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The First Saudi State was established in the year 1744 (1157 A.H.) when Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab settled in Diriyah
Diriyah

Al-Diriyah is a town in Saudi Arabia located on the northwestern outskirts of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Diriyah was the original home of the Al Saud, and served as the capital of the First Saudi State from 1744 to 1818....
 and Prince Muhammad ibn Saud (of Diriyah) agreed to support and espouse Wahhab's cause, with a view of cleansing the Islamic faith from what they considered to be distortions of Islamic practice (see Wahhabism
Wahhabism

Wahhabi or Wahhabism is a conservative form of Sunni Islam attributed to Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab, an 18th century scholar from what is today known as Saudi Arabia, who advocated a return to the practices of the first three generations of Muslim history....
). The House of Saud
House of Saud

House of Saud is the royal family of the Saudi Arabia. The modern nation of Saudi Arabia was established in 1932, though the roots and influence for the House of Saud had been planted in the Arabian Peninsula several centuries earlier....
 and its allies rose to become the dominant state in Arabia, first subduing Nejd, then extending their influence over the eastern coast from Kuwait
Kuwait

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab emirate on the coast of the Persian Gulf, enclosed by Saudi Arabia to the south and Iraq to the north and west....
 down to the borders of Oman
Oman

Oman , officially the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab country in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders the United Arab Emirates on the northwest, Saudi Arabia on the west and Yemen on the southwest....
.






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The First Saudi State was established in the year 1744 (1157 A.H.) when Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab settled in Diriyah
Diriyah

Al-Diriyah is a town in Saudi Arabia located on the northwestern outskirts of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Diriyah was the original home of the Al Saud, and served as the capital of the First Saudi State from 1744 to 1818....
 and Prince Muhammad ibn Saud (of Diriyah) agreed to support and espouse Wahhab's cause, with a view of cleansing the Islamic faith from what they considered to be distortions of Islamic practice (see Wahhabism
Wahhabism

Wahhabi or Wahhabism is a conservative form of Sunni Islam attributed to Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab, an 18th century scholar from what is today known as Saudi Arabia, who advocated a return to the practices of the first three generations of Muslim history....
). The House of Saud
House of Saud

House of Saud is the royal family of the Saudi Arabia. The modern nation of Saudi Arabia was established in 1932, though the roots and influence for the House of Saud had been planted in the Arabian Peninsula several centuries earlier....
 and its allies rose to become the dominant state in Arabia, first subduing Nejd, then extending their influence over the eastern coast from Kuwait
Kuwait

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab emirate on the coast of the Persian Gulf, enclosed by Saudi Arabia to the south and Iraq to the north and west....
 down to the borders of Oman
Oman

Oman , officially the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab country in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders the United Arab Emirates on the northwest, Saudi Arabia on the west and Yemen on the southwest....
. The Saudis also brought the highlands of 'Asir
'Asir

?Asir is a provinces of Saudi Arabia of Saudi Arabia located in the southwest of the country. It has an area of 81,000 km? and an estimated population of 1,563,000....
 under their suzerainty
Suzerainty

Suzerainty is a situation in which a region or nation is a tributary state to a more powerful entity which allows the tributary some limited domestic Wiktionary:autonomy to control its foreign affairs....
, and their Wahhabi forces conducted raids on the frontiers of Iraq
Iraq

Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
 and Syria
Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is an Arab-majority country in Southwest Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north....
, culminating in the sacking of the Shi'a holy city
Holy city

Holy city is a synonym applied to many cities, all of them central to the history or faith of specific religions. These cities include:...
 of Karbala
Karbala

Karbala is a city in Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad at 32.61?N, 44.08?E. In the time of Husayn ibn Ali's life, the place was also known as al-Ghadiriyah, Naynawa, and Shathi'ul-Furaat....
 in 1801.

In 1802 Saudi forces brought the region of Hejaz
Hejaz

al-Hejaz is a region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia. Defined mostly by the Red Sea, it extends from Haql on the Gulf of Aqaba to Jizan....
 under their control, capturing the two holy cities of Mecca
Mecca

Mecca , also spelled Makkah , Makka is a city in Saudi Arabia. Home to the Masjid al-Haram, it is the holy city in Islam and plays an important role in the faith....
 and Medina
Medina

Medina is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Prophet Muhammad....
. This was a massive blow to the prestige of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299?1923. It was Treaty of Lausanne by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923....
, which had exercised sovereignty over the holy cities since 1517, and the lethargic Ottomans were finally moved to action. The task of destroying the Wahhabis was given by the Ottomans to their powerful viceroy of Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
, Muhammad Ali Pasha. This started the Ottoman-Saudi war, in which Muhammad Ali sent his troops to the Hejaz by sea and recaptured it. His son, Ibrahim Pasha, then led Ottoman forces into the heart of Nejd, capturing town after town, and allowing his troops to pillage recalcitrant villages mercilessly in events that are remembered in Nejd to this day. Finally, Ibrahim reached the Saudi capital at Diriyah
Diriyah

Al-Diriyah is a town in Saudi Arabia located on the northwestern outskirts of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Diriyah was the original home of the Al Saud, and served as the capital of the First Saudi State from 1744 to 1818....
 and placed it under siege for several months until it surrendered in the winter of 1818. Ibrahim then shipped off many members of the clans of Al Saud and Ibn Abd Al-Wahhab to Egypt and the Ottoman capital, Constantinople
Constantinople

Constantinople was the empire capital of the Roman Empire , the Byzantine Empire , the Latin Empire , and the Ottoman Empire . Strategically located between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara at the point where Europe meets Asia, Byzantine Constantinople had been the capital of a Christendom empire, successor to ancient ancient Greece...
, and ordered the systematic destruction of Diriyah, whose ruins have remained virtually untouched ever since. The last Saudi Imam, Abdullah bin Saud
Abdullah bin Saud

*Sa'd ibn Abdallah*Saud ibn Abdallah*Muhammad ibn AbdallahAbdullah ibn Saud was the fourth and last leader of what later became known as the First Saudi State....
 was later executed in the Ottoman capital
Constantinople

Constantinople was the empire capital of the Roman Empire , the Byzantine Empire , the Latin Empire , and the Ottoman Empire . Strategically located between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara at the point where Europe meets Asia, Byzantine Constantinople had been the capital of a Christendom empire, successor to ancient ancient Greece...
, and his severed head was thrown into the waters of the Bosphorus. Thus, what later became known as the First Saudi State came to an end, but both the Wahhabi movement and the Al Saud clan lived on to found a Second Saudi State
Second Saudi State

The Second Saudi State refers to the period in the 19th century when the rule of the House of Saud was restored to central and eastern Arabia after having previously been brought down by an Ottoman Empire-Egyptian Ottoman?Saudi War....
 that lasted until 1891, and later a third state, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA , is an Arab country and the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south....
, which continues to the present day.

Rulers of the first Saudi state

  • Imam
    Imam

    File:Medaillon chiite.jpgAn imam is an Islamic leadership position. Often the leader of a mosque and the community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads the prayer during Islamic gatherings....
     Muhammad ibn Saud 1726–1744 (Prince of Diriyah) ,1744–1765 (Imam of Saudi State)
  • Imam Abdul Aziz ibn Muhammad ibn Saud
    Abdul Aziz bin Muhammad bin Saud

    *Saud bin Abdul Aziz bin Muhammad al SaudAbdul Aziz ibn Muhammad ibn Saud was the second ruler of the First Saudi State and son of Muhammad bin Saud....
     1765–1803 (1179–1218 H)
  • Imam Saud Ibn Abdul Aziz Ibn Muhammad Ibn Saud
    Saud bin Abdul Aziz bin Muhammad al Saud

    *Abdullah bin Saud*Khalid ibn Saud*Mishari ibn Saud*FaisalSaud ibn Abdul Aziz ibn Muhammad ibn Saud ruled the First Saudi State from the death of his father Abdul Aziz ibn Muhammad ibn Saud in 1803 until his own death...
     (Saud Al Kabeer) 1803–1814 (1218–1233 H)
  • Imam Abdullah bin Saud
    Abdullah bin Saud

    *Sa'd ibn Abdallah*Saud ibn Abdallah*Muhammad ibn AbdallahAbdullah ibn Saud was the fourth and last leader of what later became known as the First Saudi State....
     1814–1818


Other References

  • William Facey, Dir'Iyyah and the first Saudi State, 1997, ISBN 0905743 806
  • in , January/February 1999, p4-11


See also

  • Ottoman-Saudi war
  • Second Saudi State
    Second Saudi State

    The Second Saudi State refers to the period in the 19th century when the rule of the House of Saud was restored to central and eastern Arabia after having previously been brought down by an Ottoman Empire-Egyptian Ottoman?Saudi War....
  • Saudi Arabia
    Saudi Arabia

    The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA , is an Arab country and the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south....