Occupation Renewed and Withdrawn

Abstract

Khurshid Pasha’s reign as Muhammad ‘Ali’s proconsul in Nejd was destined to last only a year and a half, but the major reason for the Egyptian withdrawal was not Nejdi resistance to alien rule. Rather, as has so often happened in Middle Eastern history, the major decisions were now made in European chancelleries and especially in Whitehall. In particular, Muhammad ‘Ali’s Syrian and Arabian successes, with their implications for the faltering Ottoman Empire and for the British position in the Persian Gulf, had thoroughly alarmed Lord Palmerston. The decisive Egyptian victory over the Ottoman army at Nizib in June 1839 was the last straw. The Towers’ intervened and, despite France’s support of Muhammad ‘Ali, forced him to abandon his empire. These moves in the larger worlds of European diplomacy and the Eastern Question had their inevitable result in Wahhabi Arabia. The Egyptians withdrew from Arabia, and Khalid ibn Saud, despite a nominal appointment by the Sublime Porte, was left on his own. But Khalid needed more than nominal support. Without outside troops he soon gave way to another Saudi prince, ‘Abd Allah ibn Thunaiyan. Ibn Thunaiyan’s days were also few because early in 1843 the Imam Faisal managed to effect his release from Egypt. War-torn Nejd sensed stability in Faisaľs return, and he soon unseated ibn Thunaiyan.