Ail al-Kahiay Campaign (1798)

Ali al-Kahiya campaign (1798)
Date 1798–1799 Location Al-Ahsa-Eastern Arabia Result peace treaty
Belligerents
Emirate of Diriyah	Ottoman Empire Mamluk dynasty (Iraq) Sheikhdom of Kuwait Emirate of Muntafiq
Commanders and leaders
Imam Adulaziz Saud I Ibrahim bin Afaisan	Sulayman the Great Al-Damad Ali Al-Katkhuda Abdullah I Al-Sabah Hamoud bin Thamer Al-Saadoun Faris bin Muhammad Al-Jarba Ibrahim Al-Thaqib
Strength
100	12,000–15,000 4,000–5,000 Turks 8,000–10,000 Arabs
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Heavy

The campaign of Ali Al-Kahiya or the campaign of Ali Al-Kikhia was a campaign that took place in the year 1213 AH/1798 AD and was led by Ali Al-Kakhiya or Al-Kahiya to invade Al-Ahsa in the year 1798 AD in preparation for the march towards Diriyah. This campaign came in the wake of the collapse of the Thuwaini bin Abdullah Al-Saadoun campaign to stop the Wahhabi attacks against the cities. And in the valley of southern Mamluk Iraq, especially the pastures of Emirate of Muntafiq, after the assassination of Sheikh Thuwaini. In the year 1798 AD, Mamluk ruler Sulayman the Great prepared a large campaign of men and weapons and supplemented it with units from the Shammar tribes led by Sheikh Faris bin Muhammad al-Jarba and Ali al-Kahiya. However, the campaign failed in its mission after peace was established between the two parties.

The Start of The campaign (1798)

After the Wahhabis were emboldened to such an extent that they posed a real threat to the Ottoman Sultanate, the Sublime Porte asked ruler Sulayman the Great to eliminate the Wahhabi threat. The ruler assigned this task to Sheikh Thuwaini Al-Saadoun after he returned the sheikhdom of Al-Muntafiq to him in the year 1796 AD. Thuwaini took advantage of that opportunity and announced a general mobilization. The Arabs of Al-Muntafiq and the people of Az Zubayr and Basra gathered around him, and then the ruler provided him with an army that he met in Al-Jahra. Thuwaini headed his campaign south towards Al-Ahsa. However, Al-Saadoun's campaign was not able to achieve its goal, because he was assassinated by one of Bani Khalid’s slaves in a window near the sea on Wednesday, June 28, 1797 AD / Muharram 4, 1212 AH. The ranks of the Iraqi campaign became turbulent, and their turmoil increased after the withdrawal of Barak Al-Sardah from Bani Khalid. He joined Ibn Mishari's army, and the Iraqi army collapsed and was forced to retreat. The Al Saud forces chased it and seized much of its equipment, cannons, ammunition, and a lot of spoils

The impact of the killing of Sheikh Thuwaini Al-Saadoun was significant in Baghdad and the Sublime Porte. In Baghdad, his assassination caused panic and anxiety because the state relied on his skills in repelling the Wahhabi advance towards Iraq. Nasser bin Abdullah, Thuwaini’s brother, tried to reconcile the defeat of the army, as he wanted to return the ball to the Wahhabis, but ruler Sulayman the Great abandoned that idea and returned the sheikhdom of Al-Muntafiq to Hamoud Al-Thamer after he realized the enormity of what had happened. In Najd, the absence of Thuwaini was a great opportunity because he posed a threat to them, and the disintegration of his army gave a boost to morale. The Wahhabis attacked the outskirts of Al-Muntafiq in Ramadan 1212 AH/1797 AD and went to the village of Umm Al-Abbas, which is close to the Shuyoukh market, and plundered it. Hamoud Al-Thamer pursued them, but they escaped and returned to their homes. Which prompted the ruler to prepare another campaign in 1798 AD, led by his daughter’s husband, “Ali al-Kahiya,” to invade Al-Ahsa in preparation for the march towards Diriyah.

The campaign (1798)

On Rabi’ al-Akhir 22, 1213 AH/October 2, 1798 AD, Sulayman the Great prepared a third major campaign and handed over its leadership to his deputy, Ali al-Kahiya. The campaign consisted of Eighteen thousand with four thousand to five thousand Camels supported by an artillery column that was not very efficient, then an untrained force was added to it, an untrained force equivalent to twice the trained force from the Aqeel and Ubaid tribes and from the Shammar tribe led by Fares al-Jarba, and al-Muntafiq, led by Hamoud bin Thamer al-Saadoun. They were joined by the tribes of Al-Baij, Al-Zaqarit, Al-Qash’am, the people of Al-Zubayr, their prince Ibrahim Al-Thaqib, and groups from Al-Dhafeer. Al-Kahiya Muhammad Bey, the leader of the Ubaid tribe, was accompanied by an advisor on desert affairs, and those armies arrived in Basra on January 2, 1799, AD, then Al-Zubair, Al-Rawdhatain, and Al-Jahra, and the expedition rented boats from the Sheikh of Kuwait, Abdullah Al-Sabah, to transport heavy equipment to Al-Uqair. Ten thousand camels carried water and other necessities, but their number was rapidly decreasing. The hardships of walking required many stops for many days. Given Ali Al-Kahiya's ignorance of military affairs and his poor treatment of the tribal leaders on whom he had to depend, many predicted the campaign's failure and collapse even before it took action.

The target of the campaign was Diriyah, the Wahhabi capital, and from Basra the al-Kahiya used the long, safer route to Al-Ahsa. His forces were able to occupy all the Wahhabi positions with the exception of the two garrison of Qasr Sahoud in Mubarraz and Kut Al-Hofuf, and it was said that Qatif Castle held out for two months from 7 Ramadan - 7 Dhul-Qi'dah 1213 AH / 11 February – 11 April 1799 AD. The garrison of the fort of Mubarraz was headed by Suleiman bin Muhammad bin Majid, the commander of Qatif Castle was Ibrahim bin Ufaisan, during which Ali al-Kahiya was ordered to besiege Al-Mirz Fort, but he failed to seize it despite the cracks he caused in the walls of the fort, because the artillery that the Pasha brought was suitable for striking defense centers built of Al-Rahas - clay -, every day spent in the army requires double hardship and hardship. Then there was the loss of camels that warned the army of the possibility of losing them all. The campaign's supplies and strength began to run out before it achieved its goal. Because of boredom and thirst, the army began to weaken, and it failed to achieve its basic mission, which was to prevent Al Saud's attacks on southern Iraq. The camels became emaciated and a large number of them died, so the commander was forced to destroy much of his weapons or bury them in the dirt because he was unable to transport them. Supplies and ammunition decreased, so the soldiers asked their superiors to return, especially after news came that Ibn Saud had blocked the road to them from the north of Hufuf, and was throwing salt on the wells there to prevent them from using them. He yielded to the advice of his assistants, the most famous of whom was Muhammad Bey, who suspected that he was corresponding with the Saudis. He lifted the siege on them and tried to return to Basra, but because of the strong winds, the campaign retreated to the ground.

During his return, Al Saud forces advanced from Diriyah to Al-Ahsa, led by Prince Saud bin Abdulaziz As soon as he learned of the withdrawal of Ali al-Kahiya's forces, he decided to pursue them. He preceded it and landed on the water of “Thaj” after he took control of northern Al-Ahsa with his forces, thus cutting off the al-Kahiya's return to Basra. Ali al-Kahiya had camped in a place called “Al-Shabak”, and then headed towards Thaj. Skirmishes took place between the two sides, which were to no avail, and neither side was victorious. Had it not been for the artillery and the tribes with the al-Kahiya (Al-Muntafiq, Shammar, Al-Ubaid, Qash’am, and others), Prince Saud would have defeated the campaign, so messengers began between them to begin the Peace

The End of The campaign (1799)

Ali al-Kahiya's demands during the negotiations that took place in the period from Dhul-Hijjah 1213 AH/May 1799 were: evacuating Al-Ahsa, treating the Iraqi pilgrims with kindness, returning the cannons seized by the Wahhabis, and then paying a fine. These demands were unrealistic, especially since they came in a time of failure and decline of the campaign. Therefore, Saud, the master of desert diplomacy and secretly connected to the Iraqi army clans, did not respond to the demands, as he referred them to his father. He only responded to the demand to evacuate Al-Ahsa, saying that it was a village outside the rule of the Turks and not worth the effort. In the end, Ali al-Kahiya agreed - through some senior tribal leaders - to conclude a six-year non-aggression pact with the Wahhabis. he was able to take his army and return eight months after the start of the campaign with some face. He also took a representative of the House of Saud with him to Baghdad to receive from the ruler of Baghdad ratification of the concluded agreement. The only success in that campaign was a raid by Sheikh Hamoud bin Thamer Al-Saadoun against the Subay tribes in Najd, from which he captured many sheep and camels, which helped the large army. However, Al-Saadoun rejected that peace treaty, which he found closer to a truce than to a treaty of peace and peace.

As for Prince Saud bin Abdul Aziz, after the departure of the army, he quickly entered Al-Ahsa and ordered the beheadings of everyone who cooperated with the forces and confiscated their money. He then followed this up by attacking Qatif\, adjacent to Al-Ahsa, and captured it after a bloody raid.

References

Winkirk, Stephen Hemsley (2004). Four Centuries of Modern Iraqi History (5th ed.). Beirut: Dar Al-Rafidain.

Al-Saadoun, Hamid Hamad (1999). The Emirate of Al-Muntafiq and its impact on the history of Iraq and the regional region 1546–1918. Amman, Jordan: Wael Publishing House.

Ibrahim, Abdul Aziz Abdul Ghani (1992). The struggle of the princes, Najd's relationship with the political forces in the Arabian Gulf 1800–1870. London: Dar Al-Saqi.

Al-Azzawi, Abbas (2004). Encyclopedia of the history of Iraq between two occupations. Baghdad: Arab House of Encyclopedias.

Lorimer, J. J. (1977). Gulf Guide, Historical Section. Doha Qatar: Library of the Emir of the State of Qatar.

Kirkukli. Doha Al-Wazir in the History of Baghdad Al-Zawra’ Events. Translated by: Musa Kazem Nawras. Baghdad: Al Nahda Library.