Supreme Order Of The Renaissance

The order was instituted in 1917 by Emir Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca. According to correspondence between the British Foreign Office and their agent in Jeddah in 1924,

The Order of the Nahda was established to commemorate the revolt of the Hejaz against the Turks. The first distribution was made on October 15th, 1918, when Sharif Hussein declared himself King. It is supposed to be confined to people who actually took part in the revolt.

When Hussein's successor Ali was overthrown by the Sultan of Nejd, his son Abdullah continued to issue the award as Emir of Transjordan. Until 1949 when the Order of Hussein bin Ali was established, the Order of the Renaissance was Transjordan's most senior award.

While originally intended for those who took direct part in the Arab Revolt, it is now used as an order of merit and for senior members of the Hashemite Royal Family.

The Supreme Order of the Renaissance is divided in six classes :

• Grand Cordon with Brilliants / Special 1st Class
•   Grand Cordon / 1st Class
•   Grand Officer / 2nd Class
•   Commander / 3rd Class
•   Officer / 4th Class
•   Knight/ 5th Class
•   Medal/ 6th Class

The Order's insignia is a multilayered hexagonal star with six green enamel palms. The star has an inner circle with Arabic script that translates to: "His Servant Al Hussein bin Ali".

The ribbon is, since 1952, of equal stripes of black, white and green; with a narrow red stripe in the centre of the white stripe.

Between 1917 and 1952, it was made of equal stripes of black, green and white; with a narrow red stripe in the centre of the green stripe.

The Order of the Renaissance also has a special first class which has the same design as the other classes but its breast and sash star are studded with diamonds.