif Husayn Ibn 'Ali took to declare his independent status. No sooner had he launched the revolt than he replaced the Ottoman flag by one of his own – black, white and green, with a red chevron.2 He also abolished the Ottoman civil code, reinstating the undiluted shari'a instead. Several weeks later he would take yet another bold step and declare himself Malik al-Bilad al-'Arabiyya, 'King of the Arab Lands'.