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.

Siege

In 1814, the Ottomans prepared an expedition in the month of

Shawwal Shawwal () is the tenth month of the Islamic calendar. It comes after Ramadan and before Dhu al-Qa'da. ''Shawwāl'' stems from the Arabic verb ''shāla'' (), which means to 'lift or carry', generally to take or move things from one place to an ...

with a force of 20,000 recruited from

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

and

Taif Taif (, ) is a city and governorate in Mecca Province in Saudi Arabia. Located at an elevation of in the slopes of the Hijaz Mountains, which themselves are part of the Sarat Mountains, the city has a population of 563,282 people in 2022, mak ...

led by Abidin Bey against the Zahran tribes in Al Bahah. The Ottomans didn't encounter any resistance during their march and finally arrived to besiege a fort in Al Bahah, where they were led by Zahran commander Bakhrosh ibn A'llas. When the Saudis heard of the Ottoman expedition, they marched with a force of 10,000 Saudis to relieve the fort, led by Tami bin Shu'aib. They engaged the Ottoman forces near the fortress, and the Saudis scored a victory against their enemy. The Ottomans lost 1,000 men in the battle and retreated to Taif. The Ottoman garrison was led by Tusun Pasha, and the Saudis besieged the city, led by Tami bin Shu'aib and Bakhrosh ibn A'llas. Muhammad Ali Pasha heard the situation in Taif and marched with a force of 20 cavalry there. Muhammad Ali then looked upon the besieged city from a mountain. His men captured a Saudi and asked him about the Saudi army. He then offered the prisoner freedom in exchange for sending a letter to Bakhrush in order to fool the enemies of an upcoming large Ottoman relief army. This trick successfully worked, and the siege was lifted from Taif and Muhammad Ali and his son returned to Mecca in June. Abd al-Rahman al-Rafai, p. 135-6

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taif, 1814 Battles of the Wahhabi war Conflicts in 1814 1814 in the Ottoman Empire 19th century in the Arabian Peninsula