Chapter 13
The Hijaz and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
1343 AH – 1932 AD
With Asir, Ha’il and Al-Ahsa joined, only the Hijaz remained. Taif was the key to it: whoever took Taif would take the Hijaz, which is why the Sharif had tried so hard to stop Abdulaziz at Turabah in 1337 AH.
Taif
In 1343 AH a campaign led by the Ikhwan entered Taif by way of Al-Hawiyah and took it, and the Sharif’s power collapsed. His sons were spread out, Abdullah in eastern Jordan and Faisal in Syria and then Iraq, leaving only Ali at his side.
The Hijazi National Party, formed at this time, wanted a constitution on the Ottoman model. With the Ottoman state gone, its members saw the Hijaz as “the Kingdom of Al-Hussein”, which one historian calls “the kingdom that never was”. Gathering in Jeddah with Ali ibn Hussein, they pressed Hussein to abdicate in favour of his son Ali. Under pressure, he agreed and left through Aqaba to join his son Abdullah.
Makkah, Jeddah and Medina
Ali did not dare go to Makkah, whose people were loyal to Abdulaziz. Instead, the people of Makkah sent a delegation to Abdulaziz in Taif, inviting him to enter the city in ihram, the dress of the pilgrim. In 1343 AH he entered Makkah in ihram, without bloodshed.
Only Jeddah remained, held by Ali ibn Hussein. Abdulaziz besieged it but wanted to avoid fighting and bloodshed, and in the end Ali agreed to leave with his people. The Hijaz was joined.
In 1344 AH Abdulaziz sent a campaign to Medina, already besieged by Prince Mohammed ibn Abdulaziz. It too joined peacefully, and with it its dependencies as far as Aqaba.
Jazan
When Asir was joined in 1338 AH, Mohammed ibn Ali Al-Idrisi of Jazan signed a protection agreement with Abdulaziz. Under his successors the Imam of Yemen attacked, and Hasan Al-Idrisi invoked the agreement. With this, the country was complete.
A name for the country
The state’s name changed as it grew. It was the Sultanate of Najd and its Dependencies. Abdulaziz then became King of the Hijaz and Sultan of Najd and its Dependencies, and later King of the Hijaz and Najd and their Dependencies. Finally, in 1932 AD, it became the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, an event Saudis celebrate every year on National Day, 23 September.