Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah Al Saud

Imam Faisal ruled the Second Saudi State from 1834 to 1838.[1] Then he was forced into exile by the Ottomans. He reclaimed the throne in 1843 and ruled until 1865.[2]

Faisal was deported to Egypt along with other members of his family after the fall of First Saudi State. After a few years he was given a pardon[3] and joined his father Turki in his revolt against the Egyptian forces of the Ottoman Empire.

After Turki established the Second Saudi State, Faisal was sent on military operations to Al Hasa in the east. But his father was assassinated by Mishari bin Abdul Rahman, a distant cousin.[1] Faisal hurried back to Riyadh to deal with the revolt. His troops stormed the castle and killed Mishari. Those not directly involved in the murder were spared and the town pledged allegiance.

Faisal's rule continued to be opposed by the Ottoman forces, however, and the Egyptian governor of Arabia, Khurshid Pasha, supported a rival candidate - Khalid bin Saud. Khalid was a member of the senior line of the Saud family. Faisal was forced to flee the city and take refuge with the al Khorayef princes of the tribes of Bani Tamim. In 1838, he attempted to come to terms with Khurshid Pasha, but was forced to go into exile a second time in Cairo. In 1843, Faisal escaped from captivity again and returned to Riyadh.

He easily defeated Abdallah bin Thunayyan, who had revolted against the ineffective Khalid and taken control. Faisal depended on a close alliance with the Al Rashid family of Ha'il.[4] Abdullah bin Rashid played a key role in his success,[4] and the two families were extensively intermarried. In return, Faisal appointed Abdullah as the Amir of Ha'il in 1835.[4] He formally requested the support of the British Political Resident in Bushire for his representative in Trucial Oman in 1848.[5] In 1851 he also demanded the assistance of the British Political Resident to collect zakat from Bahraini Muslims.[5] In 1865 a colonel in the British army, Lewis Pelly, officially visited Faisal in Riyadh.[5]

Faisal governed with great success until his death in 1865. However, infighting among his four sons eventually destroyed the state.

Faisal managed to escape with the help of a group of people called the Osamies tribe from the tribe Otaiba. They returned him to Riyadh according to Prince Turki bin Abdullah Al Faisal, a son of Prince Abdullah. A grandson called Faisal bin Turki stated that the people who got his grandfather out of prison in Egypt are Osamies.

Faisal bin Turki had four sons, Abdullah, Saud, Muhammad and Abdul Rahman.[1][6]

• Second State of Saudi Arabia