Alan de Lacy Rush is a British historical researcher and writer with a special interest in Kuwait and Middle Eastern ruling dynasties. Based in London and Cairo he is currently researching the history of the ahl al-bayt (family of the Prophet Muhammad), and the Sharifs of Mecca together with the affairs of the Hashimite royal families of Jordan and Iraq.

Born in July 1936, Alan Rush worked as a reporter on the Daily Express newspaper (Beaverbrook Press) in London. Later, he joined the editorial staff of The Authors’ and Writers’ Who’s Who, Burke’s Peerage and The International Statesman’s Yearbook (Mercury Publications). In the United States he taught English literature before becoming a style-editor with the Encyclopedia Americana.

He first visited the Middle East in 1970. After teaching in the English Department at Riyadh University (now King Saud University) in Saudi Arabia, he moved to King ‘Abd al-‘Aziz University, Jeddah. From 1975 to 1982 he lectured at Kuwait University and contributed articles for the Kuwait Times, Arab Times and Al-Qabas.

Since 1982 Alan Rush has travelled throughout the Middle East and has undertaken major research projects (see below). He is a specialist in Kuwaiti affairs and the author of Al Sabah: History and Genealogy of Kuwait’s Ruling Family 1752-1987 (Ithaca Press, 1987) He has also compiled and edited works comprising selected papers held in Foreign Office files and in the archives of the East India Office, British Library (London), the National Archives of India (Delhi), the archives of the Middle East Centre, Saint Antony’s College (Oxford), the National Archives (Washington), the Ministre des Affaires Etrangères (Paris and Nantes) and the League of Nations (Geneva).

Alan Rush has contributed articles to The Independent, Financial Times, Al-Hayat, Middle East International, Journal of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs and The Middle East Economic Digest (MEED). Other works include:

Al Sabah: History and Genealogy of Kuwait’s Ruling Family 1752-1987 (Ithaca Press, 1987)

Burke’s Ruling Families of the World, Volume 2 (Burke’s Peerage, 1980) - genealogies and essays on Al-Sabah (Kuwait) and on the royal family of Saudi Arabia

Kuwait: a MEED Practical Guide (Meed, Ltd, London, 1985). Contributor and editorial advisor

Records of Kuwait (8 vols. Archive Editions, 1989). Editor and researcher

Ruling Families of Arabia (10 vols. Archive Editions, 1991). Editor and researcher

Records of the Hajj (10 vols. Archive Editions, 1993). Editor and researcher

Records of the Hashimite Dynasties: A Twentieth-Century Documentary History of the Royal Families of Jordan, Iraq and the Hijaz (15 vols. Archive Editions, 1995). Editor and researcher

Records of Iraq (15 vols. Archive Editions, 2001). Editor and researcher

rush&hl=en&vid=ISBN9781845115357 Three Kings in Baghdad, The Tragedy of Iraq’s Monarchy (I.B. Tauris, 2008) by Gerald de Gaury - introductory essay to new edition with preface by Philip Mansel