Jordanian (Hashemite) victory The 1958 Jordan crisis (Arabic: أزمة الأردن في 1958) was an attempted coup against the regime of King Hussein during the summer of 1958 and immediately following the overthrow of the monarchy in Iraq on 14 July 1958.

[1][2][3] It was allegedly organized by opposition forces supported by Syria and Egypt then forming a single entity known as the United Arab Republic (UAR).

[4] It took place in the context of the Eisenhower Doctrine, by which the US had pledged to protect militarily the regimes in the Middle East sympathetic to it against any subversive and/or Communist activities.

The doctrine had been activated in Lebanon by President Camille Chamoune as part of the 1958 Lebanese civil war and led to the landing of US Marines in Beirut.

Similarly, Jordan had a British military landing around the same period (17 July 1958) to protect the Jordanian regime from being overthrown.

[1] Tensions continued to simmer in late 1957, as Hussein's opponents kept operating supported by Egypt and the Syrian Deuxieme bureau.

[1] Mere days later, a member of the Tuqan family gave a speech supporting the Hashemites in the city, where he was attacked with acid on the streets in the aftermath.

[1] This led Hussein to attempt to intimidate his opposition by passing harsh laws, such as 15 years imprisonment for the possession or selling/purchasing of automatic weapons and explosives, and the death penalty for using such items with the 'intent to kill or cause damage'.

[1] In late January, plans for a union between Egypt and Syria were underway, which Hussein viewed as a direct threat.

On the 1st of February, Hashemite fears would be realised, as the UAR was formed, leading to the formation of the Arab Federation (AF).

He assumed direct control of the Arab Federation, and ordered the army to suppress hostile demonstrations ruthlessly, and to guard foreign consulates and embassies across the state.

[1] Hussein, after the coup attempt, would move to reestablish 'personal contact' with his army, in a programme of visits to barracks and military bases across the state.

A defensive pact between Greece, Turkey, Italy, West Germany, Lebanon, Sudan, and Jordan was proposed by Al-Rifa'i, but this never came to fruition.

[1] After the conflict, Hussein would move to solidify Western relations, as the primary benefactor of Jordan definitively shifted from the UK pre-crisis to the US afterwards.