Abdullah bin Saud Al Saud (; died May 1819) was the last ruler of the First Saudi State, from 1814 to 1818, and was executed in Istanbul under the Ottoman Empire. Although the Ottomans maintained several garrisons in the Nejd thereafter, they were unable to prevent the rise of the Emirate of Nejd, also known as the Second Saudi State, led by Turki bin Abdullah.
Early life
Abdullah was the eldest son of Saud bin Abdulaziz, who declared him as the heir apparent in 1805. Abdullah's first military command was in 1811. but managed to settle these problems. Because of his father's conquest, Abdullah immediately had to face an invasion of his domains by an Ottoman-Egyptian army under the command of Ibrahim Pasha, the son of Muhammad Ali Pasha. The Ottoman forces began their campaign by quickly recapturing Mecca and Medina. and retreated to their stronghold of Najd. Abdullah sent several letters to William Bruce who was the British resident in Bushehr to inform him that the Emirate did not involve in any such event. As a result, Ibrahim took the villages of Najd one by one, sacking any town that resisted. Ibrahim finally reached the Saudi capital at Diriyah. After a siege lasting several months, Abdullah finally surrendered on 9 September 1818, marking the end of the Saudi state. Abdullah, his three sons and two of his supporters were brought to Cairo in November 1818.
Execution
After a six-month stay in Cairo, Abdullah was transferred to Constantinople by Muhammad Ali Pasha, with a recommendation for a pardon. This was refused by Sultan Mahmud II and, in May 1819, he and his two supporters were publicly beheaded in the square before Hagia Sophia for their acts in some Islamic holy cities and mosques. Hakan Özoğlu and Altan Tan argue that Abdullah's four sons were also beheaded with him. Prior to his execution, Abdullah, who had forbidden listening to music, was forced to listen to the lute.
Reasons for his execution
In 1802, during the Wahhabi sack of Karbala, the mausoleum of Husayn ibn Ali was desecrated by the army of Abdullah bin Saud, causing anger and shock in the Muslim world. Abdullah bin Saud was taken along with two of his supporters who were then sent to Cairo and then to Constantinople where they were executed on the orders of Mahmud II.