Turki bin Abdullah Al Saud ( ar, ترکي بن عبدالله بن محمد) (1755 – 9 May 1834) was the founder of 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 ...
and ruled
Najd from 1823–1834 following administration by 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) ...
.
[Vassiliev 2013]
Family background and early life
Turki was born in 1755. He was the son of
Abdullah bin Muhammad who was the youngest son of
Muhammad bin Saud
Muhammad bin Saud Al Muqrin ( ''Muḥammad bin Suʿūd Āl Muqrin''; 1687–1765), also known as Ibn Saud, was the emir of Diriyah and is considered the founder of the First Saudi State and the Saud dynasty, which are named for his father, Sa ...
, founder of the
First Saudi State
The Emirate of Diriyah (), also known as the First Saudi State, was established in February 1727 (1139 AH). In 1744, the emir of Najdi town called Diriyah Muhammad bin Saud and the religious leader Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab formed an alliance ...
, and the brother of
Abdulaziz bin Muhammad, the second ruler and first Imam of the State. Imam Abdulaziz's grandson,
Abdullah bin Saud
Abdullah bin Saud Al Saud ( ar, عبد الله بن سعود آل سعود, ʿAbd Allāh bin Suʿūd Āl Suʿūd; died May 1819) was the ruler of the First Saudi State from 1814 to 1818. He was the last ruler of the First Saudi State and was exe ...
, was the last Imam of the First Saudi State. This made Turki the first cousin once removed of Imam Abdullah bin Saud.
Ascent
Turki fought in the defense of
Diriyah
Diriyah ( ar, الدِرْعِيّة), formerly romanized as Dereyeh and Dariyya), is a town in Saudi Arabia located on the north-western outskirts of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Diriyah was the original home of the Saudi royal family, and served ...
against the Egyptians and hostile tribes, including
Banu Khalid
Bani Khalid ( ar, بني خالد) is an Arab tribal confederation mainly inhabiting Eastern Arabia and Najd. The tribe ruled southern Iraq, Kuwait, and Eastern Arabia (al-Hasa and al-Qatif) from the 15th century to the 18th century, and ag ...
.
He escaped when the city was seized by
Ibrahim Pasha in 1818, marking the end of the First Saudi State.
[Winder 1965, p. 52.] He spent the next two years in hiding due to the ensuing persecution of the Al Saud with Abdullah bin Saud being sent to Cairo and then, to İstanbul to be executed by the Ottomans.
Turki briefly collaborated with Mohammad bin Mishari bin Muammar, an Arab client of Muhammad Ali, who aspired to rule Najd himself.
[ However, when Mishari bin Saud, the last Imam’s brother, escaped from Egyptian captivity to reassert Saudi rule, Turki joined him and was appointed governor of ]Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...
. Ibn Muammar quickly crushed the revolt, however, and imprisoned Mishari. Turki retaliated by capturing Ibn Muammar and his son (also named Mishari). An attempt to exchange both men for Mishari bin Saud before the latter was returned to Egyptian custody failed, resulting in the execution of Ibn Muammar and his son. Turki was then forced back into hiding. By this time, many senior members of the House of Saud had been killed, exiled, or imprisoned, leaving Turki as one of the few within the family willing and able to assume leadership.[
]
Reign
In 1823, Turki re-emerged to form an alliance with Sawaid, the ruler of Jalajil in Sudair
Sudair or Sudayr ( ar, سدير) is a historical region in Najd in the central of Saudi Arabia, and is located approximately 150 km north of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. The region lies in a valley directly to the east of the Tweig escarpment, ...
, and had soon established himself in Irqah
Irqah ( ar, عرقة), also romanized as Ergah, is a town in the northwestern fringes of Riyadh in Riyadh Governorate, Saudi Arabia. Nowadays Irqah is considered to be a neighbourhood in Riyadh, and is part of the sub-municipality of its namesa ...
. He made further incursions into Najd, in which he seized major settlements such as Durma and Manfuhah in order to isolate Riyadh and its Egyptian garrison. By August 1824, Riyadh itself came under siege and fell a few months later; Turki designated Riyadh as the new Saudi capital the same year[ as Diriyah had been devastated and largely depopulated by the Egyptians during their occupation. In Riyadh he constructed Qasr Al Hukm in 1824 to be used as the headquarters of the Amir.
Though he had succeeded in re-establishing a viable Saudi polity, Turki chose to remain a nominal vassal of the Ottomans due to what had happened to ]Abdullah bin Saud
Abdullah bin Saud Al Saud ( ar, عبد الله بن سعود آل سعود, ʿAbd Allāh bin Suʿūd Āl Suʿūd; died May 1819) was the ruler of the First Saudi State from 1814 to 1818. He was the last ruler of the First Saudi State and was exe ...
.[ This in no way inhibited his attempts over the next several years to consolidate his hold in Najd, with Kharj, ]Qasim Qasim, Qasem or Casim may refer to:
* Qasim (name), a given name of Arabic origin and the name of several people
* Port Qasim, port in Karachi, Pakistan
* ''Kasım'' and ''Casim'', respectively the Ottoman Turkish and Romanian names for General To ...
, and Jabal Shammar
The Emirate of Jabal Shammar ( ar, إِمَارَة جَبَل شَمَّر), also known as the Emirate of Haʾil () or the Rashidi Emirate (), was a state in the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula, including Najd, existing from the mid-nin ...
all having submitted to Saudi rule by 1828 despite clashes with the local Bedouin
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...
. With Hejaz and the Red Sea remaining in Egyptian hands, further expansion was directed eastwards. The conquest of the Eastern Province was achieved in 1830, in response to a Bedouin invasion from this region led by the Banu Khalid
Bani Khalid ( ar, بني خالد) is an Arab tribal confederation mainly inhabiting Eastern Arabia and Najd. The tribe ruled southern Iraq, Kuwait, and Eastern Arabia (al-Hasa and al-Qatif) from the 15th century to the 18th century, and ag ...
.[ Efforts to extend Saudi influence along the ]Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
littoral
The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal a ...
, however, met with mixed success. The mere threat of invasion was enough to subdue Oman in 1833 yet Bahrain revolted in the same year (having agreed to pay tribute three years prior), a situation that remained unresolved at the time of Turki’s death.
In addition to his religious personality and extensive involvement in war Turki was also a patron of poets, namely Rahman bin Jabir and Abdulaziz bin Hamad bin Nasir bin Muammar, during his reign.[
]
Assassination
In spite of his success in returning the House of Saud to power, Turki could not avoid falling victim to familial intrigue. On 9 May 1834, as the imam was leaving the mosque, he was ambushed and slain by three assassins working for his second-cousin (and fellow member of the House of Saud) Mishari bin Abdul Rahman. It was Mishari who then emerged “with an unsheathed sword”, insisting that he, and not Faisal (who was away on campaign against Bahrain), was the new imam.[ Faisal, however, quickly learned of his father's assassination and hurried back to Riyadh. He reached this city by the end of May, defeating and executing Mishari within a matter of weeks. Yet this was only a partial victory as it would take almost a decade of fighting against other would-be usurpers before Faisal succeeded in establishing his authority as Turki’s successor.
]
Legacy
The Second Saudi State would endure until 1891. In addition, Turki was the progenitor of four branches of the House of Saud
The House of Saud ( ar, آل سُعُود, ʾĀl Suʿūd ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi state (1727–1818), and ...
:
*The Al Faisal- through his eldest son and successor Faisal; this is the branch to which the present line of Saudi monarchs belongs. According to the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
, it contained several thousand male descendants of Turki by the late twentieth century.
*The Al Turki[Kechichian 2001, pp. 33–34.]- through his youngest son Abdullah bin Turki.[
*The Al Jiluwi- through his son Jiluwi who was born while Turki was in exile.] His mother was Huwaydiya bint Ghaydan bin Jazi Al Shamir.
*The Saud Al Kabir- through Faisal's son Saud whose mother was Dashisha bint Rakan bin Mandil.
The Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque
Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque (), also known as the Grand Mosque of Riyadh or simply the Grand Mosque (), is a mosque in the ad-Dirah neighborhood of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, located adjacent to Qasr al-Hukm while it overlooks the Deera Square. ...
in Riyadh is named in his honour.
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
Second State of Saudi Arabia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saud, Turki Abdullah
19th-century monarchs in the Middle East
19th-century murdered monarchs
1755 births
1834 deaths
Turki
Chagatai (چغتای, ''Čaġatāy''), also known as ''Turki'', Eastern Turkic, or Chagatai Turkic (''Čaġatāy türkīsi''), is an extinct Turkic literary language that was once widely spoken across Central Asia and remained the shared literar ...
Turki
Chagatai (چغتای, ''Čaġatāy''), also known as ''Turki'', Eastern Turkic, or Chagatai Turkic (''Čaġatāy türkīsi''), is an extinct Turkic literary language that was once widely spoken across Central Asia and remained the shared literar ...
Turki
Chagatai (چغتای, ''Čaġatāy''), also known as ''Turki'', Eastern Turkic, or Chagatai Turkic (''Čaġatāy türkīsi''), is an extinct Turkic literary language that was once widely spoken across Central Asia and remained the shared literar ...
People of the Wahhabi War
Wahhabists
1834 murders in Asia