Turki bin Abdullah [1824-1834]
In the Hijaz, Muhammad Ali restored the authority of the Sharifs, who had ruled the area from Mecca since the tenth century. The Najd remained in a state of confusion before regrouping under the leadership of Turki bin Saud, a cousin of Saud bin Abdul Aziz. Turki continued the quest of his forefathers to unite Arabia. The people of the Najd found in him a leader capable of restoring law and overthrowing Turkish rule.
Within a few years the fortunes of the House of Saud were to revive. Turki ibn Abd Allah, the uncle of the next-to- last ruler (Saud), upset Egyptian efforts to exercise authority in the area. Turki had fought at Ad Diriyah, but managed to escape the Egyptians when the town fell in 1818. He hid for two years among loyal forces to the south, and after a few unsuccessful attempts, recaptured Ad Diriyah in 1821. From the ruins of Ad Diriyah, Turki proceeded to Riyadh, another Najdi city. This eventually became the new Al Saud base. After the departure of the Ottoman forces, the Saudi ruler Turki bin Abdullah moved to reclaim his patrimony.
Forces under Turki's control reclaimed the rest of Najd in 1824. In that yere (1240 AH), Turki established the Second Saudi State, when he assumed the Amirship of Nejd. He selected Riyadh, 20 miles from Dariyah, as the new capital and set about rebuilding the Saudi State. During his 11-year rule, Turki managed to retake most of the original Saudi territory and became famous as a just ruler. He sent directives to the governors of the Saudi provinces instructing them to hold daily majlis sessions, standardize weights and measures, and introduce steps to ensure the rights and possessions of all citizens.
In the course of his rule (1824 to 1834 - 1240 to 1250 AH), Turki continued the Saudi drive for consolidation of the area. Turki's relatively swift retaking of Najd showed the extent to which the Al Saud-Wahhabi authority had been established in the area over the previous fifty years. The successes of the Wahhabi forces had done much to promote tribal loyalty to the Al Saud. But the Wahhabi principles of the Al Saud rule were equally compelling. After Muhammad ibn al Wahhab's death in 1792, the leader of Al Saud assumed the title of imam. Thus, Al Saud leaders were recognized not just as shaykhs or leaders, but as Wahhabi imams, political and religious figures whose rule had an element of religious authority.
Turki and his successors ruled from Riyadh over a wide area. They controlled the region to the north and south of Najd and exerted considerable influence along the western coast of the Persian Gulf. This was no state but a large sphere of influence that the Al Saud held together with a combination of treaties and delegated authority. In the Shammar Mountains to the north, for instance, the Al Saud supported the rule of Abd Allah ibn Rashid with whom Turki maintained a close alliance.
After 1824 when the Egyptians could no longer maintain outright military control over Arabia, they turned to political intrigues. In 1834 (1250 AH), Turki bin Abdullah was assassinated by a member of the Al Saud who had recently returned from Cairo. Turki's eldest son, Faisal, defeated the assassin and became Imam.
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