Page 99 - Su'udi Relations with Eastern Arabi & Uman (1800-1870)

expedition, along with the participation and aspiration to a rival position by a
member of the Su‘iidi family, led Faysal tc fear the prospect of the impending
confrontation. He therefore tendered his submission to the Egyptian
government in the hope of staving off the invasion.774 When it became clear
that his offer of submission was in vain, Faysal prepared to contest the invaders
on the battlefield. For two months, Faysal skillfully and courageously
managed to hold them back, but finally, in December 1838, he was forced to
surrender with a safe conduct and was sent to captivity in Egypt.775
From the time of FaysaPs deportation to the time of the Egyptian
withdrawal from Arabia a year and a half later, the Egyptian military
commander Khurshld Pasha kept the entire management of affairs in-Najd and
al-Hasa in his own hands under the pretext of enforcing the right to power of
Khalid b. Su‘ud, who was left with nominal authority.776 The latter, however,
assumed full responsibility as amir of Najd under the protectorate of Egypt
once Khurshld withdrew his forces from Najd and al-Hasa.777 In a
conversation with P. Campbell, the British consul-general in Egypt,
Muhammad ‘All stated in July 1839 that Khurshld and the Egyptian troops
would evacuate Arabia within a few months, after which the government of
Najd would depend on Khalid.778 However, this evacuation, necessitated by
certain difficulties confronting both Muhammad ‘All and his forces in Arabia,
did not get underway until the middle of 1840. The tribal opposition to
Khurshld and his troops had begun to escalate and was on the point of breaking
into an open war.779 Communication became unsafe and supplies to Khurshld
Pasha and his garrisons in Arabia dwindled, partly because of the difficult
situation in Egypt and partly because the ‘Ujman tribe began to harass the
supply route leading to eastern Arabia.780 Khurshld’s garrisons also were
ordered back to help defend Syria and Egypt against the impending threat of
the European powers, who had combined their forces with those of the Turks
in order to protect the Ottoman Sultan from the ambitious expansionism of
Muhammad ‘All. Even so, the latter’s army was to suffer a great humilation.781
Muhammad ‘All was ultimately forced to surrender Crete, Syria, and Adana to
the Porte; in compensation, he was granted the hereditary rule of Egypt. 782
The rule of Khalid b. Su‘iid did not last very long. His attachment to the
Egyptian government and reliance on the troops left behind to help him
consolidate his power in Najd contributed considerably to his fall.783 The
presence of the Egyptan contingents evidently inflamed native hostility toward
foreign authority and created increasing discontent with Khalid’s
administration. As a result, ‘Abd Allah b. Thunayyan, a member of the Su‘udi
family, led armed opposition in a bid for power against Khalid and, in a relatively
short period, won the battle, driving Khalid away from al-Riyad, and imposing
his own authority.784 After unsuccessfully attempting to gain support for his
cause in eastern Arabia, Khalid continued onward to al-Hijaz.785 He was to
spend the rest of his life there, subsisting on a pension from Muhammad ‘All.786
Ibn Thunayyan soon acquired the acknowledgement of the tribal chiefs and
representatives of various localities in the central districts of Najd. It is not
clear whether Ibn Thunayyan thought it too early or too difficult to extend his
authority over al-QasIm and Jabal Shammar, but his failure to even secure the
friendship and neutrality of those two districts contributed largely to the
deterioration of his power, and ultimately led to his defeat at the hands of
Faysal b. Turki.

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