Saud bin Faisal Al Saud (1833–1875)

[[Saudi Arabia

Ruler of Second Saudi State

Saud bin Faisal Al Saud (سعود بن فيصل بن تركي آل سعود), also known as Imam Saud (إمام الدولة السعودية الثانية), (1833—1875) was the ruler of the Second Saudi State in 1871 and 1873–75. He joined alliances with foreign tribes and revolted against his half brother Abdullah. His rule was short lived and Abdullah overthrew him. Saud gained power again in 1873 but died two years later. His reign was notable for the infighting in the House of Saud which he initiated.

Saud was born in 1833. The mother of Saud and his much younger full brother Abdul Rahman were part of the Ajman, a Bedouin tribe inhabiting the desert to the southeast of Riyadh. and Muhammad whose mother came from the Saud family.

Abdullah as the oldest son of Faisal had been made designated heir and chief military commander while Saud was sent to al Kharj in southern Najd as governor, partly to reduce the developing friction between the two brothers. However, Saud proved outstandingly successful and his reputation soon eclipsed that of his brother, whose claim to the succession was not validated by any great success or ability in politics, whereas Saud had developed a strong power base in the area of al Kharj and a following among the Ajman tribe of his mother. Nevertheless, neither his father nor the Ottoman authorities approved his desire to be the ruler of the Emirate of Nejd. Saud's demands were acceptable to the British authorities who thought that it would be much easy to control Saud rather than Abdullah. Saud had left Riyadh and gathered supporters among the tribes of Al Hasa in the east, including the Ajman tribe. Upon this events Sheikh Abd Al Latif bin Abdul Rahman, grandson of Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahab, supported Saud as the new Emir and also, declared him as Imam. Abdullah fled Riyadh and Saud proclaimed himself Imam in May 1871. The same year Saud's brother Muhammad was released from the prison in Dammam by the Ottomans. Saud had also estranged the population by his reliance on tribes from the east.

In the meantime, Abdullah had requested help from Midhat Pasha, the Ottoman governor of Baghdad. Midhat Pasha took advantage of the opportunity to sweep into the province of Al Hasa, where Muhammad bin Faisal was held prisoner by Saud's son, Abdulaziz. Muhammad was released, and eventually the two brothers Abdullah and Muhammad were able to make their way back to Riyadh. However, Saud, along with his Ajman followers, retook Riyadh in January 1873 and Abdullah and Muhammad were sent into exile among the Mutayr and Utaiba tribes.

Muhammad, Abdullah, and Abdul Rahman then formed an alliance. But Saud's sons kept up hostilities against the surviving brothers. Saud's sons used al Kharj province as their base of operations. Some of them were executed by the Rashidi governor of Riyadh in 1886. However, the grandsons of Saud were involved in sporadic fighting against their cousins and not formally reconciled for many years. The descendants of Saud, through his grandson Saud Al Kabeer bin Abdulaziz, are still considered the ceremonially senior branch of the family, and known as the Saud Al Kabeer branch.

Saud married a woman from the Ajman tribe. He had six sons. He died of smallpox in 1875.