Page 15 - Su'udi Relations with Eastern Arabi & Uman (1800-1870)

1158/1745), a native of al-Mawsil. In his introduction, the author states that he
had, in previous years, compiled a brief but excellent history beginning with
the year of the Hijrah and ending in 1206/1791. However, he found it necessary
to sell the book in order to live, and he resolved to concern himself no longer
with history books. Later, al-‘Umari was strongly urged by his friends to go
back on his resolution. This resulted in the compilation of al-Durr, in which he
recorded events up to the end of the first decade of the nineteenth century. The
relevant material is scattered in folios 382-393, where the author provides a
brief account of eastern Arabia and al-Traq and of the Su‘udl activities there.
Al-‘UmarFs disapproval of these activities is apparent in every comment
relating to the Su‘udl leaders and troops.
Malali‘ al-Su'ud was written by ‘Uthman b. Sanad al-Basrl and abridged by
Amin al-Halawanl.13 The author came from Najd, but lived in Basrah and died
in Baghdad in 1242/1826. The book is primarily a biography of Dawud Pasha,
a Turkish minister in Baghdad from 1232/1816 to 1246/1830; it was written at
Dawud’s request. Dawud, who showed some interest in history and had great
respect for scholars, had first requested Rasul Kirkukll to do the job. Ibn
Sanad refers to the latter as “the Turkish historian” and sometimes corrects his
information. Being of tribal origin and having a good idea of tribal affairs in
Najd and al-Traq, Ibn Sanad provides an excellent account of tribal warfare
and the motives behind the constant disturbances in those regions. He also
deals with contacts between the Su‘udls and rulers in ‘Uman, al-Traq, and
eastern Arabia during the last decade of the eighteenth century, quoting the
exchange of letters between the Su‘udls and ‘All Pasha, the deputy of the wall
of Baghdad, and the mission of al-ShawI to al-Dir‘Iyah for a peace settlement
with al-Traq. In spite of his Ottoman inclinations, Ibn Sanad praises the Su‘udi
rule which helped bring the diverse and warring Arab tribes into harmony.14
Ibn Sanad also wrote another book, Saba’ik al-Asjad.15 This book deals
with the life of Ibn Rizq, a distinguished merchant of al-Basrah, and tells of his
learned friends who came from Najd and al-Hasa for one reason or another.
The book touches on the relations between the Su‘udls and the shaykh of
al-Bahrayn, the latter’s strained relations with the ruler of Masqat, and the
eventual consequences for both Ibn Rizq and the rulers of al-Bahrayn.
Lam* al-Shihab fi Sirat Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Wahhab16 was probably
written by Hasan b. Jamal al-RIkl in 1233/1817. This book has a considerable
amount of valuable information on the history and people of Arabia. It traces
the early beginnings of Su‘udl contacts with the Gulf States and ‘Uman and
describes the prevailing atmosphere and economic situation. Arranging the
material by topic, the author surveys events and analyzes both motives and
consequences. The flaw in this work arises from uncertainty over certain
events in the career and travels of Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Wahhab and from
difficulty in assigning accurate dates to certain events.
Kitab al-Durar al-Mafakhir'7 was written by Shaykh Muhammad b. Bassam
after the fall of al-Dir‘iyah. In his introduction, the author states that the work
was suggested to him by some literary friends. Devoted to identifying the Arab
tribes of that period, it contains eight chapters dealing with the genealogies and
allegiances of the tribes, descriptions of their leaders, and statistics on the
number of fighting men in each part of the peninsula, Syria and al-Traq. Ibn
Bassam was one of the fighters on the Su‘udl side against the Turkish-Egyptian
forces in al-Hijaz, and thus provides eye-witness accounts of events such as the

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