Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah Al Saud

Imam Faisal (Arabic: فيصل بن تركي بن عبد الله آل سعود‎) (1785–1865) was the second ruler of the Second Saudi State and seventh Head of the House of Saud. He was the son of Imam Turki.

Rule

Imam Faisal ruled from 1834 to 1838. Then he was forced into exile by the Ottomans. He reclaimed the throne in 1843 and ruled until 1865.

Turki's Assassination and Ottoman Resistance

He was deported to Egypt along with other members of his family after the fall of First Saudi State. He managed to escape and joined his father Turki in his revolt against the Egyptian forces of the Ottoman Empire.

After Turki established the Second Saudi State, Faisal was sent on military operations to al-Hasa in the east. But his father was assassinated by Mushari bin Abdul-Rahman, a distant cousin. Faisal hurried back to Riyadh to deal with the revolt. His troops stormed the castle and killed Mushari. Those not directly involved in the murder were spared and the town pledged allegiance.

His rule continued to be opposed by the Ottoman forces, however, and the Egyptian governor of Arabia, Khurshid Pasha, supported a rival candidate - Khalid bin Saud. Khalid was a member of the senior line of the Saud family. Faisal was forced to flee the city and take refuge with the al Khorayef princes of the tribes of Bani Tamim. In 1838, he attempted to come to terms with Khurshid Pasha, but was forced to go into exile a second time in Cairo. In 1843, Faisal escaped from captivity again and returned to Riyadh.

Return

He easily defeated the Abdallah bin Thunayyan, who had revolted against the ineffective Khalid and taken control. Faisal depended on a close alliance with the Al Rashid family of Hail. Abdullah bin Rashid played a key role in his success, and the two families were extensively intermarried. In return, Faisal appointed Abdullah as the Amir of Ha'il. Faisal governed with great success until his death in 1865.

Infighting among his four sons eventually destroyed the state.

He managed to escape with the help of a group of people called the Osamies tribe from the tribe Otaiba. They returned him to Riyadh according to Prince Turki Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal said a grandson called Faisal bin Turki, stated that the people who got his grandfather out of prison in Egypt are Osamies.

References

• Second State of Saudi Arabia