Abdulaziz bin Muhammad Al Saud ( ʿAbd al ʿAzīz bin Muḥammad Āl Suʿūd; 1720–1803) was the second ruler of the Emirate of Diriyah. He was the eldest son of Muhammad bin Saud
Early life
Abdulaziz was born in 1720 and was the eldest son of Muhammad bin Saud. He was educated by Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab and became a Wahhabi scholar.
Long before the death of his father Abdulaziz was announced the next ruler of the state at the request of Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab. In 1763 he led a military campaign of the Emirate attacking the regions under the rule of the Bani Khalid Emirate. It was the first military attack of the Emirate outside the Nejd. Although his father was titled as Emir, Abdulaziz was given the titles of both Emir and Imam.
Abdulaziz's father, Muhammad bin Saud, initiated attacks against the ruler of Riyadh, Dahham bin Dawwas, in 1747. However, following the battles for nearly 25 years only in 1773 Riyadh was captured by Abdulaziz and became part of the Emirate. Their military success and orthodox approach to religion won them great support in the area. Their standing was also boosted by Abdulaziz's practice of holding open meetings where tribal elders could meet with him, allowing access to their ruler. During his reign Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab was his major advisor and dealt with all major activities, including treasury. However, following the capture of Riyadh Abdulaziz bin Muhammad himself began to control the budget of the state due to the significant increase in revenues. As early as 1790 Abdulaziz's forces started their attacks in the region near the Euphrates in southern Iraq. The region was the settlement of the Shammar tribe, originally from Najd, and they were defeated two times in 1791. and Hasa in 1795 where Shiites were dominant. Abdulaziz's attacks against Hasa which had been under the rule of Banu Khalid began in 1792. and the people, particularly men, living there were slaughtered. They also demolished the heterodox texts and innovative household equipment such as mirrors and window frames and robbed the wealth of the local people. Zubayr and other settlements in the region witnessed similar violence, too. Therefore, the Wahhabi influence also extended to Qatar and Bahrain.
Sack of Karbala
In 1802 Abdulaziz bin Muhammad's forces led by his heir and son Saud attacked Karbala and Najaf in Iraq. Unlike other attacks the goal of Saudi forces was not to rule or control the region. They also stole the gold, jewels, and rare minerals in the shrine.
<blockquote>They pillaged the whole of it [Karbala], and plundered the Tomb of Hussein...slaying in the course of the day, with circumstances of peculiar cruelty, above five thousand of the inhabitants...</blockquote>
Personal life and assassination
Abdulaziz married to the daughter of Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab and the daughter of Uthman bin Mu'ammar, the ruler of Uyayna. He had four sons: Saud, Abdul Rahman, Abdullah and Umar.
Abdulaziz was much more adhered to the Wahhabi cause and more aggressive than his father.
Shortly after his capture of Mecca Abdulaziz returned to Diriyah where he was assassinated by a Kurdish man who was a darwish when Abdulaziz was leading Asr Salat in the mosque of Turaif in November 1803. The motive of the assassin was to take revenge against him due to the killing of his sons in the Karbala attack.
<blockquote>Abdulaziz ibn Muhammad was assassinated by Ibadgi Osman, a Mussulman of the sect of Ali. He had profaned the tomb of Ali, and thus excited the fury of the disciples of that prophet. Ibadgi Osman resolved to avenge the ashes of Ali. He crossed the desert of Arabia on a dromedary, entered the tent of Abdulaziz while he was at prayers, and plunged a cangiar into his breast crying, "Let this avenge the tomb of Ali, for thy profanations." The brother of Abdulaziz, hearing the noise, ran into the tent, where he found his brother bathed in his blood, and the assassin, who squatted himself down, saying his prayers, and calmly awaiting death. He attacked him; but Ibadgi Osman, who was the strongest of the two, got up and killed his assailant with the same cangiar which was still stained with the blood of his brother. The soldiers then entered, and cut the assassin in pieces with their sabers.</blockquote>
Abdulaziz was succeeded by his eldest son, Saud.