Battle of Al-Safra | |||||||
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Part of the Ottoman-Saudi War | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Ottoman Empire | Emirate of Diriyah | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Tusun Pasha (WIA) Thomas Keith | Saud bin Abdulaziz Abdullah bin Saud Mas'ud Bin Madhian Faisal bin Mas'ud Habab Bin Qahisan | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
8,000–14,000 men | 18,000 men 800 Cavalry | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
4,000–5,000 killed 7 Cannon captured | 600 killed |
The Battle of Al-Safra took place in late 1811, when Tusun Pasha's forces engaged with Saudi forces led by Saud bin Abdulaziz. It was a resounding Saudi victory against the Ottoman forces.
In 1811, the Ottoman forces led by Tusun Pasha, the son of Muhammad Ali Pasha, captured Yanbu from the Saudis. The Saudi garrison had only 300 men; their leader escaped, and the garrison was either killed or captured. [2] [3] The Ottoman forces then proceeded to Badr where they fought the Saudis in a battle for two hours until they succeeded in capturing Badr. The Saudis retreated to Wadi Al-Safra near Medina, [4] the Ottomans had an army of 8,000 [5] or 14000 men. [6] When Saud bin Abdulaziz heard of the invading Ottomans, he recruited his forces from Najd, Hejaz, and Tihamah with an army of 18,000 men and 800 cavalry and marched to Wadi Al-Safra (also known as Al-Kheif) with his son Abdullah bin Saud Al Saud. [7]
When they arrived at Al-Kheif, Abdullah ordered Mas'ud Bin Madhian to march to a hill next to Al-Kheif in order not to get outflanked. Abdullah then sent a small force to engage with the Ottomans, but they were defeated and 32 were killed. [8] Abdullah then gave command of the cavalry to his brother Faisal bin Mas'ud and Habab bin Qahisan. [9] The fighting started, and both sides suffered losses. The Bedouins were defeated, but the rest held their places. The fighting continued for three days. Abdullah ordered Mas'ud Bin Madhian and other Bedouins to charge against the Ottomans, which broke them and killed many of them, causing panic in Ottoman ranks. [10] [11]
The Ottomans retreated unorganized from the battlefield, leaving 600 dead on the field; however, they were chased by the Saudis, who dealt great casualties to them, and the final Ottoman casualties were 4,000 [12] or 5,000 [13] killed; the Saudis lost only 600, [14] and they captured 7 Ottoman cannons alongside much weaponry. [15]
Abdullah bin Saud Al Saud was the last ruler of the First Saudi State, from 1814 to 1818, and was executed in Constantinople under the Ottoman Empire. Although the Ottomans maintained several garrisons in the Nejd thereafter, they were unable to prevent the rise of the Emirate of Nejd, also known as the Second Saudi State, led by Turki bin Abdullah.
The Wahhabi war, also known as the Ottoman–Saudi war, was fought from early 1811 until 1818 between the Ottoman Empire, its vassal the Eyalet of Egypt, and the Emirate of Diriyah, the First Saudi State, resulting in the destruction of the latter.
The Emirate of Diriyah, also known as the first Saudi state, was established in February 1727. In 1744, the emir of a Najdi town called Diriyah, Muhammad bin Saud, and the religious leader Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab signed a pact to found a socio-religious reform movement to unify the many states of the Arabian Peninsula.
Faisal bin Turki Al Saud was the second ruler of the Second Saudi State and seventh head of the House of Saud.
The Emirate of Nejd or Imamate of Nejd, also known as the second Saudi state was 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 Diriyah, the first Saudi state, having previously been brought down by the Ottoman Empire's Egypt Eyalet in the Ottoman–Wahhabi War (1811–1818).
Saud bin Faisal Al Saud, also known as Imam Saud, (1833—1875) was the ruler of the Second Saudi State in 1871 and 1873–75. He joined alliances with foreign tribes and revolted against his half-brother Abdullah. His rule was short-lived and Abdullah overthrew him. Saud gained power again in 1873 but died two years later. His reign was notable for the infighting in the House of Saud which he initiated.
The capture of Yanbu, or Yanbu Landing, was a bloodless confrontation between the Saudis and Ottomans in 1811.
The Battle of Medina took place in 1812, Following the Battle of Al-Safra, Tusun's forces began to deal with Saudi forces stationed in Medina.
The Najd Expedition was a series of military conflicts waged by Egypt on behalf of the Ottoman Empire from 1817 to 1818. It was part of the Ottoman–Saudi War that lasted from 1811 to 1818. The campaign of 1817/8 was led by Ibrahim Pasha, with the goal of capturing Diriyah and ending the First Saudi State by the order of the Ottoman sultan Mahmud II, through no real strategy other than brute force.
The siege of Diriyah took place in late 1818 at the end of the Wahhabi War of 1811–1818 during the Nejd Expedition.
The unification of Saudi Arabia was a military and political campaign in which the various tribes, sheikhdoms, city-states, emirates, and kingdoms of most of the central Arabian Peninsula were conquered by the House of Saud, or Al Saud. Unification started in 1902 and continued until 1932, when the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was proclaimed under the leadership of Abdulaziz, known in the West as Ibn Saud, creating what is sometimes referred to as the Third Saudi State, to differentiate it from the Emirate of Diriyah, the First Saudi State and the Emirate of Nejd, the Second Saudi State, also House of Saud states.
Abdullah bin Faisal Al Saud was one of the rulers of the Emirate of Najd, also known as Second Saudi State. His reign witnessed extensive struggle among the members of the Al Saud family which led to turmoil in the region.
The Battle of Khakeekera was a naval battle that took place in March 1811 between the combined forces of Bahrain and Kuwait on one side, and those of the Emirate of Diriyah led by Rahmah ibn Jabir al-Jalhami, the pirate Arab ruler of Dammam and some villages in Qatar, on the other. The battle took place northwest of Qatar and ended with a Bahraini-Kuwaiti victory.
The Sheikhdom of Dir'iyah, was a polity in central Arabia from 1446 to 1744 and the predecessor to the First Saudi State. Its capital was Al-Turaif District, and it was based around the banks of Wadi Hanifa. It was ruled by the Muani'a dynasty from the Durou' clan, and later under its two branches, Muqrin and Watban, with the former becoming the sole house and the house from which the House of Saud descends.
The Capture of Al Hinakiyah was a military engagement between the Saudi army led by Saud bin Abdulaziz and the Ottoman garrison, who were stationed at Al Hinakiyah, they successfully expelled the Ottoman garrison.
The Battle of Turuba took place in 1813 when Ottoman forces besieged Turubah. The garrison was led by Ghaliyya Al Bogammiah who successfully routed the Ottoman army.
In 1814, the Saudis laid siege to the Ottoman-held city of Taif, but the Ottoman governor of Egypt, Muhammad Ali Pasha, successfully forced them to raise the siege.
The Battle of Byssel was a military engagement between the Ottoman forces and the Saudi forces in Byssel. The Ottomans won a decisive battle, which broke Saudi power.
The Dhurma Massacre is a massacre perpetrated by the Ottomans in the Siege of Dhurma, during the Expedition to Najd (1817-1818).
The battle of Mawiyya was fought in 1817 between the Emirate of Diriyah led by Abdullah Ibn Saud and the Ottoman Empire led by Ibrahim Pasha.