Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (1748–1814)

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Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Emir and Imam of Diriyah
Reign1803 – 1814
PredecessorAbdulaziz bin Muhammad Al Saud
SuccessorAbdullah bin Saud Al Saud
Born1748
Diriyah, Emirate of Diriyah
DiedApril 1814 (aged 65–66)
Diriyah, Emirate of Diriyah
Issue
List
  • Abdullah
    Turki
    Nasser
    Saad
    Mishari
    Khalid
Names
Saud bin Abdulaziz bin Muhammad bin Saud
HouseHouse of Saud
FatherAbdulaziz bin Muhammad

Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Arabic: سعود الثاني الكبير بن عبد العزيز بن محمد بن سعود; 1748 – April 1814) ruled the First Saudi State from 1803 to 1814.[1] Saud annexed Mecca and Medina from the Ottoman Empire[2] making him the first Al Saud ruler who received the title of the servant of the Two Holy Cities.[3] During his rule the state experienced a significant level of strength and expansion for which he was called Saud Al Kabeer or Saud the Great.[4]

Early life[]

Saud was born in 1748[5] and was the eldest son of Abdulaziz bin Muhammad.[6][7] The mother of Saud was a daughter of Uthman bin Mu'ammar, ruler of Uyaina.[8]

From early age Saud began to act as the chief military commander of the Emirate together with his uncle, Abdullah bin Muhammad, who was the father of Turki bin Abdullah, the founder of the Emirate of Nejd or the Second Saudi State.[5] Saud's succession was decided and announced in 1787.[1][3]

In April 1802 Saud led an army with 12,000 Wahhabis and attacked Karbala destroying the tomb of Imam Hussain bin Ali, a grandson of Prophet Muhammad.[9] In addition, they stole valuable materials in the tomb and killed the inhabitants of the city.[9] Following the incident Saud sent a message to the Ottoman governor in Iraq stating: "As for your statement that we seized Karbala, slaughtered its people, and took their possessions — praise belongs to God, Lord of the Worlds! We make no apology for that, and we say: 'And like catastrophes await the unbelievers' [Quran 47:10]."[10]

Reign[]

Upon his accession to the throne Saud held the titles of both Emir and Imam like his father.[11]

Saud's reign was a period of religious cleansing in Arabia and in nearby regions.[12][13] He continued to attack on shrines in Iraq, and Basra was blockaded by his forces for twelve days.[14] The Emirate extended its rule beyond Najd and into the Hijaz which culminated with the capture of Medina in April 1804[15] and Mecca in 1806.[12] In addition to capturing Hijaz he managed to strengthen his authority there.[14] In addition, Bahrain and Oman were annexed to the Emirate, and Saud exerted his influence in Yemen.[14] In 1805 Saud's supremacy was also recognized by the rulers of Qawasim and Muscat, and Saud managed to capture a part of Oman.[9] The same year he also annexed the Buraimi Oasis.[9]

His forces transformed the Kaaba in Mecca and destroyed the tombs of numerous religious figures in Medina in accordance with Wahhabi theology.[12] Due to the differences between Saud and the Ottomans in terms of the interpretation of Islam Saud ordered not to mention the name of the Ottoman sultan in Friday prayers in Mecca.[16] Following the capture of Mecca he sent a letter to Sultan Selim, Ottoman ruler, inviting him to follow the Wahhabi theology.[16] In the same letter he declared that he had captured Mecca and destroyed all tombs there and that he would not let people from Damascus and Cairo to visit Mecca "with the Mahmal and with trumpet and drums."[17]

In 1807 Saud did not permit pilgrims from Egypt, Syria and Istanbul to enter Hijaz and expelled Turkish soldiers and settlers from Mecca.[14] Such religious transformations did not sit well with other Muslims, and many other Muslims found his actions to be extreme, and were stunned that the holy cities had been taken so easily. The Ottoman Empire did not want to relent control over the cities to local tribesmen. The Ottomans could not retake the cities on their own though as the bulk of their forces were tied up in Europe. Muhammad Ali, the viceroy of Egypt, was assigned to recapture the Arabian territories in 1809.[12][18] One of his sons, commanding the Egyptian troops, succeeded in re-conquering Hijaz in 1813.[16]

Personal life and death[]

Saud had a very different personality in contrast to his father who was a deeply religious figure.[4] He was interested in material side of the rule.[4] He died in Diriyya in April 1814 due to fever and was succeeded by his eldest son Abdullah.[1][19]

His other sons included Mishari, Turki, Nasser and Saad.[20] Saud's youngest son, Khalid bin Saud Al Saud, ruled the Emirate of Nejd or the Second Saudi State from 1838 to 1841 with the support of the Ottomans.[21][22] Three of Saud's sons were killed in the siege of Diriyah by Ibrahim Pasha who also arrested Saud's successor Abdullah bin Saud.[23] Mishari bin Saud returned to Diriyah in 1819 and attempted to establish his rule, but Mohammed bin Mishari bin Muammar who began to rule the region after the collapse of the Emirate imprisoned him.[23]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Parvaiz Ahmad Khanday (2009). A Critical Analysis of the Religio-Political Conditions of Modern Saudi (PDF) (PhD Arabia thesis). Aligarh Muslim University. p. 37.
  2. ^ Sayed Khatab (2011). Understanding Islamic Fundamentalism: The Theological and Ideological Basis of Al-Qa'ida's Political Tactics. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9789774164996.
  3. ^ a b Bilal Ahmad Kutty (1997). Saudi Arabia under King Faisal (PDF) (PhD thesis). Aligarh Muslim University. pp. 29–30.
  4. ^ a b c Nawaf bin Ayyaf Almogren (2020). Diriyah Narrated by Its Built Environment: The Story of the First Saudi State (1744-1818) (MS thesis). MIT. hdl:1721.1/127856.
  5. ^ a b Gary Samuel Samore (1984). Royal Family Politics in Saudi Arabia (1953-1982) (PhD thesis). Harvard University. p. 19. ProQuest 303295482.
  6. ^ Charles F. Balka (December 2008). The Fate of Saudi Arabia: Regime Evolution in the Saudi Monarchy (PDF) (MA thesis). Naval Postgraduate School. p. 16.
  7. ^ Abdullah M. Zaid (1972). A practical critique of contemporary Arabian civilization (PDF) (PhD thesis). University of Oklahoma.
  8. ^ James Wynbrandt (2010). A Brief History of Saudi Arabia (PDF). Infobase Publishing. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-8160-7876-9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 May 2021.
  9. ^ a b c d Abdul Wahap Saleh Babeair (1985). Ottoman Penetration of the Eastern Region of the Arabian Peninsula, 1814-1841 (PhD thesis). Indiana University. pp. 24, 36. ProQuest 303386071.
  10. ^ Cole Bunzel (February 2016). "The Kingdom and the Caliphate. Duel of the Islamic States" (PDF). Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. pp. 6–7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  11. ^ Alejandra Galindo Marines (2001). The relationship between the ulama and the government in the contemporary Saudi Arabian Kingdom: an interdependent relationship? (PDF) (PhD thesis). Durham University.
  12. ^ a b c d Shazia Farhat (2018). Exploring the Perspectives of the Saudi State's Destruction of Holy Sites: Justifications and Motivations (PDF) (Master of Liberal Arts thesis). Harvard Extension School.
  13. ^ Mamoun Hamza Fandy (1993). State Islam and state violence: The case of Saudi Arabia (PhD thesis). Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. pp. 69–70. ProQuest 304092255. Archived from the original on 3 July 2021.
  14. ^ a b c d Mohamed Zayyan Aljazairi (1968). Diplomatic history of Saudi Arabia, 1903-1960's (PDF) (MA thesis). The University of Arizona. p. 3.
  15. ^ Jerald L. Thompson (December 1981). H. St. John Philby, Ibn Saud and Palestine (PDF) (MA thesis). University of Kansas.
  16. ^ a b c Emine Ö. Evered (2012). "Rereading Ottoman Accounts of Wahhabism as Alternative Narratives: Ahmed Cevdet Paşa's Historical Survey of the Movement". Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East. 32 (3): 622–632. doi:10.1215/1089201X-1891615.
  17. ^ Jacob Goldberg (1986). The Foreign Policy of Saudi Arabia. The Formative Years. Harvard University Press. p. 11-12. doi:10.4159/harvard.9780674281844.c1. ISBN 9780674281844.
  18. ^ Mohammed Ameen (March 1981). A Study of Egyptian Rule in Eastern Arabia (1814-1841) (MA thesis). McGill University. p. 33. OCLC 891205897. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  19. ^ Nadav Safran (2018). "The Rise and Fall of the First Two Realms". Saudi Arabia: The Ceaseless Quest for Security. Cornell University Press. p. 13. ISBN 9780674789852.
  20. ^ Zamil Muhammad Al Rashid (1980). A Study of Su'udi Relations with Eastern Arabia and 'Uman (1800-1971) (MA thesis). McGill University. p. 184.
  21. ^ Roby C. Barrett (June 2015). "Saudi Arabia: Modernity, Stability, and the Twenty-First Century Monarchy" (Report). Joint Special Operations University. p. 22.
  22. ^ R. Bayly Winder (1965). Saudi Arabia in the Nineteenth Century. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 108. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-81723-8. ISBN 9780333055410.
  23. ^ a b Mashaal Abdullah Turki Al Saud (1982). Permanence and Change: An Analysis of the Islamic Political Culture of Saudi Arabia with Special Reference to the Royal Family (PhD thesis). The Claremont Graduate University. ProQuest 303215917.

External links[]


Preceded by Emir and Imam of First Saudi State
1803–1814 		Succeeded by
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