Najd Expedition

The Najd Expedition (Turkish: Nejd Seferi) was a series of military conflicts waged by Egypt on behalf of the Ottoman Empire from 1817–1818. It was part of the Ottoman–Saudi War that lasted from 1811 to 1818. The campaign of 1817/8 was led by Ibrahim Pasha, with the goal of capturing Diriyah and to end the First Saudi State by the order of the Ottoman sultan Mahmud II.

Ottoman Invasion of Najd 1817-1818
Part of the Ottoman–Saudi War
Najd
Date 1818 Location Najd & Al Qasim. Result Ottoman victory
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire	First Saudi State
Commanders and leaders
Ibrahim Pasha	Abdullah I
Strength
30,000 30 guns	6,000
Casualties and losses
800 killed	5,000 military dead, hundreds of civilians killed, destruction of several villages

Statue of Ibrahim Pasha in the Opera Square

A Handmade image of Abdullah I

About 30,000 soldiers started from Hnakiyah to the west of Medina, having captured the village of Mawiyah in November 1817, then Al-Rass, Al-Khabra, Unaizah, and Buraidah in December 1817, they reached Dir'iyyah in April 1818. After a siege of several months, Abdullah bin Saud finally surrendered on September 9, 1818.

Then, a puppet state, the Mu'ammarid Imamate was set up by the Egyptians on the regions, but was ultimately reconquered by the Saudis a few years after.[1]