Abdul Rahman bin Faisal bin Turki Al Saud

Abdul Rahman bin Faisal bin Turki Al Saud (1850 – June 1928) (Arabic: عبد الرحمن بن فيصل آل سعود‎ / ALA-LC: ‘Abd ar Raḥman bin Fayṣal) was the last ruler of the Emirate of Nejd, the second Saudi state. He was the youngest son of Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah Al Saud and the father of Ibn Saud, who founded the modern Saudi Arabia.

Abdul Rahman bin Faisal bin Turki Al Saud
Abdul Rahman in 1875
Emir of Nejd
Reign	1875–1876 (first time) 1889–1891 (second time)
Predecessor	Saud bin Faisal bin Turki Abdullah bin Faisal
Successor	Muḥammad bin Abdullah Al Rashid
Born	1850
Died	June 1928 (aged 77–78) Riyadh, Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd
Spouse	Sara bint Ahmed bin Muhammad Al Sudairi Sara bint Jiluwi bin Turki Al Jiluwi Amsha bint Faraj Al Ajran Al Khalidi
Issue	Faisal Abdulaziz Muhammad Saad Saud Abdallah Musaid Abdul Muhsin Fahd Ahmed Nuora Fifteen daughters
Full name Abdul Rahman bin Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Saud bin Muhammad bin Muqrin Al Maridi Al Adui
Dynasty	House of Saud
Father	Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah Al Saud

Early life

Abdul Rahman was born in 1850.[1] He had three elder brothers: Abdullah, Saud and Mohammed.[2] One of his sisters was Al Jawhara (died around 1930) who also exiled with the family in Kuwait.[3]

Royal civil war

When Abdul Rahman's brothers — Saud and Abdullah — were struggling for power in 1865,[4] Abdul Rahman and his brother Muhammad tended to align themselves with Saud. In 1871, after Saud had taken the capital Riyadh. Abdul Rahman was sent to Baghdad to negotiate with the Ottoman Empire for help. Unsuccessful after two years, he tried to take Al Hasa in the east where Abdullah was now based, but without success, and eventually returned to Riyadh. After Saud's death in 1875, Abdul Rahman was recognized as successor, but within a year Riyadh was taken by Abdullah[5] and he was forced to abdicate.

In 1887 the sons of Saud bin Faisal, who kept up desultory hostilities against their uncles, managed to capture Abdullah. The Rashidi amirs of Ha'il were able to secure Abdullah's release in exchange for Abdul-Rahman. Abdullah was taken to Ha'il and a Rashidi emir appointed to him to govern Riyadh. Abdul Rahman was able to rise in revolt in 1887 and take and defend Riyadh, but his attempts to expand control ended in disaster. When Abdul Rahman became the undisputed leader of the House of Saud in 1889, he attacked and regained Riyadh.[4] However, the Saudi forces were defeated in the Battle of Mulayda, and Abdul Rahman and his family were forced to flee.[4]

Later years

The family fled to the desert of the Rub al-Khali to the southeast among the Al Murrah Bedouin, before finding refuge with the Al Khalifa family in Bahrain, and finally with the Al Sabah family in Kuwait.[4] They were given permission by the Ottoman State to settle in Kuwait.[6] While in Kuwait, Abdul Rahman tried to make Wahhabist Islam widespread and recreate the Saudi Dynasty.[7]

After defeat at the battle of Sarif in 1900, he gave up all ambitions to recovery his patrimony.[8] Following the capture of Riyadh by his son, Abdulaziz, in January 1902 he came back from Kuwait and presented his son a sword that had belonged to Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al Wahhab.[9] Abdul Rahman was styled Imam and considered the spiritual leader of the country, while Abdulaziz held secular and military authority. He also acted as the ceremonial leader of the newly built state.[9] However, during the formation years he was also acting ruler when Ibn Saud was out of Riyadh and helped him to organize the forces.[10] In 1905 he represented Ibn Saud in the negotiations with the Ottomans following the capture of Qasim.[10]

Personal life and death

Abdul Rahman had at least eleven sons with different wives,[11] including Abdulaziz, Mohammed, Saad, Abdullah, Musaid, Ahmed and Abdul Mohsen.[12] Ahmed was a member of the family council during the reign of King Khalid.[13] His most known daughter is Noura.[14]

One of his spouses was Sara bint Ahmed bin Muhammad Al Sudairi[15] who was the mother of Faisal, Noura, Abdulaziz, Bazza, Haya and Saad.[14] She died in 1910.[16] Sara bint Jiluwi bin Turki Al Jiluwi was also one of his spouses who was the mother of Mohammed.[17] Another one was Amsha bint Faraj Al Ajran Al Khalidi who was the mother of Musaid.[18]

Abdul Rahman died in Riyadh in June 1928.[19][20][21]

References

1. Khalid Abdullah Krairi (October 2016). "John Philby and his political roles in the Arabian Peninsula, 1917-1953" (PhD Thesis). University of Birmingham. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
2. Parvaiz Ahmad Khanday (2009). "A Critical Analysis of the Religio-Political Conditions of Modern Saudi Arabia" (PhD Thesis). Aligarh Muslim University. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
3. Stig Stensile (2011). "Power Behind the Veil: Princesses of the House of Saud". Journal of Arabian Studies. 1 (1): 72. doi:10.1080/21534764.2011.576050. S2CID 153320942.
4. "Abdul Rahman bin Faisal Al Saud (1)". King Abdulaziz Information Source. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
5. J. E. Peterson (2003). Historical Dictionary of Saudi Arabia (2nd ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. 17.
6. Joel Carmichael (July 1942). "Prince of Arabs". Foreign Affairs.
7. Maxvell Czerniawski (2010). Blood in the Wells: The Troubled Past and Perilous Future of US-Saudi Relations (Senior Honors Thesis). Eastern Michigan University. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
8. H. St. John Philby (1955). Saʻudi Arabia. London: Ernest Benn. p. 236. OCLC 781827671.
9. "FDR and Ibn Saud, 1744 to 1953" (PDF). Ibn Saud. Brookings Institute. 2017.
10. Alejandra Galindo Marines (2001). "The relationship between the ulama and the government in the contemporary Saudi Arabian Kingdom: an interdependent relationship?" (PhD Thesis). Durham University.
11. Alexei Vassiliev (1 March 2013). King Faisal: Personality, Faith and Times. Saqi. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-86356-761-2.
12. Christopher Keesee Mellon (May 2015). "Resiliency of the Saudi Monarchy: 1745-1975" (Master's Project). The American University of Beirut. Beirut. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
13. Gulshan Dhahani (1980). "Political Institutions in Saudi Arabia". International Studies. 19 (1): 59–69.
14. "Noura bint Abdul Rahman.. Adviser to the King and the Secrets Portfolio". Saudi 24 News. 17 May 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
15. Nadav Samin (2015). "4. Marriage and Lineal Authentication". Of Sand or Soil: Genealogy and Tribal Belonging in Saudi Arabia. Princeton University Press. p. 118.
16. Khaled ibn Abdul Rahman Al Jeraisy. "King Abdulaziz' Noble Character" (PDF). Islam House. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
17. Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Faisal Al Saud (PDF). Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman and Family Charitable Organization. p. 55. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 September 2012.
18. Rashid Saad Al Qahtani. "مساعد بن عبدالرحمن أمير الفكر والسياسة والإدارة". Arabic Magazine (in Arabic). Retrieved 24 September 2020.
19. Abdullah F. Alrebh (September 2015). "Covering the Building of a Kingdom: The Saudi Arabian Authority in The London Times and The New York Times, 1901–1932". DOMES: Digest of Middle East Studies.
20. "Appendix A Chronology of the Life of Ibn Saud" (PDF). Springer: 197.
21. Talal Sha'yfan Muslat Al Azma (1999). "The role of the Ikhwan under 'Abdul'Aziz Al Sa'ud 1916-1934" (PhD Thesis). Durham University. p. 201. Retrieved 4 September 2020.