The Capture of Riyadh

The Capture of Riyadh was the recovery by King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud of the city of Riyadh and his entry into it with his men on 5 Shawwal 1319 AH, corresponding to 16 January 1902, together with his pledge of allegiance as Emir there.[1][2]

It is among the most prominent events in the modern history of the Arabian Peninsula, for it was followed by the unification of Najd and then the capture of Al-Ahsa, up to his official recognition as ruler of Najd, Qassim, and Al-Ahsa, and later the proclamation of the unification of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.[2]

King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud was born in the Palace of the Emirate in Riyadh on 19 Dhu al-Hijjah 1297 AH, corresponding to 5 December 1880.[2]

He travelled to Kuwait with his father before reaching the age of eleven.[2]

He set out from Kuwait towards Riyadh in early Sha'ban 1319 AH, and the number with him at departure was forty men, who then grew to sixty by the time they made for Riyadh.[1]

The number who accompanied King Abdulaziz in the capture of Riyadh is most likely sixty, since most of those who wrote on the King's history and the capture of Riyadh recorded it, and sixty is also reported from King Abdulaziz himself.[4]

King Abdulaziz entered Riyadh with his men on 5 Shawwal 1319 AH and was pledged allegiance as Emir there.[2]

His vanguard attacked Masmak Fortress, numbering forty men, or sixty including those guarding the mounts and supplies.[3]

Two-thirds of the vanguard of his force were from the people of Al-Arid.[3] Its attackers had come from Kuwait in his company, and were gathered neither by factionalism nor by tribalism, but by their love of the homeland they had left and by their wish that its rule should belong to its own people.[3]

Among the members of that vanguard was Prince Abdulaziz bin Musaid.[3]

Accounts of the number of the men of the capture of Riyadh differ: some historians mention forty-seven men, and others mention forty-two.[1]

The preferred list comprises sixty men who accompanied King Abdulaziz when he left Kuwait; forty of them entered Riyadh, while the other twenty were kept to guard the mounts and provisions.[4]

Their names were recorded on the “Immortals’ Panel” in the King Abdulaziz Hall at the headquarters of the King Abdulaziz Foundation.[4]

On the initiative of Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, Emir of Riyadh Region, the name of each member of that vanguard was given to a district, street, or square in the city of Riyadh.[3]

After entering Riyadh, King Abdulaziz summoned his father; Imam Abdulrahman arrived and announced in the courtyard of the Great Mosque in Riyadh his abdication of rule in favour of his eldest son Abdulaziz, and presented him with the sword of “Saud the Great”.[2]

At the Battle of Al-Bukayriyah in 1322 AH, corresponding to 1904, the vanguard of the capture of Riyadh lost five of its men: Fahd bin Mishari, Abdulatif al-Ma'shuq, Mansour al-Ma'shuq, Yousef bin Mishkhas, and Mohammed bin Saleh Uwaibil.[3]

The traveller Alois Musil documented King Abdulaziz's efforts to recover Riyadh and unify the country in his book “Al Saud: A Study in the History of the Saudi State”, up to the publication of his study in 1917.[5]

Q: When was the capture of Riyadh? A: On 5 Shawwal 1319 AH, corresponding to 16 January 1902.[1]

Q: How many men took part in the capture of Riyadh? A: Accounts of their number differ between forty-seven, forty-two, and sixty men, and the most likely is sixty who accompanied King Abdulaziz from Kuwait, of whom forty entered Riyadh.[1][4]

Q: Who led the capture of Riyadh? A: King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud, who entered it with his men on 5 Shawwal 1319 AH and was pledged allegiance as Emir there.[2]

Q: Where did the capture take place? A: In the city of Riyadh, where his vanguard attacked Masmak Fortress.[3]

Q: What were the results of the capture of Riyadh? A: The pledge of allegiance by Imam Abdulrahman to his son Abdulaziz, then the unification of Najd and the capture of Al-Ahsa and his official recognition as ruler of Najd, Qassim, and Al-Ahsa.[2]