Capture of Yanbu (1811)
| Capture of Yanbu | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Wahhabi war | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Ottoman Empire | Emirate of Diriyah | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Tusun Pasha | Unknown | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 14,000 men[2] | 300 men[3] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | All surrendered | ||||||
The Capture of Yanbu, or Yanbu Landing, in 1811 was a military engagement that began the First Campaign of the Ottoman–Wahhabi war. It occurred with virtually no resistance as the Wahhabis had no troops in the area when the Ottomans initially arrived.[4]
Capture
Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II had ordered Egyptian Viceroy Mohammed Ali Pasha to move against the Wahhabis and re-conquer Mecca. It's recapture was seen as necessary to return honor to the Ottoman Empire as custodian of the Holy City. Mohammed Ali sent his son Tusun Pasha in command an army of 14,000 troops. The start of their campaign began with the lannding in Yanbu. It became a initial station to re-conquer other cities that had been captured by the Wahhabis. Tusun's forces landed successfully in Yanbu. The Wahhabis initially had no forces in the area. A contingent of 300 men that arrived from Mecca surrendered without any losses. Nevertheless, the Ottomans looted the city.[4]
References
- ^ Alexei Vassiliev, The History of Saudi Arabia
- ^ Othman bin Bishr, Glory in the History of Najd, p. 322
- ^ Abd al Rahman al Rafai, The era of Muhammad Ali, p. 127
- ^ a b Vasilev, A. M. (22 May 2014). The History of Saudi Arabia. Saqi. ISBN 978-0-86356-779-7.