Sa'ad bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud

In this Arabic name, the surname is Al Saud.
Sa'ad bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud
A photograph of Sa'ad aged 21
Photograph by William Shakespear, 1911
Born1890
Died1915 (aged 24–25)
Al Ahsa
Issue
List
  • Prince Faisal
  • Prince Fahd
  • Prince Saud
  • Princess Sara
Names
Sa'ad bin Abdul Rahman bin Faisal
HouseAl Saud
FatherAbdul Rahman bin Faisal, Emir of Nejd
MotherSara bint Ahmed Al Sudairi

Sa'ad bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (Arabic: سعد بن عبد الرحمن آل سعود;1890–1915) was the brother of Abdulaziz, Emir of Nejd (who later founded the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). He was one of Abdulaziz's most devoted supporters and a key lieutenant in his early military campaigns.

Early life

Sa'ad was born in 1890.[1] He was the youngest son of the reigning Emir of Nejd, Abdul Rahman bin Faisal, from his marriage to Sara bint Ahmed Al Sudairi.[2][3][4] His full-siblings were Faisal, Noura, Abdulaziz and Bazza and Haya.[4] He also had a number of half-siblings from his father's other marriages,[5] including Muhammad, Abdullah, Ahmed, and Musaid, who all had roles in the Saudi government.[6]

The Al Saud family were exiled shortly after Sa'ad's birth, settling in Kuwait. After his brother Abdulaziz captured Riyadh, Sa'ad returned there.[7] Kuwaiti ruler Mubarak Al Sabah sent nearly seventy warriors to Riyadh who were led by Sa'ad.[7]

Arrest and death

In 1912 Sa'ad was sent by Emir Abdulaziz to meet Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, who came to Nifi to build a good relationship with Abdulaziz.[8] However, Sa'ad was attacked and captured in Al 'Iridh area by the Al Shiyabiyn clan, who belonged to the 'Utaybah tribe.[8][9] His companion Faraj ibn Lihif was killed in the same incident.[8] Sa'ad was brought to Sharif Hussein[8] who sent his envoy Khalid ibn Luai, Amir of Al Khurmah, to Emir Abdulaziz demanding that he should accept the sovereignty of the Ottoman government in the region as well as pay an annual sum of money to the Ottoman government for Sa'ad's release.[8] Abdulaziz accepted all these requests signing a paper, and Sa'ad was released.[8][10]

Sa'ad was killed in the battle of Kanzan against the Ajman tribe in 1915.[2][8][11] In the same battle which occurred in Al Ahsa region Emir Abdulaziz was wounded.[1][8][12] The Ajman tribe forces were led by Rakan bin Hithlain, the maternal great-grandfather of the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.[13]

Personal life

One of Sa'ad's wives, Sara bint Abdullah Al Sheikh, was the sister of Tarfa bint Abdullah, mother of King Faisal.[5][14] Another of his wives was Jawhara bint Saad Al Sudairi.[15] Following the death of Sa'ad, she married Abdulaziz, with whom she had at least four children.[15][16]

Sa'ad's sons, Faisal, Fahd, and Saud, were taken in by Abdulaziz and raised as part of his own family. They later married King Abdulaziz's daughters. Of them, Prince Faisal bin Sa'ad married the King's daughter Sara bint Abdulaziz. Sara's half-sister Al Anoud married two sons of Sa'ad bin Abdul Rahman.[3] She first married Sa'ad's eldest son, Prince Fahd. After they divorced, she married his brother Saud.[3] Fahd bin Sa'ad was a close confidant of King Faisal and was appointed governor of Asir Province on 8 June 1969, replacing Turki bin Ahmed Al Sudairi, a distant relative, in the post.[17] One of Sa'ad's daughters, Sara, was the spouse of Muhammad bin Abdulaziz.[17] Sa'ad's grandson, Bandar bin Saud, a former air force pilot, was among the victims in the Swissair Flight 111 accident on his way from New York City to Geneva on 2 September 1998.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b Khalid Abdullah Krairi (October 2016). John Philby and his political roles in the Arabian Peninsula, 1917–1953 (PhD thesis). University of Birmingham. p. 246.
  2. ^ a b "King Abdulaziz' Noble Character" (PDF). Islam House. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  3. ^ a b c Sharaf Sabri (2001). The house of Saud in commerce: A study of royal entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia. New Delhi: I.S. Publications. ISBN 81-901254-0-0.
  4. ^ a b "نورة بنت عبد الرحمن.. السيدة السعودية الأولى". Al Bayan (in Arabic). 24 May 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  5. ^ a b Alexei Vassiliev (2013). King Faisal: Personality, Faith and Times. London: Saqi. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-86356-761-2.
  6. ^ Christopher Keesee Mellon (May 2015). "Resiliency of the Saudi Monarchy: 1745–1975" (Master's Project). The American University of Beirut. Beirut. hdl:10938/10663. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  7. ^ a b Lawrence Paul Goldrup (1971). Saudi Arabia 1902 – 1932: The Development of a Wahhabi Society (PhD thesis). University of California, Los Angeles. p. 31. ProQuest 302463650.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Talal Sha'yfan Muslat Al Azma (1999). The role of the Ikhwan under 'Abdul'Aziz Al Sa'ud 1916–1934 (PhD thesis). Durham University. pp. 58–59, 65.
  9. ^ F. E. Peters (1994). Mecca. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 353. doi:10.1515/9781400887361-014. ISBN 9781400887361.
  10. ^ Nadav Safran (2018). Saudi Arabia: The Ceaseless Quest for Security. Ithaca, NY; London: Cornell University Press. p. 34. ISBN 9780674789852.
  11. ^ "Appendix A Chronology of the Life of Ibn Saud" (PDF). Springer: 197. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. ^ "Servant of the British Empire: On the founding of Ibn Saud's kingdom". Al Akhbar. Beirut. 29 October 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  13. ^ Karen Elliott House (27 April 2019). "Profile of a Prince: Promise and Peril in Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030". Belfer Center. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  14. ^ Alexander Blay Bligh (1981). Succession to the throne in Saudi Arabia. Court Politics in the Twentieth Century (PhD thesis). Columbia University. p. 42. ProQuest 303101806.
  15. ^ a b "Appendix 6. The Sons of Abdulaziz" (PDF). Springer. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  16. ^ Madawi Al Rasheed (2010). A History of Saudi Arabia (Second ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 70. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511993510. ISBN 978-0-5217-4754-7.
  17. ^ a b Gary Samuel Samore (1984). Royal Family Politics in Saudi Arabia (1953–1982) (PhD thesis). Harvard University. pp. 56, 260. ProQuest 303295482.
  18. ^ Diana King (4 September 1998). "Strangers from all walks of life together in tragedy". Evening News. Edinburgh. ProQuest 327423316. Retrieved 5 September 2020.