The Saudi conquest of Hejaz or the Second Saudi-Hashemite War, also known as the Hejaz-Nejd War, was a campaign engaged by Saudi Sultan Abdulaziz to take over the

Hashemite 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� ...

Kingdom of Hejaz in 1924–25, ending with conquest and incorporation of Hejaz into the Saudi domain.

Background

The 1924 campaign came within the scope of the historic conflict between 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� ...

of Hejaz and the Saudis of Riyadh (Nejd), which had already sparked the First Saudi-Hashemite War in 1919.

Saudi campaign

The pretext for renewed hostilities between Nejd and Hejaz came when the pilgrims from Nejd were denied access to the holy places in Hejaz.Fattouh Al-Khatrash. ''The Hijaz-Najd War (1924 – 1925)
/ref> On 29 August 1924, Abdulaziz began his military campaign against Hejaz by advancing towards

Taif Taif ( ar, , translit=aṭ-Ṭāʾif, lit=The circulated or encircled, ) is a city and governorate in the Makkan Region of Saudi Arabia. Located at an elevation of in the slopes of the Hijaz Mountains, which themselves are part of the Sarat M ...

, which surrendered without a major struggle. Following the fall of Taif, the Saudi forces and the allied Ikhwan tribesmen moved on Mecca. Sharif Hussein's request for British assistance was denied to him on the pretext of non-intervention in religious disputes.

King Hussein bin Ali Hussein bin Ali al-Hashimi ( ar, الحسين بن علي الهاشمي, al-Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī; 1 May 18544 June 1931) was an Arab leader from the Banu Hashim clan who was the Sharif and Emir of Mecca from 1908 and, after procl ...

had meanwhile fled from Mecca to

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

, after the assistance request from his son, King Abdullah of Transjordan was denied as well. The city of Mecca fell without struggle on 13 October 1924. The Islamic Conference, held in Riyadh on the 29 October 1924, brought a wide Islamic recognition of Ibn-Saud's jurisdiction over

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 ...

. With the advancement of the Saudi forces and blockade imposed on Jeddah, the Hejazi army began to disintegrate. The city of Medina surrendered on 9 December 1925, and Yanbu fell 12 days later. In December 1925 Jeddah was handed to Abdulaziz of Nejd and Saudi forces entering its gates on 8 January 1926, after capitulation and safe passage was negotiated between King bin Ali, Abdulaziz, and the British Consul by the city's ruler Sheikh Abdullah Alireza.

Aftermath

Following the successful takeover over the Kingdom of Hejaz, Abdulaziz was declared as King of Hejaz. The Kingdom was later incorporated into the

Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz The Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd ( ar, مملكة الحجاز ونجد, '), initially the Kingdom of Hejaz and Sultanate of Nejd (, '), was a dual monarchy ruled by Abdulaziz following the victory of the Saudi Sultanate of Nejd over the Hashemite ...

with Abdulaziz being the king of both in political union. King Hussein of Hejaz after stepping down as king has moved to Aqaba to support his son's war efforts which made the British force him into exile to

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

, Ali bin Hussein as the King of Hejaz, took office in the middle of losing war effectively with the fall of the Kingdom the dynasty ended up in exile. Hashemites however remained to rule the

Emirate of Transjordan The Emirate of Transjordan ( ar, إمارة شرق الأردن, Imārat Sharq al-Urdun, Emirate of East Jordan), officially known as the Amirate of Trans-Jordan, was a British protectorate established on 11 April 1921,

and the

Kingdom of Iraq The Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq ( ar, المملكة العراقية الهاشمية, translit=al-Mamlakah al-ʿIrāqiyyah ʾal-Hāshimyyah) was a state located in the Middle East from 1932 to 1958. It was founded on 23 August 1921 as the Kingdo ...

Notes

References

Bibliography