Abdullah bin Saud Al Saud

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Family name hatnote Template:Infobox royalty Abdullah bin Saud Al Saud (Template:Langx; died May 1819) was the last ruler of the First Saudi State, from 1814 to 1818,<ref name=pak9>Template:Cite thesis</ref> and was executed in Istanbul under the Ottoman Empire.<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref> Although the Ottomans maintained several garrisons in the Nejd thereafter, they were unable to prevent the rise of the Emirate of Nejd, also known as the Second Saudi State, led by Turki bin Abdullah.

Early life

Abdullah was the eldest son of Saud bin Abdulaziz, who declared him as the heir apparent in 1805.<ref name=gss84>Template:Cite thesis</ref> Abdullah's first military command was in 1811.<ref name=gss84/> In his second command he fought against the Egyptians in 1812, and was unable to prevent them from ultimately recapturing Hejaz.<ref name=gss84/> Following his failure, Saud bin Abdulaziz took back the command, which delayed the capture of the region.<ref name=gss84/>

Reign

Abdullah succeeded his father, Saud, in May 1814.<ref name=gss84/> At the beginning of his reign, Abdullah faced intra-family challenges from his uncle Abdullah bin Muhammad,<ref name=gss84/><ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref> but managed to settle these problems.<ref name=pak9/>

His father had initiated a war with the Ottoman Empire with the capture of Hejaz, which were regained by the Ottomans in 1813.<ref name=shaf>Template:Cite thesis</ref> Because of his father's conquest, Abdullah immediately had to face an invasion of his domains by an Ottoman-Egyptian army under the command of Ibrahim Pasha, the son of Muhammad Ali Pasha.<ref name=rbw>Template:Cite thesis</ref> The Ottoman forces began their campaign by quickly recapturing Mecca and Medina.<ref name=rbw/> Heavily outnumbered and under-equipped, the forces of Diriyah Emirate were defeated in 1815<ref name=jacg>Template:Cite book</ref> and retreated to their stronghold of Najd.<ref name=shaf/> Following the battle, Muhammad Ali sent a letter to Abdullah requesting his submission and, in May 1815, an agreement was made which terminated Abdullah's claims over two Islamic holy cities, Mecca and Medina, and recognised the supremacy of the Ottoman caliph.<ref name=jacg/> Between 1814 and 1816 Abdullah had to deal with the concerns of the British regarding piracy coming from the Qasimi region.<ref name=patr>Template:Cite journal</ref> Abdullah sent several letters to William Bruce who was the British resident in Bushehr to inform him that the Emirate did not involve in any such event.<ref name=patr/>

Rather than engage the Ottomans in open battle, Abdullah decided to attempt to weather the invasion by fortifying his forces in the Najd towns in 1816.<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref> As a result, Ibrahim took the villages of Najd one by one, sacking any town that resisted. Ibrahim finally reached the Saudi capital at Diriyah. After a siege lasting several months, Abdullah finally surrendered on 9 September 1818, marking the end of the Saudi state.<ref name=rbw/>

Fall of the Emirate and execution of Abdullah bin Saud

Ibrahim systematically razed Diriyah to the ground and sent many members of the Al Saud clan into captivity in Egypt and Constantinople, the Ottoman Empire. Three brothers of Abdullah and eighteen Al Saud members were killed.<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref> Abdullah, his three sons and two of his supporters were brought to Cairo in November 1818.<ref name=gss84/><ref name=rbw65>Template:Cite book</ref>

After a six-month stay in Cairo, Abdullah was transferred to Constantinople by Muhammad Ali Pasha, with a recommendation for a pardon. This was refused by Sultan Mahmud II and, in May 1819, he and his two supporters were publicly beheaded in the square before Hagia Sophia for their crimes against Islamic holy cities and mosques.<ref name=rbw/><ref name=ssh>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Yaroslav Trofimov. (26 October 2018). The Long Struggle for Supremacy in the Muslim World The Wall Street Journal</ref> Hakan Özoğlu and Altan Tan argue that Abdullah's four sons were also beheaded with him.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Prior to his execution, Abdullah, who had forbidden listening to music, was forced to listen to the lute.<ref> Selim Koru. (24 July 2015). Turkey's 200-Year War against 'ISIS' The National Interest</ref>

Reasons for his execution

In 1802, during the Wahhabi sack of Karbala, the mausoleum of Husayn ibn Ali was desecrated by the army of Abdullah bin Saud, causing anger and shock in the Muslim world.<ref name=ssh/> As a result, the Ottoman authorities found themselves in a situation that they had to punish the Saudis for their crimes. The guardian of Islam's religious places was the Turkish-Ottoman Caliph in Constantinople, Mahmud II, who ordered that an Egyptian force be sent to the Arabian Peninsula to defeat Abdullah bin Saud and his allies. In 1818, an Egyptian army led by Ibrahim Pasha led a siege on their capital, Diriyah, in Najd. Abdullah eventually surrendered.<ref name=rcb>Template:Cite web</ref> Abdullah bin Saud was taken along with two of his supporters who were then sent to Cairo and then to Constantinople where they were executed on the orders of Mahmud II.<ref name=rcb/>

External links

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