'Persian Gulf Gazetteer, Part I Historical and Political Materials, Précis of Nejd [Najd] Affairs, 1804-1904' [‎4] (17/72)

4*
10. Ever since the death of Mahomed bin Abdul "Wahab, his family have
Suhtequtni Mttory of the deteendantt of Abdul a ^ wa y s held the highest judicial and rell-
Wahab. gious posts in the Wahabi empire ; but,
. unlike their ancestors, they have exer
cised a predominant influence in the State, although they never adopted the
official titles appertaining to pure civil or military authority, His son Ab
dullah is said to have been put to death in 1818 by the great massacre of the
doctors of Nejd, which was ordered by Ibrahim Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , and which will be no
ticed hereafter. His grandson, Abdul Rahman, was still alive at Riadh, but in
deorepid old age when Palgrave visited that city in 1862. His great-grandson,
Abdul Latif, was also alive, aged about forty, and the father of a large family.
II —Political History of Nejd ante 1800 to 1804.
11* At the death of Saud, about the end of the last century, his authority
Wahaii tmpire esiahiished ly Saud ant» isoo. was acknowledged not only in the pro-
d n x .i ^ o-m- . v ^ nce of Nejd proper, but also from the
irersian Gulf to the frontiers of Hejaz. Whilst, however, Saud extended his
empire over minor tribes, he carefully avoided any encroachment upon the
great powers. He respected the supremacy of Persia over the island of Bah-
remm the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and its protectorate of Katif upon the coast. He
attempted no aggressions upon the Sultan of Oman, known as the Imam of
Maskat. Above all, he never violated the frontiers of the Meccau Haram.
nor m any way excited the animosity of Turkey or Egypt. He was a thorough
* * i I )at f 0 . nised Earning as far as it was compatible with the
tenets ot vv ahabi doctrines : and he adorned his capital at Deriah with national
and religious monuments, such as an enormous palace and an immense mosque,
of which the remains still testify to the magnificence of the first Wahabi
sovereign.
12. Saud left two sons, Abdul Aziz and Abdullah. Abdul Aziz, the elder,
Ahdul A tit, atoui 1800 i hostilHiei againtt mart*
succeeded to the throne, but although he
tim* Persia and Maskat. had been warned by his father " not to
j . •« .i j , „ undermine the cliff," in other words, not
to excite the dangerous hos ihty of Turkey or Persia, he was nevertheless bent
tnnV w rf S K f ahabl His first campaign was against Persia.
He took Katif by storm, and then occupied Bahrein and the adiacent island -
Bait i ^ aSt 0f 1 , th ? Gulf ' t0 the marit i me dist "ot of
B rr Fans , and, according to Palgrave, he detached JBarr-Paris irrecoverablv
f^ 0m a v> rU • ^^this Abdul Aziz sent an expedition, under his bro
ther Abdullah against the Sultan of Oman. Abdullah gained a succession of
Tictones, and finally reached the heights of Maskat, and turned the fort
batteries against the town below. At that time Syud Saeed was SnltL nf
Oman or Imam of Maskat. Syud Saeed yielded TL stoL and no only
agreed to pay a yearly tribute to the Wahabi ruler, but admitted WahaM
rzs.:s£S o — na "»""■» •'
13. Persia was alarmed at these successes of the Wahabi Chieftain,
Assassination of Aidui a »it a fanatical daied not send a Persian army into
' the wilds of Arabia. Accordingly, she
been familiar to the Shiahs. namely ^the^ag^r I'f
of Ghilan offered to murder Abdul Aziz. A fail . atl ?
his instructions at Tehran, and then journeyed to Meshid Hussein /^the
• i .e., Kerbeiah. Mecca of the Shiahs, and procured a writ-
adoration, he plunged his sharp Khorasan dagger through his bodv AMul
Aziz fell down dead, without a groan or struelle Hk J - Au -
swords whiVh fbpv Imrl 1q;/i 4! siri bt) le ' iiis attendants seized their
««.■««,, j spzstaszsas
engagement eountersigned by the Governor of Meshid Uussem
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