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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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Borderless Europe Fights Brain Drain as Talent Heads North

Eszter Czovek, 45, packs up her house as she moves to Austria, in Budapest, Hungary, October 28, 2024. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo
Eszter Czovek, 45, packs up her house as she moves to Austria, in Budapest, Hungary, October 28, 2024. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo
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Borderless Europe Fights Brain Drain as Talent Heads North

Eszter Czovek, 45, packs up her house as she moves to Austria, in Budapest, Hungary, October 28, 2024. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo
Eszter Czovek, 45, packs up her house as she moves to Austria, in Budapest, Hungary, October 28, 2024. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo

Until recently aerospace engineer Pedro Monteiro figured he'd join many of his peers moving from Portugal to its richer European neighbors in the quest for a better-paid job once he completes his master's degree in Lisbon.
But tax breaks proposed by Portugal's government for young workers - up to a temporary 100% income tax exemption in some cases - plus help with housing are making him think twice.
"Previous governments left young people behind," said Monteiro, 23, who is studying engineering and industrial management at the Higher Technical Institute in the Portuguese capital. "The country needs us and we want to stay but we need to see signs from the government that they are implementing policies that will help."
Monteiro cites in particular the cost of buying or renting a home amid a housing crisis aggravated by the arrival of wealthy foreigners lured by easy residency rights and tax breaks, Reuters said.
He is doubtful the government's new measures will be enough.
"Some of my friends are now working abroad and earn substantially more money... and have better career development opportunities," he said. "I'm a little bit skeptical concerning my job opportunities here in Portugal."
Portugal is the latest country in Europe to seek to tackle a brain drain holding back its economy. Tax breaks for young workers in the budget currently going through parliament will take effect next year and could benefit as many as 400,000 young people at an annual cost of 525 million euros.
Talent flight to wealthier countries of the north is a problem Portugal shares with several others in southern and central Europe, as workers take advantage of freedom of movement rules within the trade bloc. Countries including Italy have tried other schemes to counter the flight, with mixed results.
By exacerbating regional labor shortages and depriving poorer countries of tax revenues, it is yet another hurdle for the EU as it tries to improve its ebbing economic growth while addressing population decline and lagging labor productivity.
Donald Trump's victory in US elections this month raises the stakes, with the risk of across-the-board trade tariffs on European exports of at least 10% - a move that economists say could turn Europe's anaemic growth into outright recession.
About 2.3 million people born in Portugal, or 23% of its population, currently live abroad, according to Portugal's Emigration Observatory. That includes 850,000 Portuguese nationals aged 15-39, or about 30% of young Portuguese and 12.6% of its working-age population.
More concerning still is that about 40% of 50,000 people who graduate from universities or technical colleges emigrate each year, according to a study by Business Roundtable Portugal and Deloitte based on official statistics, costing Portugal billions of euros in lost income tax revenue and social security contributions.
DEMOGRAPHIC HELL
"This is not a country for young people," said Pedro Ginjeira do Nascimento, executive director of Business Roundtable Portugal, which represents 43 of the largest companies in the nation of 10 million people. "Portugal is experiencing a true demographic hell because the country is unable to create conditions to retain and attract young talent."
Internal migration within the EU is partly driven by the disparity in wages between its member states. Some economic migrants also say they are looking for better benefits such as pensions and healthcare and less rigid, hierarchichal structures that give more responsibility to those in junior roles.
Concerns are mounting over the long-term viability of Europe's economic model with its rapidly ageing population and failure to win substantial shares of high-growth markets of the future, from tech to renewable energy.
Presenting a raft of reform proposals aimed at boosting local innovation and investment, former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said in September the region faced a "slow agony" of decline if it did not compete more effectively.
Eszter Czovek, 45, and her husband are moving from Hungary to Austria, where workers earn an average 40.9 euros ($29.95) per hour compared to 12.8 euros per hour in Hungary, the largest wage gap between neighboring countries in the EU.
The number of Hungarians living in Austria increased to 107,264 by the beginning of 2024 from just 14,151 when Hungary joined the EU.
Czovek's husband, who works in construction, was offered a job in Austria, while she has worked in media and accounting at various multinationals. She cited better pay, pensions, work conditions and healthcare as motives for moving. She also mentioned her concern over the political situation in Hungary, which she fears might join Britain in leaving the EU.
"There was a change of regime here in 1989 and 30 years later we are still waiting for the miracle that will see us catch up with Austria," Czovek said of the revolution over three decades ago that ended communist rule in Hungary.
Since Brexit, the Netherlands has replaced Britain as a preferred destination for Portuguese talent while Germany and Scandinavian countries are also popular.
Many Europeans still head to the United States in search of better jobs - about 4.7 million were living there in 2022, according to the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute, which nonetheless notes a long-term decline since the 1960s.
In 2023, 4,892 Portuguese emigrated to the Netherlands, surpassing Britain for the first time, which in 2019 received 24,500 Portuguese.
At home, they face the eighth-highest tax burden in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) even as house prices rose 186% and rents by 94% since 2015, according to property specialists Confidencial Imobiliario.
A single person in Portugal without children earned an average of 16,943 euros after tax in 2023 compared to 45,429 euros in the Netherlands, according to Eurostat.
Portugal will offer under 35s earning up to 28,000 euros a year a 100% tax exemption during their first year of work, gradually reducing the benefit to a 25% deduction between the eighth and tenth years.
Young people would also be exempted from transaction taxes and stamp duty when buying their first home as well as access to loans guaranteed by the state and rent subsidies.
"We are designing a solid package that tries to solve the main reasons why the young leave," Cabinet Minister Antonio Leitao Amaro said in an interview with Reuters.
'THINGS WON'T CHANGE'
Leitao Amaro said he did not know for sure if the tax breaks would work but that his government, which came into office in April, had to try something new.
"If we don't act ambitiously, things won't change and Portugal will continue down this path," he said.
The Italian government has already found that tax breaks used as incentives are costly and open to fraud.
In January, Italy abruptly curtailed its own scheme that was costing 1.3 billion euros in lost tax revenue, even as it lured tech workers such as Alessandra Mariani back home.
Before 2024, returners were offered a 70% tax break for five years, extendable for another five years in certain circumstances. Now, it plans to offer a slimmed-down scheme targeting specific skills after it attracted only 1,200 teachers or researchers - areas where Italy has a particular shortage.
Mariani said the incentives were key to persuading her to return to Milan in 2021 by allowing her to maintain the same standard of living she enjoyed in London.
"Had the opportunity been the same without the scheme, I would not have done it at all," said Mariani, now working at the Italian arm of the same large tech company.
With her tax breaks poised to be phased out by 2026 unless she buys a house or has a child, Mariani faces a drop in salary and she said she's once again eyeing the exit door.