Jordan, 1958 — military coup conspiracy
Event Summary
The dataset records an event coded as a military, foreign-backed conspiracy in Jordan on 1 July 1958, corresponding to the 1958 Jordan crisis, an attempted coup against King Hussein allegedly organized by opposition forces backed by the United Arab Republic (Egypt and Syria). The crisis came around the 14 July 1958 revolution that toppled the Hashemite monarchy in neighboring Iraq. On 16 July, US and British intelligence warned Hussein of a UAR-inspired coup scheduled within 24 hours, prompting a British military landing in Amman on 17 July; a plot to assassinate Hussein and his uncle Sharif Nasser was also uncovered.
Roughly 60 military personnel were arrested, and a trial beginning 12 August 1958 sentenced 13 defendants to death. The plot fit the wider Arab Cold War between Nasserist republicanism and the Hashemite monarchies, and its failure, backed by Western intervention, secured Hussein's throne.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Sources
Editorial Note
Cross-Reference
Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
- Cline Center id
66307011958
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: King Hussein survived the plot with US and British support and retained his throne.
Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Baseline Source-Document Entries
Powell and Thyne
New York Times
Irish Times
The Guardian
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →