First Saudi State

Infobox Former Country
native_name = Al-Dawla Al-Su'odiyah Al-Oula
الدولة السعودية الأولى
conventional_long_name = First Saudi State
common_name = Saudi Arabia
continent = moved from Category:Asia to the Middle East
region = the Middle East
country = Saudi Arabia
year_start = 1744
year_end = 1818
event_start = Diriyah agreement
event_end = Ottoman-Saudi war
p1=Ottoman Empire
s1=Ottoman Empire
flag_s1=Flag of the Ottoman Empire (1453-1844).svg
flag_p1=Flag of the Ottoman Empire (1453-1844).svg


flag_type = Flag of Diriyah


capital = Diriyah
latd=24|latm=44|latNS=N|longd=46|longm=34|longEW=E
common_languages = Arabic
government_type = Monarchy
title_leader = Imam
leader1 = Mohammed Ibn Saud
year_leader1 = 1744–1765
leader2 = Abdul Aziz Ibn Mohammed Ibn Saud
year_leader2 = 1765–1803
leader3 = Saud Ibn Abdul Aziz Ibn Mohammed Ibn Saud
year_leader3 = 1803–1814
leader4 = Abdullah bin Saud
year_leader4 = 1814–1818
religion = Islam
today = KSA
UAE
QAT
BHR
OMN
YEMThe First Saudi State was established in the year 1744 (1157 A.H.) when Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab settled in Diriyah and Prince Muhammad ibn Saud (of Diriyah) agreed to support and espouse Wahhab's cause, with a view of cleansing the Islamic faith from what they considered to be distortions of Islamic practice (see Wahhabism). The House of Saud and its allies rose to become the dominant state in Arabia, first subduing Nejd, then extending their influence over the eastern coast from Kuwait down to the borders of Oman. The Saudis also brought the highlands of 'Asir under their suzerainty, and their Wahhabi forces conducted raids on the frontiers of Iraq and Syria, culminating in the sacking of the Shi'a holy city of Karbala in 1801.

In 1802 Saudi forces brought the region of Hejaz under their control, capturing the two holy cities of Mecca and Medina. This was a massive blow to the prestige of the Ottoman Empire, which had exercised sovereignty over the holy cities since 1517, and the lethargic Ottomans were finally moved to action. The task of destroying the Wahhabis was given by the Ottomans to their powerful viceroy of Egypt, Muhammad Ali Pasha. Muhammad Ali sent his troops to the Hejaz by sea and recaptured it. His son, Ibrahim Pasha, then led Ottoman forces into the heart of Nejd, capturing town after town, and allowing his troops to pillage recalcitrant villages mercilessly in events that are remembered in Nejd to this day. Finally, Ibrahim reached the Saudi capital at Diriyah and placed it under siege for several months until it surrendered in the winter of 1818. Ibrahim then shipped off many members of the clans of Al Saud and Ibn Abd Al-Wahhab to Egypt and the Ottoman capital, Istanbul, and ordered the systematic destruction of Diriyah, whose ruins have remained virtually untouched ever since. The last Saudi Imam, Abdullah bin Saud was later executed in the Ottoman capital, and his severed head was thrown into the waters of the Bosphorus. Thus, what later became known as the First Saudi State came to an end, but both the Wahhabi movement and the Al Saud clan lived on to found a Second Saudi State that lasted until 1891, and later a third state, Saudi Arabia, which continues to the present day.

Rulers of the first Saudi state

* Imam ["Imam" in this context means the political leader of an Islamic community, not the leader of the congregational prayer.] Muhammad ibn Saud 1726–1744 (Prince of Diriyah) ,1744–1765 (Imam of Saudi State)
* Imam Abdul Aziz ibn Muhammad ibn Saud 1765–1803 (1179–1218 H)
* Imam Saud Ibn Abdul Aziz Ibn Muhammad Ibn Saud (Saud Al Kabeer) 1803–1814 (1218–1233 H)
* Imam Abdullah bin Saud 1814–1818

Notes

Other References

* William Facey, "Dir'Iyyah and the first Saudi State", 1997, ISBN 0905743 806
* [http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/199901/a.man.for.our.century.htm#the.first.and.second.saudi.states The first and second Saudi states] in [http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com Saudi Aramco World] , January/February 1999, p4-11

ee also

*Ottoman-Saudi war
*Second Saudi State
*Saudi Arabia