Saud bin Faisal bin Turki Al Saud

Saud was born in 1833.[2] The mother of Saud and his much younger full-brother Abdul Rahman were part of the Ajman, a Bedouin tribe inhabiting the desert to the southeast of Riyadh. Saud had two half-brothers: Abdullah[3] and Muhammad whose mother came from the Saud family.

Abdullah, as the oldest son of Faisal, had been made designated heir and chief military commander while Saud was sent to al-Kharj in southern Najd as governor, partly to reduce the developing friction between the two brothers.

However, Saud proved outstandingly successful and his reputation soon eclipsed that of his brother, whose claim to the succession was not validated by any great success or ability in politics, whereas Saud had developed a strong power base in the area of al Kharj and a following among the Ajman tribe of his mother.

After Faisal's death in 1865, Abdullah became Imam, but was immediately challenged by the ambitious Saud. Saud claimed that he was qualified to rule the state due to his prior appointment as the governor of al-Kharj by his father, Faisal.[4] Saud had left Riyadh and gathered supporters among the tribes of Al Hasa in the east, including the Ajman tribe.[5] However, the Wahhabi leader, Abdul Rahman bin Hasan, did not endorse the rebellion of Saud, but supported Abdullah as the legitimate ruler.[4]

Abdullah and his loyal brother Muhammad at first proved too strong for Saud, but in December 1870, Saud, aided by the rulers of Oman, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, defeated the forces of Abdullah and captured Muhammad. Upon this events Sheikh Abd Al Latif bin Abdul Rahman, grandson of Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahab, supported Saud as the new Emir and also, declared him as Imam.[4][6]

Abdullah fled Riyadh and Saud proclaimed himself Imam in May 1871.

Soon after, another rebellion shook the kingdom. Saud was forced out by his uncle Abdullah bin Turki. Abdullah bin Turki took the capital. Saud had also estranged the population by his reliance on tribes from the east.

In the meantime, Abdullah had requested help from Midhat Pasha, the Ottoman governor of Baghdad. Midhat Pasha took advantage of the opportunity to sweep into the province of Al Hasa, where Muhammad bin Faisal was held prisoner by Saud's son, Abdulaziz. Muhammad was released, and eventually the two brothers Abdullah and Muhammad were able to make their way back to Riyadh. However, Saud, along with his Ajman followers, retook Riyadh in January 1873 and Abdullah and Muhammad were sent into exile among the Mutayr and Utaiba tribes. In January 1875, Saud died, either of battle wounds or smallpox.

Muhammad, Abdullah, and Abdul Rahman then formed an alliance. But Saud's sons kept up hostilities against the surviving brothers. Saud's sons used al-Kharj province as their base of operations. They were finally killed in a surprise raid in 1888.

However, the grandsons of Saud were involved in sporadic fighting against their cousins and not formally reconciled for many years. The descendants of Saud, through his grandson Saud Al Kabeer bin Abdulaziz, are still considered the ceremonially senior branch of the family, and known as the Saud Al Kabeer branch.

Saud married a woman from the Ajman tribe.[7]