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How the First Saudi State Posed Real Threat to the Ottomans, Persian Influence

Photo of British and Ottoman documents uncovered by Dr. Jawaher Al Saudi exclusively for Asharq Al-Awsat.
Photo of British and Ottoman documents uncovered by Dr. Jawaher Al Saudi exclusively for Asharq Al-Awsat.
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How the First Saudi State Posed Real Threat to the Ottomans, Persian Influence

Photo of British and Ottoman documents uncovered by Dr. Jawaher Al Saudi exclusively for Asharq Al-Awsat.
Photo of British and Ottoman documents uncovered by Dr. Jawaher Al Saudi exclusively for Asharq Al-Awsat.

Thousands of foreign documents, uncovered by a Saudi researcher specialized in Saudi history, revealed important aspects that characterized the first central state in the Arabian Peninsula, which was founded by Imam Muhammad bin Saud.

With King Salman’s announcement that February 22 will be known as Founding Day, commemorating Saudi heritage and history, Dr. Princess Jawaher bint Abdul Mohsen bin Abdullah bin Jalawi Al Saud unveiled, in an exclusive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, information and documents of great historic value, which detailed the rich experience of Saudi princes who ruled over the region 300 years ago, and their ambitious plans to establish an empire.

According to the foreign documents revealed by the princess, Imam Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the first Saudi state and the first Saudi king, acknowledged the importance of imposing a system that would rely on the management of a ruler, who would be capable of making decisive decisions that would provide security and stability for the region.

This is in fact the first requirement on which states and governments are built, and which would only be achieved by unifying the Peninsula’s inhabitants, who were forced by the arid conditions to depend on the natural economy with the absence of a central authority.

The Arabian Peninsula was rife with tribal conflicts and competition between small rival emirates, the researcher told Asharq Al-Awsat, adding that as a result of the changes that had occurred in the region, Imam Muhammad bin Saud had accelerated his efforts to put an end to the feuds and unify the lands.

“Thus, he succeeded in establishing the first nucleus of a young Arab Islamic power that emerged from the heart of the Arabian Peninsula,” Princess Jawaher said.

British archive documents confirmed that Imam Muhammad bin Saud ruled for many years, and after his death in 1179 AH (1765 AD), he left to his sons a stable kingdom, which enjoyed a great reputation and was respected throughout the region.

Imam Abdulaziz bin Muhammad took over the reins of power after the death of his father. He strived to maintain Imam Muhammad’s legacy and sought to change the balance of power in the Arabian Peninsula, posing a real danger to the Ottoman Empire.

He contributed to the expansion of the state under the leadership of his eldest son, Prince Saud. British records confirmed the success of Imam Abdulaziz in tightening his grip on the Arabian Peninsula. During his reign, the region enjoyed stability and security.

In this context, Dr. Jawaher Al Saud quoted Ottoman records, which said that the imam was known for his firmness, strength and determination. The records also mentioned the influx of warnings to the Sublime Porte about his increasing activity, which made the Ottoman Empire stress the need to take urgent and strong measures to curb his power.

For this reason, orders were sent to the governor of Baghdad to take the necessary action and coordinate with other governors and tribes of Kurdistan and Iraq in order to eliminate the danger, at a time when campaigns led by Imam Saud extended to the Levant and Iraq to the borders of Basra.

The British consul in Baghdad, in a report sent to the British ambassador in Istanbul on July 29, 1803, recommended Britain’s support for the Ottoman forces, as he noted that no campaign against Diriyah would succeed in the face of an army of 100,000 fighters carrying swords and willing to die for the sake of their cause…

Moreover, the British consul pointed out in his letter that if the Ottoman Empire insisted on launching this campaign against the Saudis, this would not only lead to the failure of the campaign and the Ottomans to lose their influence over the Arabian Peninsula… but would most likely lead to the overthrow of the current sultan and the defeat of the Ottoman rule.

The researcher stressed that the Ottoman records confirmed that after the multiple defeats of the governor of Baghdad, the rulers of the Ottoman Empire no longer aspired to eliminate the Saudi state, but sought to push away its danger without disregarding the upcoming Saudi tide.

Dr. Jawaher Al Saud considered that the emergence of Saudi influence over Makkah Al-Mukarramah has resulted in frequent messages between the Ottoman Sultan and his men of state and the governors of the regions to control the ambitions of Imam Abdulaziz.

She added that the governor of Baghdad, Ali Pasha, was aware of the plot to get rid of Imam Abdulaziz and his son Saud. When it was not possible to reach Prince Saud, Imam Abdulaziz was stabbed to death when he was performing the afternoon prayers in 1218 AH - 1803 AD.

The historian explained that the third imam in the first Saudi state, Imam Saud bin Abdulaziz bin Muhammad bin Saud, succeeded in extending his influence in the Arabian Gulf and Oman, which raised British fears of his increasing activity in those areas.

During his reign, the Saudi state reached the peak of its power, and emerged as an Arab supremacy that represented the greatest challenge to the Ottoman presence.

British reports have confirmed that Imam Saud’s ambition was not limited to annexing the countries of the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant and Iraq, but to extending his influence outside the Arabian Peninsula towards India.

According to Ottoman records, the Persian Shah has urged the Ottoman Empire to work to eliminate the Saudi tide that had reached the areas of Persian influence in the region, which prompted the Ottomans to send an official envoy with the aim of reassuring the Shah and emphasizing the endeavor to meet his demands.

The researcher concluded by saying that the Ottoman Empire acknowledged the Saudi-Arab danger, and as a result of its failure to limit its growing influence after losing the Two Holy Mosques and its inability to protect Baghdad and the Levant, the Ottoman Sultan issued orders to his successors in Egypt, the Levant and Iraq to move again in an attempt to eliminate the first Saudi state.

Tusun Pasha crossed the sea towards the Arabian Peninsula in 1226 AH - 1811 AD, and his father, Muhammad Ali Pasha, joined him in 1228 AH - 1813 AD. Imam Saud passed away in 1229 AH - 1814 AD in a critical period in the history of the first Saudi state, where the Ottoman forces were besieging Turbah after the surrender of Makkah and Madinah by the collaborators with the Ottoman forces.

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Features

NATO Tests War Preparedness on Eastern Flank Facing Russia

France's Army personnel from the combat engineering corps maneuver a motorized floating bridge (PFM) across the Mures River during the "Dacian Fall" military exercise in Santimbru on November 3, 2025. (AFP)
France's Army personnel from the combat engineering corps maneuver a motorized floating bridge (PFM) across the Mures River during the "Dacian Fall" military exercise in Santimbru on November 3, 2025. (AFP)
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NATO Tests War Preparedness on Eastern Flank Facing Russia

France's Army personnel from the combat engineering corps maneuver a motorized floating bridge (PFM) across the Mures River during the "Dacian Fall" military exercise in Santimbru on November 3, 2025. (AFP)
France's Army personnel from the combat engineering corps maneuver a motorized floating bridge (PFM) across the Mures River during the "Dacian Fall" military exercise in Santimbru on November 3, 2025. (AFP)

On the Mures river in central Romania, French armored vehicles and Romanian trucks board a motorized floating bridge, part of a large military exercise to showcase NATO's ability to rapidly increase force levels on its eastern flank facing Russia.

The drill -- planned for months and seen as an "integration exercise" for NATO members -- comes after Washington last week said it would pull some troops out from the area.

Romania, which shares some 650 kilometers (400 miles) of border with Ukraine, has gained in strategic importance since Russia invaded its neighbor in 2022.

In the Dacian Fall exercise from October 20 to November 13, French-led troops from Belgium, France, Luxembourg and Spain are engaged in maneuvers and live-fire artillery and tank drills, together with Romanian soldiers.

Since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Paris has deployed nearly 1,500 soldiers in Romania and doubled them for the exercise. In case of a crisis, this can be increased to 5,000 troops.

"We must demonstrate our ability to integrate into a NATO division," said French General Maxime Do Tran, commander of the 7th Armored Brigade deployed for Dacian Fall.

The exercise, conducted across Romania, follows "NATO's real defense plans" and serves to signal the alliance's "strategic solidarity", he added.

While French army engineers skillfully dock the massive motorized barge on the banks of the Mures during one exercise, 200 meters (220 yards) away, Romanian engineers speedily put up a pontoon.

The French and Romanian teams will then switch roles.

"In Europe, there's a watercourse every 20 to 30 kilometers; crossing is a complex skill that had somewhat been lost," said Colonel Jerome Paris, head of the French engineering detachment.

About 60 kilometers to the north, amid sun-scorched grassy hills, Romanian General Dorin Toma, who commands NATO troops in Romania and Bulgaria, observes French engineers destroying obstacles identified by small quadcopter drones.

"It's an integration exercise," he said, adding that at the end of a two-year cycle to integrate forces "we're in a very good position".

The challenge is to maintain the level as "people are changing, weapons systems are changing".

"We need to keep the pace," he said.

On Washington's announcement that it would pull some troops out from NATO's eastern flank, General Toma said that from "a military standpoint, it changes nothing" given how the United States showed in 2022 that they were ready to deploy significant resources to the country at short notice.

Washington has denied its announcement amounted to a US withdrawal from Europe.

Romania's defense ministry said last week that 900-1,000 US soldiers would remain, down from the about 1,700 currently deployed.

Transporting equipment to Romania was a complex logistical operation that faced administrative hurdles.

For each country crossed, every license plate must be specified in documentation along with the names of personnel in the convoy, which has to be escorted by local police.

The French military prohibits, with some exceptions, the publication of surnames of its staff.

"Mobility corridors" with clearly identified routes and streamlined administrative procedures are a solution.

The Netherlands, Germany, and Poland are setting up one from North Sea ports to the Belarusian border.

"Harmonization is underway, but it takes time," Lieutenant Colonel Alexis said.

Features

Gaza’s Psychological Trauma Brings Large Numbers to Seek Help

Palestinian children watch a cartoon movie during an activity held by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, aimed at easing the psychological stress caused by the war, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 28, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinian children watch a cartoon movie during an activity held by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, aimed at easing the psychological stress caused by the war, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 28, 2025. (Reuters)
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Gaza’s Psychological Trauma Brings Large Numbers to Seek Help

Palestinian children watch a cartoon movie during an activity held by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, aimed at easing the psychological stress caused by the war, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 28, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinian children watch a cartoon movie during an activity held by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, aimed at easing the psychological stress caused by the war, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 28, 2025. (Reuters)

Gaza residents are suffering "a volcano" of psychological trauma from Israel's devastating military campaign that has become clear since last month's truce, according to Palestinian mental health specialists.

Two years of intense Israeli bombardment and repeated military incursions that local health authorities say have killed more than 68,000 people, along with widespread homelessness and hunger, have affected all of Gaza's 2.3 million inhabitants.

The crisis is evident in the large numbers now seeking treatment from the Gaza City Mental Health Hospital team, now working out of a nearby clinic because their building is damaged, said its head Abdallah al-Jamal.

"With the start of the truce, it was like a volcano erupting in patients seeking mental health services. Even the stigma that used to be present before, the fear of visiting a psychologist, does not exist anymore," he said, describing "a very large increase" in numbers from before the conflict.

Jamal and a colleague are working as best they can, but with the hospital having suffered significant damage their resources are limited and they have to share a room, depriving their patients of consultations in privacy.

"That is honestly insulting in the way services are provided, but we are trying as much as possible to find alternatives," he said of the more than 100 patients they see there every day.

Among children, there are widespread reports of night terrors, bed-wetting and other symptoms including an inability to focus, say mental health specialists for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.

"Gazan children are now suffering from shortages of food, water, shelter, and clothing," said Nivine Abdelhadi, a specialist from the organization, which is offering activities for children that include games and stories.

The ceasefire came into effect on October 10, although there have been repeated outbreaks of violence since then. It brought a halt to major warfare in the conflict, which was triggered by the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 that killed around 1,200 people according to Israeli tallies.

Features

A Rosy Life on Social Media Masks Gaza’s Bleak Reality

A Palestinian boy pushes a cart loaded with water containers in a displacement camp in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, on Saturday (AP Photo)
A Palestinian boy pushes a cart loaded with water containers in a displacement camp in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, on Saturday (AP Photo)
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A Rosy Life on Social Media Masks Gaza’s Bleak Reality

A Palestinian boy pushes a cart loaded with water containers in a displacement camp in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, on Saturday (AP Photo)
A Palestinian boy pushes a cart loaded with water containers in a displacement camp in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, on Saturday (AP Photo)

Anyone scrolling through social media and seeing the posts of some Gaza residents, including activists, influencers, and shop owners, might think the enclave had not endured a devastating two-year war whose effects still weigh heavily on every aspect of life and worsen by the day.

Images showing a handful of shops reopening after partial repairs, shared by influencers and users on various platforms, have been picked up by some Israeli media outlets portraying Gaza as if it had turned into a paradise.

Yet destruction remains widespread, thousands of victims are still buried under the rubble, and more than 1.5 million people continue to live in tents and shelters, exposed to winter’s cold or the current heat, while sporadic violations persist and more than 200 Palestinians have been killed in the past two weeks alone.

No Oversight or Accountability

Mariam Hamdan, 31, from Gaza City’s al-Nasr neighborhood, said that since the ceasefire took effect on October 10, she has heard about goods entering the enclave, but has seen little improvement in daily life.

Hamdan said she is often shocked by what she sees online, videos painting life in Gaza as “comfortable,” while prices remain exorbitant.

“The goods that do come in are unaffordable. Shop owners and influencers advertising products sell them at prices only someone in Europe could afford,” she told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“We had hoped prices would return close to what they were before the war, or at least to levels seen during the first truce in January,” she said. “Instead, traders are waging their own war on us by draining our pockets with sky-high prices.”

Workers Without Options

Naaman al-Shanti, 53, an employee of the Palestinian Authority, said he has been unable to buy frozen chicken or meat for his family of nine since the ceasefire began. “We were all longing for it, but the prices are beyond reach,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

In fact, most Gazans cannot afford frozen goods even though some have reappeared in markets. A kilogram of frozen meat now costs at least 75 shekels (over $23) and sometimes as much as 120 shekels (over $36), compared with just 6 to 8 shekels ($1 to $2) before the war.

“We don’t know what to do anymore,” al-Shanti said angrily. “Life is unbearable. Then you see people posting videos as if we’re living in heaven, not in devastated, miserable Gaza, where most public employees can’t even feed their children.”

Hamas Under Fire

While Hamas-run authorities have largely remained silent, their teams have been seen in markets attempting to keep order. Activists, however, accuse the group of failing to take serious action to address the enclave’s worsening economic hardship, with some blaming it for corruption and a lack of effective governance.

In recent days, reports have emerged of aid theft, including flour, tents, and tarps, from shipments entering Gaza through the Philadelphi corridor along the coastal Rashid Street.

A prominent Gaza activist, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, told Asharq Al-Awsat: “During the war, the occupation and its collaborators exploited people by stealing aid and selling it on the black market.

Now that the war is over, we still see no serious effort to stop the exploitation of citizens’ daily needs. Goods like poultry and cooking gas are entering, but fairness in pricing and distribution is absent.”

He added: “People believed that once the fighting stopped, Hamas’s government would restore order, control prices, and curb exploitation. But the outcome is a big zero, as if we’re still at war.”

Hamas has often said its civil servants are targeted by Israel and face constant threats of assassination, a claim long echoed by field sources. But many residents and activists now dismiss that justification.

In a WhatsApp group of local journalists, one correspondent for a Palestinian TV channel wrote: “If those governing Gaza blamed the bombing and war for their failures, where are they now when it comes to easing citizens’ suffering and protecting them from this cruel exploitation? People who endured and sacrificed for a decision not of their own making are now being rewarded with greed and corruption.”

Another journalist added: “Everyone blames the Economy Ministry. What economy are they talking about, one that collects taxes but ignores citizens’ pain? The least that can be said about this behavior is that it betrays people’s sacrifices and resilience.”

Accusations of Taxing Traders

Accusations are also mounting that Hamas has resumed taxing traders.

Merchant Jamal Abd Rabbo told Asharq Al-Awsat that he buys frozen goods from major suppliers at steep prices and has to sell them slightly higher to make a small profit. He said top wholesalers told him the Hamas-run Economy Ministry imposes taxes on them, forcing prices up.

He added that high demand for poultry from restaurants and shawarma shops has further driven up prices.

The Hamas government has not publicly responded to the accusations.

However, government sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that authorities are preparing measures to curb the crisis, including shutting down restaurants and shawarma stands from Sunday to reserve frozen goods for households and deploying security forces to protect aid convoys along their routes.

Meanwhile, the Hamas-run Petroleum Authority has been accused of mishandling gas distribution, with activists claiming some supplies were diverted to restaurants.

A source familiar with the matter told Asharq Al-Awsat that certain station owners received extra allocations as compensation for transport costs, which they then sold on the black market.

Commenting on the situation, Gaza resident Rami Shahadeh said: “We thought the war ended to bring relief. Instead, it seems it ended so Hamas could resume collecting taxes. We lived an illusion, thinking things would get better, but our endurance has only made us hostages to those exploiting us.”