Abdallah III. ibn Faisal

Abdallah III. ibn Faisal ibn Turki Al Saud ( Arabic عبد الله بن فيصل بن تركي آل سعود, DMG ʿAbd Allāh b. Faiṣal b. Turkī Āl Saʿūd ; † 1889 ) was Imam of the Wahhabis (1865–1871, 1873–1884 and 1887–1889)

As heir to the throne, Abdallah had led the campaigns of the Wahhabis in Eastern Arabia during the lifetime of his father Faisal ibn Turki Al Saud (1834-1865). After taking over the government (1865), he first had to deal with Great Britain . A British merchant ship had been captured during a Wahhabi campaign as far as Sur in Oman . When the British fleet then shelled the port of Damman in al-Hasa , negotiations came about in which Abdallah recognized British sovereignty over the tribes of the pirate coast .

Otherwise, Abdallah's government was overshadowed by power struggles with his brothers. The fighting against his brother Saud led to the decline of the empire as the tribes regained more autonomy. After a victory in 1870, Saud first gained control of eastern Arabia. While anarchy broke out in Najd due to the civil war and a famine, Saud succeeded in conquering Riyadh in 1871 and expelling Abdallah III., Who managed to escape to Iraq . The Ottomans ruling there took advantage of the decline of the Saud and occupied the province of al-Hasa (1872).

After the death of Saud II ibn Faisal (1871–1873), Abdul Rahman ibn Abdallah occupied Riyadh and paved the way for his father Abdallah III. the return to power. The Saud empire was now limited to the Najd. Even there, however, Abdallah was not undisputed, as the sons of Saud II continued to assert their claims. The good relations with the Shammar in the north under Faisal ibn Turki al Saud had also deteriorated.

In 1877 war broke out when he intervened in Buraida, which the Shammar claimed for themselves. In the following years several provinces were lost to Muhammad ar-Raschid (1869-1897). In 1884 the sons of Saud II even occupied Riyadh and took Abdallah III. captured. However, the Shammar now occupied the city, appointed a governor and led Abdallah III. after Hail in captivity. In 1887, the sick Abdallah was released and installed as ruler in Riyadh, where he died in 1889. His son Abdul Rahman ibn Abdallah (1889-1892) was his successor in the remainder of the Saud state .

See also: Saud dynasty

literature

• Jörg-Dieter Brandes: ... with saber and Koran. Saudi Arabia or the rise of the Saud royal family and the Wahabites , Thorbecke, Sigmaringen, 1999, ISBN 3-7995-0094-4