The Al-Hasa Expedition was an Ottoman military campaign to conquer the El-Hasa region of eastern Arabia. The apparent goal of the campaign was to help Imam

Abdullah bin Faisal Abdullah may refer to: * Abdullah (name), a list of people with the given name or surname * Abdullah, Kargı, Turkey, a village * ''Abdullah'' (film), a 1980 Bollywood film directed by Sanjay Khan * '' Abdullah: The Final Witness'', a 2015 Pakis ...

regain his authority over

Najd Najd ( ar, نَجْدٌ, ), or the Nejd, forms the geographic center of Saudi Arabia, accounting for about a third of the country's modern population and, since the Emirate of Diriyah, acting as the base for all unification campaigns by the H ...

from his brother Saud bin Faisal, but the real goal was Medhat Pasha's desire to extend the influence of the Ottoman Empire over the Persian Gulf.

Background

Months after assuming power, Imam

, on March 29, 1871, sent his messenger Abdul Aziz bin Suwailem to the governor of Baghdad, Medhat Pasha, asking him to help him in the war of his brother Saud bin Faisal, who controlled Al-Ahsa and Qatif, and snatched it from Imam Abdullah bin Faisal.

Progress of the campaign

The campaign left

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...

on April 20, and five infantry columns marched with the cavalry division and artillery under the command of Lieutenant General Naser Pasha, who accompanied the Sheikh of

Al-Muntafiq Al-Muntafiq ( ar, المنتفق) was a large Arab tribal confederation of southern Iraq and Kuwait. The confederation's tribes predominantly settled in Iraq's southern provinces and northern Kuwait. The confederation is not homogeneous in terms ...

and a group of around 1,000 horsemen from his clan who had volunteered in the campaign, and many recruits joined the campaign Other tribes in Iraq had gathered in the town of

Az Zubayr Az Zubayr ( ar, الزبير) is a city in and the capital of Al-Zubair District, part of the Basra Governorate of Iraq. The city is just south of Basra. The name can also refer to the old Emirate of Zubair. The name is also sometimes written Al ...

. The commander accompanied Muhammad Saeed Effendi, son of the captain of the supervision in Basra. From Kuwait a naval force was added to the campaign, as the ruler of Kuwait, Sheikh

Abdullah II Al-Sabah Sheikh Abdullah II Sabah II Al-Jabir I Al-Sabah (1814 – 1892) ( ar, الشيخ عبد الله الثاني صباح الثاني الجابر الصباح ) was a cavalry commander in the Military of Kuwait, the fifth ruler of the Sheikhdom ...

, supported the campaign with a fleet of eighty ships that he led himself. This fleet reached

Ras Tanura Ras Tanura ( ar, رأس تنورة, Ra's Tannūrah, lit=cape oven, cape brazier, presumably due to the unusual heat prevalent at the cape that projects into the sea) is a city in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia located on a peninsula extend ...

on May 13, 1871, at a time when the Ottoman infantry forces were moving across land towards Al-Ahsa. From Ras Tanura, the campaign headed towards

Qatif Qatif or Al-Qatif ( ar, ٱلْقَطِيف ''Al-Qaṭīf'') is a governorate and urban area located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Dammam in the south, and from the Persian Gulf in the ...

, where it clashed in fierce battles with the followers of Imam Saud bin Faisal, and Qatif fell on June 3, 1871, then the campaign moved towards

Dammam Dammam ( ar, الدمّام ') is the fifth-most populous city in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca, and Medina. It is the capital of the Eastern Province. With a total population of 1,252,523 as of 2020. The judicial and administrative ...

and from there to

Hofuf Al-Hofuf ( ar, ٱلْهُفُوف ', also spelled Hofuf or Hufuf, also known as "Al-Hasa", "Al-Ahsa" or "Al-Hassa") is the major urban city in the Al-Ahsa Oasis in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, with a population of 858,395 (as of 202 ...

Outcome

After the city of Al-Ahsa fell in the hands of the Ottomans,

Midhat Pasha Ahmed Şefik Midhat Pasha ( ota , احمد شفيق مدحت پاشا, 18 October 1822 – 26 April 1883) was an Ottoman democrat, kingmaker and one of the leading statesmen during the late Tanzimat period. He is most famous for leading the O ...

broke his promise to Imam Abdullah bin Faisal, and the province of Al-Ahsa was separated from the

second Saudi state The Emirate of Nejd or Imamate of Nejd was the Second Saudi State, existing between 1824 and 1891 in Nejd, the regions of Riyadh and Ha'il of what is now Saudi Arabia. Saudi rule was restored to central and eastern Arabia after the Emirate of D ...

. Al Hasa was reincorporated into the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

and became known as the Najd Sanjak. Sheikh

the ruler of Kuwait was granted the honorific title of

Kaymakam Kaymakam, also known by many other romanizations, was a title used by various officials of the Ottoman Empire, including acting grand viziers, governors of provincial sanjaks, and administrators of district kazas. The title has been retained an ...

by the Ottomans for his contribution to the war effort.

References

External links

http://www.muqatel.com/openshare/Mostlhat/Alaam/Mokatel13_1-2.htm_cvt.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20190501161612/http://aljzl.com/ar/2017/08/01/553/

Bibliography

* Frederick F. Anscombe; Columbia University Columbia University Press (1997). The Ottoman Gulf: The Creation of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. Columbia University Press. Battles of the Wahhabi War Battles involving the Ottoman Empire 19th century in Saudi Arabia Battles involving Saudi Arabia 1871 in Asia 1871 in the Ottoman Empire {{battle-stub