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 Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. He was the paternal uncle of Iffat Al Thunayan, spouse of King Faisal.

Origins and early life

Prince Ahmed's family were the descendants of Thunayan, one of the brothers of

Muhammad bin Saud Muhammad bin Saud Al Muqrin ( ''Muḥammad bin Suʿūd Āl Muqrin''; 1687–1765), also known as Ibn Saud, was the emir of Diriyah and is considered the founder of the First Saudi State and the Saud dynasty, which are named for his father, Sau ...

, who is the patriarch of the

House of Saud The House of Saud ( ar, آل سُعُود, ʾĀl Suʿūd ) 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), ...

. Ahmed's father was Abdullah bin Abdullah bin Thunayan Al Saud, who was captured by the Ottomans in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the '' de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the sec ...

and sent to Istanbul in August 1880. He was appointed to the royal court there. Ahmed's mother was a

Cherkess The Circassians (also referred to as Cherkess or Adyghe; Adyghe and Kabardian: Адыгэхэр, romanized: ''Adıgəxər'') are an indigenous Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation native to the historical country-region of Circassia ...

-origin

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities ...

woman named Tazeruh. His paternal grandfather,

Abdullah bin Thunayan Abdullah bin Thunayan Al Saud (عبد الله بن ثنيان بن إبراهيم آل سعود; died July 1843) was Emir of Nejd from 1841 to May 1843. He is the sole member of the Al Thunayan branch of the Al Saud who became emir. Early years ...

, ruled the

Emirate of Nejd The Emirate of Nejd or Imamate of Nejd was the Second Saudi State, 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 D ...

from 1841 to 1843. Prince Ahmed was born in 1889 in Istanbul and raised there. Prince Ahmed had a twin-sister, Jawhara, and two brothers, Mohammed and Suleiman. Mohammed was the father of Iffat, who married the future King Faisal in the 1930s.

Career

Just before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

Prince Ahmed went to Arabia and became a private secretary of Emir Abdulaziz. In March 1913 he met with the Ottoman governor of

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesipho ...

Cemal Pasha Ahmed Djemal ( ota, احمد جمال پاشا, Ahmet Cemâl Paşa; 6 May 1872 – 21 July 1922), also known as Cemal Pasha, was an Ottoman military leader and one of the Three Pashas that ruled the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Djemal ...

, as an envoy of Abdulaziz to eliminate the tensions between Abdulaziz and

Sharif Hussein Hussein bin Ali al-Hashimi ( ar, الحسين بن علي الهاشمي, al-Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī; 1 May 18544 June 1931) was an Arab leader from the Banu Hashim clan who was the Sharif and Emir of Mecca from 1908 and, after procla ...

. Over time Prince Ahmed became Abdulaziz's chief foreign affairs advisor and acted as Saudi foreign minister. Prince Ahmed together with Abdullah Al Qusaibi, another advisor of Abdulaziz, accompanied Prince Faisal, later King Faisal, during his official visit to London and Paris in 1919. Prince Ahmed's mission in this visit was to transmit the demands of Abdulaziz to British officials. Through Prince Ahmed Abdulaziz asked the British to exert pressure on Sharif Hussain to allow Najdi people to go on

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

. On 1 May 1922 Prince Ahmed represented Abdulaziz in the Conference of Al Muhammarah which was held to resolve the problematic Saudi-Iraqi border issues. Despite the objections of Abdulaziz Prince Ahmed signed the treaty of al Muhammarah which led to his dismissal from the post. Abdulaziz did not ratify the treaty and informed the British High Commissioner B. H. Bourdillon that Prince Ahmed had no authority to sign it. Following this incident Prince Ahmed was replaced by

Abdullah Al Damluji Abdullah Al Damluji (1890–1971), also known as Abdullah Beg Al Damluji, was an Iraqi physician who served as one of Ibn Saud's advisers. He held several government positions, including the minister of foreign affairs of Najd and Hejaz and of Ir ...

as chief foreign affairs advisor.

Personal life and death

Prince Ahmed was fluent in Turkish, Arabic, English and German. He died in Istanbul in 1923 shortly after his return from Saudi Arabia. However,

Joseph A. Kechichian Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

argues that he died in 1921 which contradicts with the fact that he participated in the Conference of Al Muhammarah in May 1922.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thunayan, Ahmed Abdullah 20th-century Saudi Arabian politicians 1889 births 1923 deaths Saudi Arabian princes People from Istanbul Turkish people of Arab descent Turkish people of Circassian descent