The Bride of my Constant Desire: The Birth of Modern Arabia

1845-1846: The End of the Trucial States



1845-1846: The End of the Trucial States

In 1798, the British had established the first of its treaties with Oman in an elaborate attempt to prevent the French from gaining any influence in the region, and thus upsetting British claims of paramountcy on the Indian sub-continent. The treaty had an unexpected outcome for the British in that the Qawasim sheikdoms to the north of Oman – whom the British collectively referred to as the Trucial States – now saw the British as allies of their hated foe, the al-Busaid dynasty of Oman. The Qawasim thus engaged in frequent and continual piracy of British East India ships, leading the Royal Navy to engage in a series of campaigns that resulted in the enforcement of the General Treaty of Peace on the Qawasim in 1820.

By this treaty, the beaten Sheiks of the Trucial States agreed to a cessation of disturbances at sea in perpetuity. They were also prohibited from building large ships, or erecting fortifications along the coast. They were also prohibited from engaging in slavery – the first such denunciation of slavery ever written in a formal treaty. All signatories of this treaty were requested by the British to include the colour white in their flags – in order to signify that they had signed these Anti-Piracy treaties.

However, this treaty did not prevent the princes and sheiks of the Trucial States from continuing to attack each other, or Oman – which they did with gusto, much to the consternation of both the British and the Omani sultan, Sa’id al buSaid.


By the mid 1840’s, these divided Trucial States had found a common purpose of sorts, and came together as a loose confederation under the coastal Qawasim. The sheikdoms viewed the sudden Omani expansion in the Yemeni Conflict with no small amount of fear – they firmly believed that the Kingdom of Oman, with its new power, would not long ignore its troublesome northern borders.

Indeed, the Trucial States had already faced the new Royal Army of Oman in several skirmishes, and they had discovered that they could no longer raid across the border with impunity – the Royal Army, with its new training and weaponry – particularly its artillery – was more than a match for these raider princes.

Thus, in October of 1843, the Trucial States felt themselves backed into a corner with no option but to break – or at the very least bend – the General Treaty of Peace they had signed with the British two decades earlier. Turning to the French, this confederation of sheiks and princes attempted to duplicate the feats of Oman in the previous decade by importing French advisors, and purchasing French equipment. However, unlike Oman the Trucial States were never united under any single authority – the disparate sheikdoms swiftly took the arms and training of the French, and used it further their own internecine feuds and conflicts.

As the situation in the Trucial States worsened, the French King Louis-Philippe dispatched a small corps of the French Foreign Legion to safeguard French interests in the region. He also intended for the Corps to become familiar with terrain and the natives as a precursor for a full-scale French invasion – similar to what France had done twelve years earlier in North Africa, with the subjugation and annexation of Algeria.

Faced with decreasing popularity at home, Louis-Philippe intended to expand the French sphere of influence in a region that he believed the British would no longer contest. Ironically enough, it had been the British refusal to directly engage the pirates of Yemen that had led Louis-Philippe to believe that the British would accept a French presence in the region. In this, the French King was gravely mistaken.

Since establishing the General Treaty in 1820, the British had watched the situation in the Trucial States closely. They had attempted to remain outside the affairs of the Sheikdoms, as involvement would require an investment of resources – both financial and military – that they were loathe to make. However, with the appearance of the French, action would have to be taken to safeguard the interests of the British Empire.

Sultan Sa’id of Oman shared a similar point of view, though he had different reasons. The Qawasim were arch-rivals of Oman, which had long sought to establish dominance over the divided kingdoms to the north. With the French involvement, there would be one of two outcomes – either one of the sheikdoms would achieve paramountcy over the others, strengthening its control over the region and thwarting the intentions of Oman; or the petty conflicts between the Trucial States would turn into a regional conflagration and spill into Oman itself. From the initial actions of the Trucial States, Sultan Sa’id feared that the latter option was more likely.

The Sultan was also concerned with the presence of the French themselves. He was determined to prevent any European presence within the Peninsula outside of Oman itself. He was convinced that any signs of European interest in the region would lead – inexorably – to direct control by a European power. The Sultan was well-aware that despite the power of the Royal Army of Oman, it was as nothing compared to Ottomans, who were but a pale shadow of the Europeans themselves. Whilst he was happy to have the British as his friends and sometimes allies, he had no interest in seeing them exert direct control over any portion of the Peninsula.

Thus, it was in the interest of both Britain and Oman to prevent the expansion of French influence in the region, and quell the Trucial States. Unlike the discussions leading to the Yemeni Conflict in 1839, the British Consul Atkins Hamerton had no need to convince Sultan Sa’id of the need for war in this case. And so it was, on the morning of 7th October, 1845 that troops from the Royal Army of Oman marched into the Trucial States.


Unlike the Yemeni Conflict, the Subjugation of the Trucial States was to prove a swift war. When faced with the threat of an Omani invasion, rather than band together and face this powerful foe – which their French advisors urged them to do – the princes and sheiks refused to work together, and in fact continued to engage in their feuds until it was too late. The forces they mustered – even with French weaponry – were no match for the new Western methods of the Royal Army of Oman. They were swiftly dispatched in all encounters, in what – barring one battle – was to prove a relatively bloodless affair.

The only exception to the rule was the last stand of the French Foreign Legion on the outskirts of Dubai. Whilst not directly at war with Oman, France saw this as an opportunity to test the new Legion (which was only a decade old at this point) against a Western-trained army. On the outskirts of Dubai, the French Foreign Legion fought a savage battle against the Royal Army. Against two divisions totalling some 20,000 men they fought – and almost one. By the end of the third day of battle, the cost in Omani manpower to break through the French Foreign Legion’s lines was so high that the Sultan considered retreating and reinforcing his troops with a third division before assaulting the Legion again.

Eventually however, the numbers of the Royal Army proved too much even for the men of the French Foreign Legion, and they were forced to retreat to French vessels off the coast – returning to their base in Algiers – defeated, but with valuable experience. In 1863, the Legion would put these experiences to deadly effect in their Mexican campaign when 65 men of the Legion would hold off 3 Mexican Battalions, moving the awe-struck Mexican commander to declare that “these are not men, they are devils”. Sultan Sa’id would have firmly agreed.

With the defeat of the Legion, there was no force capable of standing against the Royal Army, which swiftly swept through the region. A year after war had been declared, in September of 1846 – the Trucial States were annexed to Oman, and there was peace. But to the north, a new foe looked southward – and began its own preparations.

Okay, I posted this at 5:00pm, and here it is 3 hours later, and Im finally happy. For some reason, this chapter proved the hardest to write so far - I must have spent two days just playing with different ways to get some of the information regarding the Trucial States in there. Ha!

Historically, where the French involved in this region? In Egypt yes, but after the Second Oriental Crisis in 1839, where they backed the wrong guy, they werent really that active - it wouldnt be until the 50s under Napoleon III that France would start getting active in the international arena again. However, when I invaded 'Abu Dhabi', they had a damn Regular unit - Im not sure how they got it, but it scared the heck out of me - and I was lucky to beat them - I was down at 2 morale, I recall. Frightening close!

Lord Boreal: Thanks! My previous AARs have all been fairly detailed, but this is the first time Ive really just decided to go for detail over everything else. It can be difficult sometime, because detail tends to be... long. And realistically, theres only so much a person can read on a screen before becoming bored - hopefully Im meeting somewhere in the middle

Sir Humphrey, Cthulhu: Thanks guys - glad to see I havent run you off just yet

Ha ha, thanks guys for helping me get past 2 pages! Hurrah!

And yes, the al-Saud dynasty is our Monster of the Week. In fact, my next few updates will give some historical background to the al-Saud's and their ties to Wahabism, before continuing the tale of Oman and converging on the eventual conflict between the two.

So bear with me as the AAR becomes The House of al-Saud: The Rise of the Saudi State for the next few parts.

The House of al-Saud: The Rise of the Saudi State



The House of al-Saud: The Rise of the Saudi State - Part One

The history of the Saudi state begins in central Arabia in 1744. Sheik Mohammed ibn Abd al-Wahhab believed it was time for a renewal of Islam, which he believed had become corrupted in the millennium since the time of the Prophet. He particularly deplored the cult of saints, which to him smacked of idolatry and polytheism, and he carried his objections to the point of condemning what seemed to him the excessive veneration of the Prophet.

This radicalism led to his being chased out of Medina, and al-Wahhab sought refuge with Prince Mohammed ibn al-Saud of the Nejd. Prince al-Saud swiftly became convinced that this was the only true way of Islam, and joined forces with the Islamic reformer to create a new political entity, and to spread the pure and simple view of Islam as embodied by Wahhabism. They formalised their alliance by wedding Ibn Saud’s son to al-Wahhabs daughter.

This new form of Islam, which carried with it a license to persecute and plunder non-Wahhabis, was swiftly adopted by the easygoing townsmen and superstitious Bedouin of central Arabia. And over the next seventy-five years, the forces of the House of Saud, driven by religious fervour, would conquer all of Arabia, bar Yemen and Oman by 1811. This period was the time of the First Saudi State.

However, unlike the Sultans of Oman, the leaders of the al-Saud had assumed the religious title of Imam. Thus, al-Saud leaders were recognised not just as sheiks or leaders, but as Wahhabi Imams, political and religious figures whose rule had an element of religious authority. Theirs was a holy war against the infidel. And to the Wahhabi’s anyone who did not abide by the strict dictates of Wahhabism was an infidel.

Within their sphere of influence, the House of al-Saud could levy troops for military campaigns from the towns and tribes under their control. Although these campaigns were mostly police actions against other recalcitrant tribes (in either paying tribute, or refusing to follow the dictates of Wahhabism), the rulers described them as holy wars, which they conducted according to their religious principles.

In 1801, the Saudi’s sacked the holy city of Karbala, burial place of the Shiite martyr, Husayn, arousing the fury of the entire Shiite world. Turning west, the Saudis invaded the Hedjaz, occupied Mecca in 1803 and captured Medina in 1804. Neither the Pasha of Baghdad nor the Sharif of Mecca was able to halt the Wahhabi’s who over the next few years pillages as far north as the outskirts of Damascus.

By 1811, the Padishah of the Ottoman Empire had had enough. He ordered his vassal Mehmed Ali, the Pasha of Egypt, to retake Mecca and Medina. Mehmed’s campaign would be concluded seven years later, with the complete destruction of the Wahhabi capital, Dir`iyah. The ruling member of the al-Saud dynasty was taken prisoner and sent to Constantinople, where he was beheaded.

However, continuing conflicts with the British and French would leave Mehmed Ali unable to consolidate his control of the region, and in 1824 the al-Sauds soon returned to power. In order to prevent a similar event in the future, the al-Saud family acknowledged the ultimate authority of the Ottomans, and tried to accommodate them as best they could. In return, the Ottomans recognised the al-Saud authority and left them alone for the most part.

The new Imam, Turki bin Abdullah reclaimed control of the Nejd in 1824, founding the Second Saudi State and over the next 11 years Turki was able to retake much of the original Saudi territory. His relatively swift retaking of Nejd showed the extent to which the al-Saud/Wahhabi authority had been established in the area over the previous fifty years. The success of the Wahhabi forces during that time had done much to promote tribal loyalty to the House of al-Saud in a region known for its shifting alliances.

With Turki bin Abdullah’s assassination in 1834, his son Faisal became the new Imam. Faisal ruled over a wide area from the al-Saud’s new capital in Riyadh, and exerted considerable influence in central Arabia and along the western coast of the Persian Gulf.

As the years had progressed, Wahhabi ideas had spread through the central part of the Arabian Peninsula, and as a result the religious authority vested in the House of al-Saud allowed them to influence decisions in areas not under their control – such as succession battles and questions of tribute. Their influence in western and southern Arabia remained restricted however. In the west, the Egyptians and Ottomans were careful not to let the region slip away again, and the Wahhabist ideas had not found a receptive audience in the region. In the south, the predominance of Ibadhism particularly in Oman had prevented any attempts to spread Wahhabism in the area.

In 1838, Mehmed Ali renewed the campaign to eliminate the House of al-Saud, and swiftly retook the Nejd. Prince Faisal was taken captive and sent to Cairo, where he would languish in captivity for five years until 1843. However, Mehmed Ali’s declaration of independence in 1839 during the Second Oriental Crisis forced the Pasha of Egypt to withdraw his troops from Nejd in order to assert his claims. When Prince Faisal escaped in 1843, he was able to return home and swiftly overthrew the Egyptian puppet, forming the Second Saudi State.

Having retaken power, Prince Faisal al-Saud was determined to prevent any further abrogation’s of Saudi power. In time, the Arabian Peninsula would fall to the House of al-Saud. It was their destiny.

So - as you can see, the Saudi's have taken over - small changes abound! Spot them all! For the next two or three posts, I'll tell the tale from the Saudi point of view - covering the expansion of Oman, Saudi reactions to that - and the build up to the inevitable conflict.

In reality, the House of al-Saud actually made in inroads into Oman by 1811, and it should give you some idea of their power during this period that it took Mehmed Ali, who had the most powerful military in the region at that time, seven years to defeat them. Unfortunately, this power is not duplicated in game - but I'll tell the tale as though it were.

Thanks to all my readers for sticking around this long - Im really enjoying writing this AAR (moreso than I thought I would, considering its style), so I hope you are all enjoying the ride.

Next update tomorrow, and screenshots of the Nejd! *eek*