Saudi conquest of Hejaz

The Saudi conquest of Hejaz or the Second Saudi-Hashemite War, also known as the Hejaz-Nejd War, was a campaign engaged by Saudi Sultan Abdulaziz Ibn Saud to take over the Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz in 1924–25, ending with conquest and incorporation of Hejaz into the Saudi domain.

Saudi conquest of Hejaz
Part of the unification of Saudi Arabia
Date September 1924-December 1925 Location Kingdom of Hejaz Result Sultanate of Nejd Victory
Belligerents
Sultanate of Nejd Ikhwan	Kingdom of Hejaz
Commanders and leaders
Abdulaziz Ibn Saud Sultan bin Bajad	Hussein bin Ali Ali bin Hussein Nawras Pasha
Strength
5,000 men	500 men[1] 8 Aircraft[2]
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown number of deaths 5 armored vehicles destroyed 1 airplane shot down
Total: 450 dead

Background

The 1924 campaign came within the scope of the historic conflict between the Hashemites of Hejaz and the Saudis of Riyadh (Nejd), which had already sparked the First Saudi-Hashemite War in 1919.

Saudi campaign

The pretext for renewed hostilities between Nejd and Hejaz came when the pilgrims from Nejd were denied access to the holy places in Hejaz.[3] On August 29, 1924, Ibn-Saud began his military campaign against Hejaz by advancing towards Taif, which surrendered without a major struggle.[3] Following the fall of Taif, the Saudi forces and the allied Ikhwan tribesmen moved on Mecca. Sharif Hussein’s request for British assistance was denied to him on the pretext of non-intervention in religious disputes.[3] King Hussein bin Ali had meanwhile fled from Mecca to Jeddah, after the assistance request from his son, King Abdullah of Transjordan was denied as well.[3] The city of Mecca fell without struggle on October 13, 1924.[3] The Islamic Conference, held in Riyadh on the 29th October 1924, brought a wide Islamic recognition of Ibn-Saud’s jurisdiction over Mecca.

With the advancement of the Saudi forces and blockade imposed on Jeddah, the Hejazi army began to disintegrate.[3] The city of Medina surrendered on December 9, 1925,[lower-alpha 1] and Yanbu fell 12 days later.[3] Jeddah was handed to Sultan Abdulaziz of Nejd and Saudi forces on December 1925, with the Saudi forces entering its gates on January 8, 1926, after capitulation and safe passage was negotiated between King bin Ali, Sultan Abdulaziz, and the British Consul by the city's ruler Sheikh Abdullah Alireza.

Aftermath

Following the successful takeover over the Kingdom of Hejaz, Abdulaziz Ibn Saud was declared as King of Hejaz. The Kingdom was later incorporated into the Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz, with Ibn Saud being the king of both in political union.

King Hussein of Hejaz fled to Cyprus, declaring his son Ali bin Hussein as the King of Hejaz, but effectively with the fall of the Kingdom the dynasty ended up in exile. Hashemites however remained to rule the Emirate of Transjordan and the Kingdom of Iraq.

See also

• History of Saudi Arabia
• List of modern conflicts in the Middle East

Notes

1. Medina surrendered on December 9th according to Fattouh Al-Khatrash,[3] but according to the University of Indiana, it fell on December 5th.[4]

References

1. From Bullard to Mr ChamberLain. Mecca, 1924 September. (No.# secrets) - Archived Post
2. Al-Rehani: Nejd and its followers.
3. Dr. Fattouh Al-Khatrash. The Hijaz-Najd War (1924 – 1925)
4. "Chronology 1925". www.indiana.edu. Retrieved 2019-06-03.

Bibliography

• Al-Harbi, Dalal: King Abdulaziz and his Strategies to deal with events: Events of Jeddah. 2003, King Abdulaziz National Library. ISBN 9960-624-88-9.