Abdullah bin Thunayan Al Saud (; died July 1843) was

Emir of Nejd The second Saudi state (), officially known as the Emirate of Najd, was a state that existed between 1824 and 1891 in the Najd region of what is now Saudi Arabia. Saudi rule was restored to central (Najd) and Eastern Arabia after the first Saud ...

from 1841 to May 1843. He is the sole member of the Al Thunayan branch of the

Al Saud The House of Saud ( ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi State, (1727–1818), and his brothers, though the ruling fac ...

who became emir.

Early years

Abdullah bin Thunayan was a great-grandson of Thunayan bin Saud, who was the brother of

Muhammad bin Saud Muhammad bin Saud Al Muqrin Al Saud (; 1687–1765), also known as Ibn Saud, was the emir of Diriyah and is considered the founder of the First Saudi State and the House of Saud, Saud dynasty, named after his father, Saud bin Muhammad Al Muqrin. ...

, founder of the

Emirate of Diriyah The first Saudi state (), officially the Emirate of Diriyah (), was established in 1744, when the emir of a Najdi town called Diriyah, Muhammad I, and the religious leader Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab signed a pact to found a socio-religious ...

. Therefore, he was a great-great-grandson of the founder of the Al Saud dynasty, Saud bin Muhammad. Until 1841 Abdullah was in southern Iraq under the protection of the Muntafiq tribe. It was at that time that he first came to

Hejaz Hejaz is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes the majority of the western region of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Al Bahah, Al-B ...

and made several unsuccessful attempts to capture the Emirate of Nejd.

Reign

Abdullah's third cousin

Khalid bin Saud Khalid bin Saud Al Saud (; 1925 – 7 July 2020) was a member of the House of Saud, one of the grandsons of Saudi Arabia's founder King Abdulaziz. He was one of the sons of King Saud and held various administrative positions during the reign ...

, the Emir of Nejd, had been backed by the Egyptians and lost power when they had to leave Nejd in 1840. Finally Abdullah ousted Emir Khalid in December 1841. Abdullah's major supporter was the ruler of Al Hariq, Turki Al Hazzani. He was also supported by the descendants of

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Sulaymān al-Tamīmī (1703–1792) was a Sunni Muslim scholar, theologian, preacher, activist, religious leader, jurist, and reformer, who was from Najd in Arabian Peninsula and is considered as the eponymo ...

and other significant tribal leaders who regarded Khalid bin Saud as an illegitimate ruler due to his alliance with the Egyptians. As a result of this support Abdullah was titled as imam. He ruled the emirate from Riyadh. In 1842 Bahraini royal Mohammed bin Khalifa asked help from Abdullah following his defeat at al Nasfah battle against the ruler of Bahrain,

Abdullah bin Ahmad Al Khalifa Abdullah bin Ahmad Al Khalifa (1769–1849) was the ruler of Bahrain between 1821 and 1843. He was the fifth monarch of the Khalifa dynasty. Early life and reign Abdullah Al Khalifa was born in 1769. He was the son of Ahmad Al Khalifa, the ...

. He was granted asylum, but not military assistance. In 1843

Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah Al Saud Faisal, Faisel, Fayçal or Faysal () is an Arabic given name. Faisal, Fayçal or Faysal may also refer to: People * King Faisal (disambiguation) ** Faisal I of Iraq and Syria (1885–1933), leader during the Arab Revolt ** Faisal II of Iraq (19 ...

, another third cousin of Abdullah was released by the Egyptians in Cairo and managed to regain the rulership of the Emirate in May 1843.

Death and personal life

Abdullah did not endorse the leadership of Faisal and was imprisoned in

Al Masmak fortress Al Masmak Palace (), also called the Masmak Fortress or Masmak Fort, is a historic clay and mudbrick fort in the ad-Dirah neighborhood of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, located in close proximity to the al-Hukm Palace in the Qasr al-Hukm District. Com ...

where he died of poisoning in July 1843. He was buried in Riyadh following the funeral prayers led by Imam Faisal bin Turki. One of Abdullah's sons was born on the same day he died. Due to this, he was also named

Abdullah Abdullah may refer to: * Abdullah (name), a list of people with the given name or surname * Abdullah, Kargı, Turkey, a village * ''Abdullah'' (film), a 1980 Bollywood film directed by Sanjay Khan * '' Abdullah: The Final Witness'', a 2015 Pakis ...

. He was the father of

Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Thunayan Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Thunayan (; 1889–1923) was a Turkish-born Saudi royal and government official who was one of the advisors to Abdulaziz, Emir of Nejd, who later founded the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He was the paternal uncle of Iffat Al Th ...

and paternal grandfather of

Iffat bint Mohammad Al Thunayan Iffat bint Mohammad Al Thunayan ( ''ʿIffat bint Moḥammad Āl Ṯunayān'', or ; 1916 – 17 February 2000) was a Turkish-born education activist and Saudi princess who was the most prominent wife of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. She is som ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saud, Abdullah Thunayan 19th-century monarchs in the Middle East 19th-century murdered monarchs 1843 deaths Politicians assassinated in the 1840s

Assassinated Saudi Arabian politicians

Year of birth missing