Ha'il

In 1335 AH Saud Al-Saleh Al-Sibhan, who had fought at Jarrab, was exposed as wanting the emirate of Ha’il for himself. He fled to Iraq, where he was in contact with Britain.

The young ruler, Saud ibn Rashid, had grown up, though he still had regents. He was killed by his cousin Abdullah Al-Talal, who was himself killed the same day, and Abdullah Al-Mutib was made ruler.

From 1338 to 1340 AH Abdulaziz turned his attention to Ha’il, through raids, campaigns and negotiation. Some of the Hijar belonged to Ha’il’s tribes, and settling them had shifted their loyalty toward him. In this view he was not conquering new land but recovering his own, since these regions had belonged to the First Saudi State.

Ha’il’s leadership was torn by internal strife. Abdullah Al-Mutib fled and took refuge with Abdulaziz. Then, in 1340 AH, Mohammed ibn Talal handed Ha’il over to Abdulaziz, and the emirate of Al-Rashid came to an end.

There was no decisive battle like Jarrab or Al-Tarfiyah; Ha’il was a power already collapsing. Abdulaziz had a gift for turning adversaries into allies. When Ha’il’s ruler sent word that he would surrender, he asked for safety and to remain ruler of Ha’il. Abdulaziz granted him safety, but refused to leave him in charge, and appointed one of the people of Ha’il instead. It ended a crisis that had begun in 1309 AH.