Page 76 - Su'udi Relations with Eastern Arabi & Uman (1800-1870)

CHAPTER V

SU‘UDI REVIVAL AND RELATIONS
WITH EASTERN ARABIA AND ‘UMAN

(1824-1871)

The increasing political power of the Su‘udl state and its early clashes with
Turkish ‘Iraq aroused the concern of the Ottoman authorities in Istanbul.
They saw in the ascendancy of the newly-formed state a challenge to their
influence and a threat to the Ottoman outposts in the neighbouring regions, a
threat which should be eliminated in its very stronghold. The pasha of
Baghdad, therefore, acting under the instructions of the Sublime Porte,
dispatched military expeditions in 1797 and 1798 aimed at the invasion of
al-Dir‘Iyah and the ultimate destruction of the Su'udI power.531 Neither
expedition, however, reached Najd, nor was either successful in discouraging
further Su‘udl forays into the ‘Iraqi territory.532 Nevertheless, a direct
confrontation between the Su‘udl state and the Sublime Porte did not occur
until a few years later, when the Su'udis occupied the Holy Cities, forbade the
mention of the Ottoman Sultan’s name in Friday sermons, and closed the Hijaz
to the Turkish-organized pilgrimage caravans.533 These actions represented
an insulting defiance of the claim of the Ottoman Sultan to be the Khadim
al-Haramayn al-Sharifayn and the supreme leader of the Muslim
community.534 The Porte, therefore, felt it necessary to engage in a direct and
full-scale war in Arabia to break up the Su‘udl power and restore the suzerainty
of the Ottomans over the Hijaz.535 Muhammad ‘All, the able and dynamic waU
of Egypt, was therefore entrusted by the Ottoman authorities with the
responsibility of preparing and leading the Turkish-Egyptian military
expeditions against the Su‘udl state.536 In the course of seven years of
uninterrupted warfare in Arabia, Muhammad ‘All’s troops achieved a gradual
success.537 They first recovered al-Hijaz; later, they penetrated central Arabia,
besieged al-Dir‘Iyah, and finally, in September 1818, forced Amir ‘Abd Allah
to surrender, thus putting an end to the first Su‘udl state. In surrendering,
‘Abd Allah requested that the pasha grant pardon to the troops that had
remained faithful to him, as well as to his brothers and family; he furthermore
asked the pasha to preserve the town of al-Dir‘Iyah and guarantee the safety of
his own person.538 However, the pasha pardoned only the troops and ‘Abd
Allah’s brothers and their families. The latter were deported to Egypt; the amir
himself was transported to Cairo and then Istanbul, where he was publicly
beheaded.539 The Turkish-Egyptians then embarked upon a highly
destructive mission. They razed al-Dir‘Iyah to the ground and burned down

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