Tusun Pasha

In August 1805, Tusun and his brother Ibrahim arrived in Egypt , where their father, Muhammad Ali Pasha , seized power, becoming the first Khedive (wali) of Egypt.

In the summer of 1811, the Egyptian ruler Mohammed Ali Pasha organized a large military expedition to Arabia against the growing Wahhabi state of the Saudis .

At the head of the Egyptian army was Wali Mohammed Ali Pasha put his eldest son and heir Tusun Pasha. He was at that time 16-18 years old ^[1] .

The Egyptian army consisted of Turkish, Albanian and Maghreb mercenaries , had good weapons and artillery ^[1] . Many Egyptian commanders had experience of war with the French and the British and became acquainted with European military tactics ^[1] .

In August 1811, the Egyptian infantry sailed by sea to Hejaz to seize the port of Yanbu , and the cavalry under the command of Tusun-pasha marched out of Egypt in a dry way. Tusun Pasha was only formally at the head of the expedition, and in fact the military actions were led by his military adviser and one of the best commanders of Muhammad Ali - Ahmed-aga, nicknamed Bonaparte ^[1] .

In October, the Egyptian troops from the sea captured the Arabian port of Yanbu . A small detachment that stood in the city and submitted to the sheriff of Mecca, practically did not resist ^[1] . “The soldiers looted everything that they found in Yanbo from goods, money, cloth, coffee, dishonored women and girls who lived in the port, seized them as captives and traded them, selling them to each other ” ^[1] . Such behavior of the soldiers could hardly cause the benevolent attitude of the local residents towards them. Yanbu became a springboard for the Egyptian army to further advance deep into Arabia ^[1] .

In November 1811 Commander-in-Chief Tusun Pasha arrived in Yanbu with Egyptian cavalry (more than 14 thousand people). He spent several weeks in the city and, receiving reinforcements from Egypt, set out to march on the city of Medina ^[1] .

Diyr emir Saud ibn Abdul-Aziz learned in the military preparations of Muhammad Ali Pasha through his spies in Cairo ^[1] . When Tusun occupied Yanbu , Saud gathered his forces and sent them to Hejaz , led by his eldest son Abdullah . The 18-thousandth army of Wahhabis took up the position of Wadi Es Safra, halfway between Yanbu and Medina ^[1] .

In December 1811, the decisive battle took place. The 8,000 Egyptian army in the mountain pass at Wadi Es Safra came under the blows of the superior Wahhabi forces ^[1] . The Egyptian army fled. Despite Tusun’s personal courage, the Egyptians were defeated and lost more than half their strength. With the remnants of his army, Tusun Pasha retreated to Yanbu port ^[1] .

Despite the first setback, Egyptian Pasha Mohammed Ali continued the military campaign in Arabia. Many Bedouin leaders were bribed. New reinforcements and military equipment arrived in Yanbu . With great gifts, Tusun Pasha drew to his side the leaders of some local tribes - Juhaina and Harb ^[1] .

In the autumn of 1812, Tusun led a large army from Yanbu in the direction of Medina . In October, the Egyptians approached the city without encountering resistance along the way. The city defended the 7,000th garrison of the Wahhabis ^[1] .

After an artillery bombardment, the Medina garrison capitulated. The Wahhabi garrison took refuge in a city fortress, but after three weeks, in November, it was forced to surrender because of the famine. Tusun Pasha promised surrendered Wahhabis unimpeded evacuation on honorable conditions ^[1] . According to F. Mangeенаn, Egyptian soldiers behaved nobly, but I. Burckhardt, better acquainted with the campaign, reported that most of the Wahhabis killed or robbed Tusun’s soldiers on the way ^[1] . “Four thousand ears, cut off from the Wahhabis, who would be sent to Constantinople consistently” were sent to Cairo ^[1] .

The Meccan sheriff Khalib ibn Musaid , despite his loyalty to the Saudis , entered into secret negotiations with the Egyptian wali and prepared Mecca and Jidda for the surrender. In January 1813, a small Egyptian Pasha occupied Jeddah without a fight. Abdullah ibn Saud , fearing betrayal by Sheriff Khalib , fired the Wahhabi garrison from Mecca and retreated with his army to Al-Hurmu. A few days later, Mecca and Taif surrendered to Tusun without a fight. The Meccan sheriff, Khalib ibn Musaid , and after him the Hijaz nomadic tribes declared loyalty to Muhammad Ali Pasha.

Egyptian troops occupied the Hijaz with little or no serious military effort ^[1] . The Hijaz were hostile to the Dyrian emirs and the Wahhabism implanted by them ^[1] . Many leaders of the Arab tribes received rich gifts from Tusun. The Meccan sheriff, Khalib ibn Musaid, also switched to Cairo pasha ^[1] .

On the occasion of the capture of the sacred cities in Cairo, lush festivities were organized with cannon salute and fireworks. Envoy of Mohammed Ali Pasha went to Istanbul with the keys to Mecca, Medina and Jeddah. The Ottoman Sultan appointed Tusun a three-pawn pasha. Muhammad Ali and Sheriff Galib were sent expensive gifts from the Sultan ^[1] .

In the spring and summer of 1813, the Wahhabis made successful raids on the Hejaz . The Dyrian emir Saud ibn Abdul-Aziz himself appeared with troops in Medina , but was unable to take the city ^[1] . The enemy attacked the Egyptian troops almost under the walls of Mecca and Jeddah ^[1] . The Wahhabis and the locals threw back the Tusun detachments sent to them to capture the Turab oasis, causing great losses to the Egyptians ^[1] . The expedition from Medina towards Al-Khanakai was also unsuccessfully completed ^[1] .

The Egyptian Expeditionary Army lost more soldiers from fatigue, heat, and disease caused by poor water and poor nutrition than by fighting ^[1] . According to F. Mangene, the army of the Cairo Pasha lost already 8 thousand people and 25 thousand camels during the campaign ^[1] . The death of riding and pack animals deprived the Egyptians of the possibility of maneuver, long hikes, the timely delivery of equipment, food and ammunition ^[1] . The Bedouins, who began to become disillusioned with the Egyptian pasha, reluctantly cooperated with his troops ^[1] .

In the fall of 1813, a major Wahhabi military leader, Osman al-Mujdayfee, fell into captivity in Egypt. He was defeated at Al-Taif, was captured and sent from Jeddah to Cairo , and then to Istanbul , where he was executed ^[1] .

In the autumn of the same year, the Egyptian Wali Muhammad Ali Pasha himself headed new forces for Arabia and arrived in Jeddah , where he was met by the Meccan sheriff Khalib . Together they arrived in Meku ^[1] . At the end of the year, Mohammed Ali ordered the arrest of Sheriff Khalib and sent him to Cairo with his family ^[1] . In his place, Pasha planted his protege, Yahya ibn Surur (1813–1827), a relative of Ghalib, and confiscated the property of the former sheriff in his favor ^[1] .

At the end of 1813 - the beginning of 1814, the Egyptian troops were defeated at Turaba and Kunfuda. The Hijaz nomadic nobility began to side with the Wahhabis ^[1] .

In May 1814, the Dyrian emir Saud ibn Abdul-Aziz died, he was succeeded by his eldest son Abdullah I ibn Saud ( 1814 - 1818 ), who continued the resistance of the Egyptian army. By the time of Saud’s death, the entire Hijaz , Oman , Bahrain , part of Tihama were lost ^[1] .

In January 1815, the Egyptian troops, in alliance with the Hijaz Bedouins, defeated the battle of Basalia, in the vicinity of Turabah, the Wahhabi army under the command of Prince Faisal, brother of the Emir Abdallah ^[1] . Mohammed Ali paid 6 thalers for each head of the killed enemy. Pasha celebrated his victory by executing hundreds of prisoners in Mecca ^[1] . The loss of Wahhabis amounted to several thousand people ^[1] .

Egyptian troops were taken Turab, Ranja and Bit. The Egyptians reached the coast of the Red Sea and captured Kunfuda ^[1] . The Wahhabis were defeated in Asher and in strategically important areas between Hijaz , Nejd and Asher ^[1] . Mohammed Ali Pasha from Kunfuda arrived in Medina, from where he returned to Egypt a few months later ^[1] .

After the return of Muhammad Ali to Egypt, his son Tusun Pasha again took over the command of the Egyptian troops. Tusun and his army marched on Kasim, but with the appearance of Emir Abdallah, he turned back with large forces. But in Kasim, discontent with the power of the Wahhabis was already ripe ^[1] . Know Rass contacted Tusun and promised him her help. Tusun Pasha with a small army again spoke at Kasimu and occupied Ar-Russ ^[1] . He destroyed part of the fortifications, imposed taxes on the population and camped near the city, providing the army with food at the expense of local residents ^[1] . Emir Abdullah with his army stood in Anaza. Wahhabis made raids in the direction of Al-Rass and intercepted part of the caravans marching from Medina. A large Egyptian detachment was ambushed by the Wahhabis and was destroyed. Military operations continued, with varying success, until the summer of 1815. ^[1]

The position of the small army of Tusun Pasha in Kasim became desperate. However, both sides wanted peace. Tusun Pasha and Abdullah ibn Saud concluded a truce, under the terms of which hostilities ceased. Tusun with the Egyptian army left the province of Kasim and refused to intervene in the affairs of Nejd ^[1] .

After the retreat of Tusun, the Dirian emir Abdullah ibn Saud began to displace the Kasim emirs, who showed hesitations during the stay of the Egyptian troops or directly collaborated with Tusun. Abdullah gathered a large army and began punitive campaigns against the tribes of Harb and Mugayr who had betrayed him ^[1] .

Abdallah’s actions caused discontent in Kasim, not to mention the nomads, and complaints were sent to Muhammad Ali ^[1] . In his correspondence with Abdullah, the Egyptian Wali and his son Tusun constantly talked about the Wahhabi violation of the terms of the treaty ^[1] .

After signing a truce with the Wahhabis, Tusun Pasha returned to Cairo , where he died from the plague a year later ^[1] . His stepbrother Ibrahim Pasha was appointed the new commander of the Egyptian army in Arabia.

He had three wives, from whom he had 2 sons and 3 daughters:

• Abbas ( 1813–1854 ), who gave birth during his father’s expedition to the Arabian city of Jeddah , became Egypt’s third Khedive ( 1848–54 ).
• Osman Bey (died 1815)
• Khadija Khanum (died 1817)
• Zuka Khanum (died 1817)
• Aisha Khanum (died 1817)

In 1830-1848 , the Egyptian Wali Muhammad Ali Pasha, in memory of his eldest son Tusun, built an Alabaster mosque in Cairo .

• Vasiliev A. History of Saudi Arabia. 1745-1973
• Kiselev KA. Egypt and the Wahhabi State: “War in the Desert” (1811–1818)