Abdullah II, born Abdullah bin Hussein on January 30, 1962, is the King of Jordan. He is a member of the Hashemites, the reigning royal family of Jordan since 1921, and is traditionally regarded as a 41st-generation direct descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He began his military career in 1980 as a training officer in the Jordanian Armed Forces, later assuming command of the country's Special Forces in 1994, and becoming a major general in 1998.