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The many guises of the emperor Augustus
The many guises of the emperor Augustus

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2 King Abdullah II of Jordan

Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein became king of Jordan, in the Middle East, in 1999, after the death of his father, Hussein. King Hussein had been an exceptionally popular leader, and Abdullah clearly had very large shoes to fill. Jordan is a constitutional monarchy, meaning that the king’s powers are limited by a constitution, but while the king has a great deal of power, he is also very keen to appeal to his subjects. As a result of both these things, Abdullah has developed a public image that involves portraying himself in an array of different guises. In this context, clothing plays a key role.

This is a map of the eastern Mediterranean Sea, showing the location of Jordan.
Map 1 Map of the eastern Mediterranean Sea, showing the location of Jordan.
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This is a map of the eastern Mediterranean Sea, showing the location of Jordan.

Map 1 Map of the eastern Mediterranean Sea, showing the location of Jordan.

Activity 1

Timing: Allow around 25 minutes for this activity

Have a look at the following images of King Abdullah II, also paying attention to the information in the captions. Then fill in the table below with key details with a row for each image: note form is fine. The first one has been done for you.

Figure number Description of image, especially clothing Location of image (if known) What is the image trying to convey/who might it especially appeal to?
5 The king in military uniform with lots of medals, in front of a Jordanian flag Outside a military installation The king as soldier and military commander. Serious face. Looks like someone who is militarily capable/experienced and willing to lead from the front in the event of war. Likely to appeal to military personnel (‘I am one of you’) as well as citizens wanting to know their country is in safe hands.
6
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This image shows a large poster mounted next to the entrance to a military camp, consisting of an entranceway and an observation tower. The poster depicts the head, neck, shoulders and chest of a middle-aged man with short hair in front of the Jordanian national flag. The man is wearing military uniform consisting of a cap with a badge and a shirt displaying a multitude of medals and honours on the left chest and shoulders. He is clean-shaven.
Figure 5 Portrait of King Abdullah outside the military installation on the border with Israel near Aqaba.
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This image shows a large poster mounted next to the entrance to a military camp, consisting of an entranceway and an observation tower. The poster depicts the head, neck, shoulders and chest of a middle-aged man with short hair in front of the Jordanian national flag. The man is wearing military uniform consisting of a cap with a badge and a shirt displaying a multitude of medals and honours on the left chest and shoulders. He is clean-shaven.

Figure 5 Portrait of King Abdullah outside the military installation on the border with Israel near Aqaba.
This image shows a large poster mounted in a covered market area. There are several people walking around and talking. The poster depicts a seated middle-aged man with his right arm resting on a pile of folded Arabic-style carpets. The man is wearing a long, sleeved black robe and a red-and-white-checked scarf over his head, held in place with a black band. He wears a short beard.
Figure 6 Portrait of King Abdullah outside the bazaar in Wadi Musa in southern Jordan.
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This image shows a large poster mounted in a covered market area. There are several people walking around and talking. The poster depicts a seated middle-aged man with his right arm resting on a pile of folded Arabic-style carpets. The man is wearing a long, sleeved black robe and a red-and-white-checked scarf over his head, held in place with a black band. He wears a short beard.

Figure 6 Portrait of King Abdullah outside the bazaar in Wadi Musa in southern Jordan.

Study note: Bedouins

Bedouins are nomadic people who are the traditional inhabitants of large parts of the Middle East. In Jordan most live in the south of the country. Their traditional lifestyle includes herding sheep and goats, living in large tents and distinctive dress, which for men includes a red-and-white headscarf held down with a black band. The Bedouins of Jordan see King Abdullah as their leader.

This image shows two large posters mounted on a street in a built-up area. The poster on the right depicts the head, shoulders, neck and chest of a middle-aged man wearing a business suit. He wears a short beard.
Figure 7 Poster of King Abdullah in the commercial centre of the Jordanian capital, Amman.
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This image shows two large posters mounted on a street in a built-up area. The poster on the right depicts the head, shoulders, neck and chest of a middle-aged man wearing a business suit. He wears a short beard.

Figure 7 Poster of King Abdullah in the commercial centre of the Jordanian capital, Amman.
This image shows the top half of a clean-shaven middle-aged man surrounded by other men in an enclosed courtyard. He is wearing nothing but a large white cloth draped around his body and over his left shoulder. He is leaning forward to touch a large object in front of him with both hands, and is speaking.
Figure 8 King Abdullah participates in an Umra pilgrimage with his brother Prince Ali Mecca (the key Muslim pilgrimage site in Saudi Arabia) wearing the rida (sash) and izar (loincloth) of pilgrims.
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This image shows the top half of a clean-shaven middle-aged man surrounded by other men in an enclosed courtyard. He is wearing nothing but a large white cloth draped around his body and over his left shoulder. He is leaning forward to touch a large object in front of him with both hands, and is speaking.

Figure 8 King Abdullah participates in an Umra pilgrimage with his brother Prince Ali Mecca (the key Muslim pilgrimage site in Saudi ...
This image shows a photograph of a family in a living room. The family consists of: a young-middle-aged woman with long, dark hair in jeans, a shirt and jumper; a middle-aged man with short hair and a short beard wearing a brown shirt and beige trousers; on the woman’s lap, a girl of about 5-6 years wearing jeans and a jumper, on the man’s lap, a baby of about 12 months, kneeling next to the man, a girl of about 10-12 years wearing a shirt and trousers, seated behind the couple a boy of about 10 years in a T-shirt and trousers.
Figure 9 King Abdullah and his family inside their home, posing for a New Year’s Eve card.
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This image shows a photograph of a family in a living room. The family consists of: a young-middle-aged woman with long, dark hair in jeans, a shirt and jumper; a middle-aged man with short hair and a short beard wearing a brown shirt and beige trousers; on the woman’s lap, a girl of about 5-6 years wearing jeans and a jumper, on the man’s lap, a baby of about 12 months, kneeling next to the man, a girl of about 10-12 years wearing a shirt and trousers, seated behind the couple a boy of about 10 years in a T-shirt and trousers.

Figure 9 King Abdullah and his family inside their home, posing for a New Year’s Eve card.
This image shows two people standing in front of two large posters mounted on the external wall of a building. The posters both depict men wearing suits and ties with red-and-white-checked headscarves held in place with black bands. The man on the left is older than the man on the right. Both wear small beards.
Figure 10 Portraits of King Abdullah (r.) and his father King Hussein (l.) in Petra, southern Jordan.
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This image shows two people standing in front of two large posters mounted on the external wall of a building. The posters both depict men wearing suits and ties with red-and-white-checked headscarves held in place with black bands. The man on the left is older than the man on the right. Both wear small beards.

Figure 10 Portraits of King Abdullah (r.) and his father King Hussein (l.) in Petra, southern Jordan.

Comment

This table may look different from yours: perhaps you spotted fewer details, or perhaps you spotted more!

Figure number Description of image, esp. dress Location of image (if known)

What is the image trying to convey?

Who might it especially appeal to?
5 The king in military uniform with lots of medals, in front of a Jordanian flag Outside a military installation The king as soldier and military commander. Serious face. Looks like someone who is militarily capable/experienced and willing to lead from the front in the event of war. Likely to appeal to military personnel (‘I am one of you’) as well as citizens wanting to know their country is in safe hands.
6 Traditional Bedouin dress Outside a bazaar in southern Jordan The king as Bedouin leader. Likely to appeal to Bedouin locals. (Also, he is leaning against a pile of cushions of the kind sold in Jordanian bazaars, so this might appeal to tradespeople working in the bazaar?)
7 Business suit Commercial centre of Amman The king as capable businessman. Likely to appeal to Jordanian businesspeople, businesspeople visiting Jordan and Jordanian citizens who place importance on Jordan’s commercial success. All of these people are likely to predominantly operate in central Amman.
8 Rida and izar of pilgrims Mecca (Muslim pilgrimage site) The king as pious Muslim. Likely to appeal to devout Muslims and those who want their leader to be a religious man.
9 Casual clothes Family home The king as family man. Likely to appeal to ordinary people, people who place importance on family and those who feel their leader should be a loving family man. Also: the king is supplying male children to take his place, so he is securing the dynasty and, as a result, the stability of the country.
10 Bedouin clothes Petra, southern Jordan Bedouin dress likely to appeal to local people, but worn with a suit to appeal to non-Bedouins as well? Also: portrayed next to Hussein. Abdullah benefitting from his connection to his father, who was popular and well-loved. This is also maybe showing political stability/continuity and family honour.

Hopefully this brief discussion has shown how, even today, imagery can be key to a political leader’s public relations and how a prominent figure such as a king can use different forms of carefully chosen imagery to enhance their appeal with their people. Hopefully you also saw how clothing can play a key role here. Clearly, there are many differences between King Abdullah and Augustus: ancient Rome and modern Jordan are two entirely different types of state with very different cultures, different dress codes and different possibilities for portrait production. (As you will discover later in this course, ancient Romans could use coins, statues and a range of other options for portraits.) However, the decisions King Abdullah of Jordan has made in his image construction provide us with a more modern example of the visual framework constructed by Augustus as we turn back to Augustus and his use of portraits for political ends.