Failing to take Jiddah, into which Ghaleh had thrown himself, the Wahabi forces went northward, and, in 1804, took Medina, where they stripped the tomb of Moham med of its accumulated treasures, and prohibited the approach to it of all but Wahabis, e as they considered the reverence paid to it by the Turks and others as idolatrous. At Medina, " the Wahabis enforced with great strictness the regular observance of prayers. The names of all the adult male inhabitants were called over in the mosque after morn ing, mid-day, and evening prayers, and those who did not obey the call were punished. A respectable woman, accused of having smoked the Persian pipe, was placed upon jackass, with the pipe suspended from her neck, round which was twisted the long flex ible tube or snake; iu this state she was paraded through the town."—Burekliardt.
During these events, Abd-ul-Aziz had been assassinated, in the end of 1803, by a fa aatical Persian, whose family had been murdered by the Wahabis at Meshed Hussein. He was succeeded by his son, Sit'ud H., who had for some time conducted the wars, and was perhaps the ablest ruler and warrior of the dynasty. For several years after the conquest of IIejaz, he continued to extend and consolidate his power. Plundering incursions were made to the very vicinity of Bagdad, Aleppo, and Damascus; while the Wahabi sheik of Asir (lying s. of Hejaz) imposed t'he new faith on a great part of Yemen. On the east, Sa'ud took the islands of Bahrein, annexed a part of the Persian coast on the e. side of the gulf, and exacted tribute from the sultan of Oman. This brought him into conflict with Great Britain, which sent (1808} a force, and severely chastised the Wahabi pirates that infested the commerce of the Persian gulf.
While these external struggles were going on, several of the southern provinces of Nejed broke out in revolt, instigated mainly, perhaps, by the local chiefs, whose power, formerly independent, was now circumscribed, or altogether taken away by the central government; but the rising was speedily suppressed, and a terrible example was made of the province of Malik and the town of Hutah, which last was completely demolished, and its inhabitants (the male inhabitants were reckoned at 10,000) butchered almost to a man.
From 1802, the Wahabis had prevented the great pilgrim caravans from reaching Mecca, both because they held the observances of the Turk and Persian hajjis to be idol atrous, and also because they were scandalized at the gross immorality and indecency which were openly practiced by these pilgrims. It may easily be conceived what horror spread through the Mohammedan world when it was told that the tomb of the prophet had been despoiled by heretics, who preVented the faithful from performing the most sacred duty of their religion. Accordingly, the sultan of Constantinople, the acknowl
edged protector of Mohammedanism, as early as 1804, imposed on Mehemet Ali, the newly appointed pasha of Egypt, the task of recovering the holy cities. With the dila toriness, however, characteristic of the east, nothing was done till 1811, when an expe dition was sent against them, under the command of the pasha's son, Ttistin-bey. Medina was taken by the Egyptian forces in 1812, and Mecca in the following year; and a pro tracted and desultory warfare, with varying success, was kept up with the Wahabis in Hejaz and around its confines. At last, in 1815, Ibrahim pasha (q.v.) undertook to penetrate into central Arabia and crush the hornets in their nests. The enterprise was facilitated by the death of Sa'ud in 1814. He was succeeded by his son Abdallah, who, though an able warrior, was less adroit in securing unity of action among the numerous tribes under his sway. It was not, however, till 1818, and after repeated conflicts, that Ibrahim succeeded in decisively breaking the Wahabi force, and capturing their capital, Deraijeli, which was laid in ruins. Abdallah-lbn-Sa'ud was sent to Constantinople, where he and some of his ministers were beheaded (1818). Ibrahim continued some months in Arabia, consolidating his conquests throughout Nejed and the adjoining pro vinces. His policy was one of gentleness and conciliation toward the chiefs and com mon people, and of stern repression toward the fanatical religious teachers; and except among these, his name is said to be yet popular throughout central Arabia. But the folly and tyranny of the vice-governors whom he left, soon caused a general insurrection; the Egyptians had to retire to Kasim; and Turki, a son of Abdallah, was proclaimed sultan of Nejed, Riad being now chosen as the capital. Renewed expeditions were undertaken by the Egyptian commanders, driving, first, Turki from his capital for a time, and then his son and successor, Feysul ; instead of whom, a chieftain favorable to Egyptian rule was appointed. But soon after the death of Mehemet Ali (1849), the Egyptians gave up the struggle; Feysul was recalled from exile; and under him and his ion and vicegerent, Abdallah II., the Wahabi sway had become more powerful and extensive than ever. In 1870 Feysul was assassinated, and the dissensions between his two sons Abdallah and Sa'ud led to a civil war. This gave occasion to the Ottoman esoverninent to send a military force into the Persian gulf, which occupied Hofhuf, the isi.pital of Hasa, but was unable to penetrate further into Nejed.