battle Auda became a wild beast assuaged only after he had killed. He was hot-headed but always kept a smile on his face. Despite his fierce reputation he was described as modest, direct, honest, kind-hearted and warmly-loved. Auda lived in the desert near the Hejaz railway. He preferred the isolation which became necessary after he killed one too many debt collectors from Constantinople and the Turks put a price on his head. The desert landscapes were the exact areas Faisal and Lawrence needed to operate in to avoid close attention from the Turks. Lawrence wrote: "Only by means of Auda abu Tayi could we swing the tribes from Ma'an to Aqaba so violently in our favour that they would help us take Aqaba and its hills from their Turkish garrisons." The Arab Revolt Auda's tribesmen were reputedly the finest fighters in the desert, which is why his support and assistance were vital to the Arab Revolt. Auda had initially been in the pay of the Ottoman Empire, but switched allegiance to Lawrence and Faisal bin Al Hussein. With the incentives of kicking the Turks out of Arabia, and the lure of gold and booty, Auda joined the Arab Revolt, becoming a fervent supporter of the Arab independence movement (apparently going so far as to smash his Turkish false teeth with a hammer to demonstrate his patriotism). He was repeatedly approached by the Turks with further financial inducements if he would switch to their side, but he refused to go back on his word. He was an Arab patriot and he would ride with Lawrence. He and his tribesmen were instrumental in the fall of Aqaba (July 1917) and Damascus (October 1918). Post-war years After the collapse of the Arab government in Damascus, Auda retired to the desert, building a modern palace at Al-Jafr east of Ma'an with captured Turkish slave labour. Before it was complete, however, he died in 1924 of natural causes. He is buried in Ras al-Ain, Amman, Jordan. He had one son, Mohammed, who died in 1987, and thirteen grandchildren who all live in Jordan. Portrayal in film and media He was portrayed in the David Lean film Lawrence of Arabia by Anthony Quinn as a complex character who blends together paternal wisdom and desert piracy. The depiction of Auda as interested only in financial rewards has been criticised, however, as he was a genuine supporter of