emirate · Arabia and the Gulf

Emirate of Jabal Shammar

1836 CE – 1921 CE · capital Ha'il

The Rashidi emirate of Ha'il, which overthrew the second Saudi state and dominated northern Arabia before losing to Ibn Saud.

Origins

In 1836 Abdullah ibn Rashid took control of Ha'il, the main town of the Jabal Shammar mountains, with the backing of the Saudi ruler Faisal ibn Turki. His family, leaders of the Shammar tribal confederation, at first ruled as allies of the Emirate of Nejd.

Rule and society

Ha'il prospered on the pilgrim route from Iraq and Persia to Mecca and on the camel and horse trade. Talal ibn Rashid encouraged merchants and building. Muhammad ibn Rashid, emir from 1869 to 1897, intervened in the Saudi civil war, took Riyadh in 1887 and won at Mulayda in 1891, becoming master of central Arabia. The Rashidis allied with the Ottoman Empire.

Decline and legacy

Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud recaptured Riyadh in 1902 and the Emirate of Nejd and Hasa steadily pushed back the Rashidis, killing Abd al-Aziz ibn Mutib in 1906. Weakened by assassinations and the Ottoman defeat, Ha'il surrendered to Ibn Saud in 1921 and joined the Sultanate of Nejd.

Connections (3)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Emirate of Jabal Shammar. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/emirate-of-jabal-shammar
MLA
“Emirate of Jabal Shammar.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/emirate-of-jabal-shammar. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Emirate of Jabal Shammar.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/emirate-of-jabal-shammar.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Emirate of Jabal Shammar’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/emirate-of-jabal-shammar (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻