Hussein, in full Hussein ibn alal, Hussein also spelled Husayn, (born November 14, 1935, Amman, Transjordan [now Jordan]-died February 7, 1999, Amman, Jordan), king of Jordan from 1953 to 1999 and a member of the Hashimite dynasty, considered by many Muslims to be among the Ahl al-Bayt ("People of the House," the direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad) and the traditional guardians of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. His reign marked the shaping of the modern kingdom of Jordan, and his policies greatly increased the Jordanian standard of living. Following the July 1951 assassination of Hussein's grandfather King Abdullah in Jerusalem, his father alal, ascended to the throne but was in 1952 declared unfit to rule by parliament owing to mental illness. King alal abdicated in favour of Hussein, who after spending some months at Sandhurst Royal Military College in England, assumed full constitutional powers on May 2, 1953. Hussein's policies fostered slow but steady economic progress, though he was forced to depend on significant financial aid from the West. Hussein's base of support was his country's indigenous Bedouin tribesmen, with whom he fostered close personal ties.