UNDERSTANDING THE MIDDLE EAST:
History, Religion, and the Clash of Cultures
400 pages
Copyright © 2007 by Beechmont Crest Publishing
First edition, 2007
0-9748330-6-1
C H A P T E R 8:
The Story of Saudi Arabia
The Al-Saud dynasty expands
The territory of Al-Saud continued to expand after the death of Mohammed ibn Saud. The reigns of the next two leaders of the dynasty, Abdel Aziz (1765-1800) and Saud (1803-1814) brought most of Arabia under the control of Al-Saud.
Al-Saud now controlled the Arabian coast of the Persian Gulf. The dynasty’s fierce Wahhabi soldiers expanded their land-based marauding to include piracy on the open seas. The Wahhabis occasionally raided ships of the British navy---which was then the most powerful naval force in the world.
In Western Arabia, the Wahhabis aroused the anger of the Ottoman Empire. The Wahhabis captured Mecca and Medina, which are located in the western area of Arabia known as Hijaz. This action deprived Istanbul of the lucrative trade from the pilgrims who annually visited Islam’s two holiest cities. It was also a matter of prestige. The sultan considered himself to be the master of the Muslim world; and he would not allow a band of ragtag tribal warriors to dislodge his government from the geographic center of the Islamic faith.
The Ottoman sultan commanded his viceroy in Egypt, Mohammed Ali, to take back the holy cities. In 1811, Ali’s son, Tusan, began a war against the Wahhabis. After several years of bitter fighting, he finally recaptured Mecca and Medina. The next leader of the House of Saud, Abdullah ibn Saud, retreated to Dariya---where the House of Saud had been born.
But the Ottomans had no intention of leaving the Saudis alone, now that they were on the run. A few years later, another of Ali’s sons, Ibrahim Pasha, invaded Dariya. He burned and pillaged the city, and captured Abdullah. Abdullah was sent in chains to Cairo, and later to the sultan in Istanbul. The Ottomans beheaded him in 1818.
Copyright 2005 Beechmont Crest Publishing
