Rabi'a ibn Mani' ibn Rabi'a ibn al-Muraydi () was the second emir of

Diriyah Diriyah (; formerly romanization of Arabic, romanized as Dereyeh and Dariyya) is a towns in Saudi Arabia, town and governorate in Saudi Arabia. Located on the northwestern outskirts of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, Diriyah was the original home of t ...

beginning in 1463, and son of the

founder Founder or Founders may refer to: Places *Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium * Founders Park, a waterside park in Islamorada, Florida Arts, entertainment, and media * Founders (''Star Trek''), the ali ...

of the

emirate An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalent ...

. Rabi'a assumed the kingship of Diriyah after his father's death and continued on the throne until his son

Musa Musa may refer to: Places *Mūša, a river in Lithuania and Latvia * Musa, Azerbaijan, a village in Yardymli Rayon * Musa, Iran, a village in Ilam province, Iran * Musa, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran * Musa Kalayeh, Gilan province, Iran * Abu M ...

overthrew him. Musa tried to assassinate his father in the coup, but Rabi'a managed to escape and fled to the Emirate of al-Uyaynah, where Hamad ibn Hassan gave him refuge.

Early life

His father Mani' lived with his relatives in the east of the peninsula and settled in a place called al-Diriyah, near

al-Qatif Qatif Governorate ( ''Al-Qaṭīf'') is a list of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and urban area located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Damma ...

(not to be confused with

, the capital of the

first Saudi state The first Saudi state (), officially the Emirate of Diriyah (), was established in 1744, when the emir of a Najdi town called Diriyah, Muhammad I, and the religious leader Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab signed a pact to found a socio-religious r ...

). In 1447 he corresponded with a relative of his named Ibn Dara'a, influential in

al-Yamama Al-Yamama () is a historical region in south-eastern Najd in modern-day Saudi Arabia. Only a handful of centralized states ever arose in the Yamama, but it figured prominently in early Islamic history, becoming a central theater in the Ridd ...

, and they reached an agreement: Mani' migrated with his wife and children from the eastern

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

Wadi Hanifa Wadi Hanifa (), historically known as Wadi al-Arad, is a ''wadi'' (seasonal river) in the Najd region, Riyadh Province, in central Saudi Arabia. The valley runs for a length of from northwest to southeast, cutting through the city of Riyadh, ...

and Ibn Dara'a sold him his land in Ghasibah and al-Mulibid, abandoned and uninhabited land, for the family to establish a settlement. Mani' made these lands a habitable place and attracted the migration of his tribe for his settlement. With the establishment of this settlement, this abandoned population began to revive and grow, thus creating a new city that was called Al-Diriyah. Mani' was recognized as emir of this growing territory and his son Rabi'a as crown prince, maintaining an active role in the politics of the small emirate. Father and son worked together for the development and expansion of al-Diriyah.

Reign

Upon his father's death on 14 August 1463, Rabi'a succeeded to the throne. During his reign, a large number of villages were founded, the territories of the emirate grew remarkably and the population of Diriyah multiplied, so Rabi'a wanted to expand his domain by conquering a part of al-Yazid's lands and the populations of al-Naima and al-Wasil. The growth of the emirate also led to a lot of power and factional interests. A faction, headed by one of his sons, Musa, seized the emirate through a coup. Musa not only wanted to gain political control of Diriya, but also considered his father a threat to his own interests, so after taking power he decided to kill him. Rab'ia was badly wounded, but along with a group of his supporters managed to escape. Rab'ia resorted to seeking help from the authorities of another small local emirate,

al-Uyaynah Uyayna () is a village in central Saudi Arabia, located some northwest of the Saudi Capital (political), capital Riyadh. Uyayna was the birthplace of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. Today, Uyayna is a small village and forms together with its neighbor ...

. Rabi'a managed to communicate with his emir, Hamad ibn Hassan ibn Tuq, who gave him shelter and protection. Uthman ibn Bishr narrates in one of his works on Najdi history the following: "Rabi'a became famous in Najd, as his kingdom expanded and he fought against the Yazid clan. Then his son his Musa appeared and became more famous than his father his: he seized the throne of his father and fought against all his neighbors. Musa tried to kill his father Rabia, who badly wounded fled and was welcomed by Hamad bin Hasan Ibn Touq, emir of Al-Uyaynah, who honored and protected him for a favor he had previously done him."

References

{{Reflist 15th-century Arab people Emirs House of Saud