The Battle of Jeddah or the Siege of Jeddah took place in 1925, as part of the Ibn Saud's campaign to conquer the
Kingdom of Hejaz
The Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz ( ar, المملكة الحجازية الهاشمية, ''Al-Mamlakah al-Ḥijāziyyah Al-Hāshimiyyah'') was a state in the Hejaz region in the Middle East that included the western portion of the Arabian Penins ...
. Jeddah was the last major stand of the
Hashemites
The Hashemites ( ar, الهاشميون, al-Hāshimīyūn), also House of Hashim, are the royal family of Jordan, which they have ruled since 1921, and were the royal family of the kingdoms of Hejaz (1916–1925), Syria (1920), and Iraq (1921 ...
against the
Saudis
Saudis ( ar, سعوديون, Suʿūdiyyūn) are people identified with the country of Saudi Arabia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. The Saudis are composed mainly of Arabs and primarily speak a regional dialect ...
.
Overview
Following the fall of
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
to
King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud in early December 1924,
King Ali bin Hussein moved back to Jeddah, trying to defend it against the Nejd Army. Ali's remaining army started to build fortifications around the city and place
mines. Ali requested help and supply from his brothers' states, King
Abdullah
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 ...
of
Transjordan Transjordan may refer to:
* Transjordan (region), an area to the east of the Jordan River
* Oultrejordain, a Crusader lordship (1118–1187), also called Transjordan
* Emirate of Transjordan, British protectorate (1921–1946)
* Hashemite Kingdom of ...
and King
Faisal of
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
. They both supplied Ali with arms and men. Also, Ali's two old airplanes were not enough for the incoming battle so he bought five aircraft from Italy and several
tank
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...
s from Germany.
Regardless, Ali could not stand for long. The nearby clans were Ibn Saud's allies. The supplies from
Aqaba
Aqaba (, also ; ar, العقبة, al-ʿAqaba, al-ʿAgaba, ) is the only coastal city in Jordan and the largest and most populous city on the Gulf of Aqaba. Situated in southernmost Jordan, Aqaba is the administrative centre of the Aqaba Govern ...
traveled slowly to Jeddah, besides he had only two pilots, one of whom died during the battle. Eventually, the chiefs of Jeddah decided to surrender the city to Ibn Saud, while King Ali escaped to Baghdad over the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...
. The siege ended on 23 December 1925
(1343 A.H.).
Consequently, Ibn Saud was declared the new King of
Hejaz
The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...
. The following year, Ibn Saud merged the Hejaz with the
Nejd
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 ...
as one state.
See also
*
Battle of Jeddah (1813)
The Battle of Jeddah was fought in 1813 at the west Arabian port city of Jeddah as part of the Ottoman–Saudi War. The Ottoman army of Tusun Pasha retreated from Medina which had been captured by the Saudis, and a new army led by his father ...
*
History of Saudi Arabia
The history of Saudi Arabia as a nation state began with the emergence of the Al Saud dynasty in central Arabia in 1727 and the subsequent establishment of the Emirate of Diriyah. Pre-Islamic Arabia, the territory that constitutes modern Saudi ...
Notes and references
Bibliography
* Al-Harbi, Dalal: ''King Abdulaziz and his Strategies to deal with events: Events of Jeddah''. 2003, King Abdulaziz national library. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Jeddah (1925)
1925 in Saudi Arabia
Conflicts in 1925
Jeddah (1925)
History of Jeddah
Kingdom of Hejaz