• Muhammad
• Abdul-Aziz
• Sad
• Abdallah
• Abdul-Rahman

Imam Saud (d. 1875) was a ruler of the Second Saudi State

Second Saudi State

The Second Saudi State existed during the 19th century when the rule of the House of Saud was restored to central and eastern Arabia after having previously been brought down by an Ottoman-Egyptian invasion in 1818...

 in 1871 and 1873-75. He joined alliances with foreign tribes and revolted against his half-brother Abdullah. His rule was short-lived and he was overthrown by Abdullah bin Turki. He gained power again in 1873 but died two years later. His reign was notable for the infighting in the House of Saud

House of Saud

The House of Saud , also called the Al Saud, is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia and one of the wealthiest and most powerful dynasties in the world. The family holds thousands of members...

 which he initiated.

Family

The mother of Saud and his much younger full-brother Abdul-Rahman

Abdul Rahman bin Faisal

*Muhammad*Abdul-Aziz*Saad*Saud*Abdallah*Musaid*Faysal*Abdul-Muhsin*Fahd*Ahmad*Saad*sixteen daughtersAbdul-Rahman bin Faisal was the last ruler of the Second Saudi State. He was the youngest son of Faisal bin Turki...

 were part of the Ujman, a Bedouin

Bedouin

The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...

 tribe inhabiting the desert to the southeast of Riyadh

Riyadh

Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...

. Saud had half-brothers - Abdullah and Muhammad. The mother of Abdallah and Muhammad came from the Saud family.

Rebellion

Abdallah, 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

Najd

Najd or Nejd , literally Highland, is the central region of the Arabian Peninsula.-Boundaries :The Arabic word nejd literally means "upland" and was once applied to a variety of regions within the Arabian Peninsula...

 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.

After Faisal's death in 1865, Abdallah became Imam, but was immediately challenged by the ambitious Saud. Saud had left Riyadh and gathered supporters among the tribes of al-Hasa

Al-Hasa

Al-Ahsa is the largest governorate in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, named after Al-Ahsa oasis. The name Al-Ahsa is also given to the biggest city in the region, Hofuf. In classic Arabic, Ahsa means the sound of water underground. It has one of the largest oases in the world with Date Palms of...

 in the east. Abdullah and his loyal brother Muhammad at first proved too strong for Saud, but in December 1870, Saud, aided by the rulers of Oman

Oman

Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...

, Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...

 and Bahrain

Bahrain

' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...

, defeated the forces of Abdallah and captured Muhammad.

Abdallah fled Riyadh and Saud proclaimed himself Imam in May 1871.

Failed Kingship

Soon after, another rebellion shook the kingdom. Saud was forced out by his uncle Abdullah bin Turki. Abdullah bin Turki took the capital. Saud had also estranged the population by his reliance on tribes from the east.

Return of Abdullah bin Faisal

In the meantime, Abdullah had requested help from Midhat Pasha, the Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 governor of Baghdad. Midhat Pasha took advantage of the opportunity to sweep into the province of al-Hasa

Al-Hasa

Al-Ahsa is the largest governorate in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, named after Al-Ahsa oasis. The name Al-Ahsa is also given to the biggest city in the region, Hofuf. In classic Arabic, Ahsa means the sound of water underground. It has one of the largest oases in the world with Date Palms of...

, where Muhammad bin Faisal was held prisoner by Saud's son, Abdul-Aziz. 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 Abdallah and Muhammad were sent into exile among the Mutayr

Mutayr

Mutayr is one of the largest Sunni tribes of the Arabian Peninsula. The traditional leaders of Mutayr are the Doshan clan . The main branches of Mutayr today are Banu Abdullah, Al-'Olwa, and Braih....

 and Utaiba tribes. In January 1875, Saud died, either of battle wounds or smallpox.

Saud's Sons

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. They were finally killed in a surprise raid in 1888.

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 bin Abdul-Aziz bin Saud, are still considered the ceremonially senior branch of the family, and known as the Saud al-Kabir branch.