Battle of Umm Radhuma
The Battle of Umm Radhuma was a battle fought between the forces of the Founding King Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud and dissident Ikhwan forces in Umm Radhuma, north of Hail, on September 8, 1929. It played a major role in weakening the enemies of the then-emerging Saudi state.
Causes of the Battle of Umm Radhuma
After the Battle of Sabila, King Abdulaziz headed to the Hejaz, believing that the Ikhwan revolt had ended. Faisal Al-Duwaish, one of the leaders of the Ikhwan, had been wounded in the Battle of Sabila. The women of his family interceded on his behalf with King Abdulaziz, and he was brought in on a bier. The King ordered his personal physician to treat him, reproached him for his actions, and pardoned him after Al-Duwaish sought forgiveness. However, after recovering from his wounds, Faisal Al-Duwaish left his town of Al-Artawiyah, north of Riyadh, and settled in an area between Kuwait and the Iraqi border. He was joined by followers of his ally Dhaydan Bin Hithlain after the latter's death. They launched raids against tribes, killing and looting, which nearly cut off communications between Najd and the Hejaz on one side, and between Najd and the Arabian Gulf on the other.
King Abdulaziz decided to confront them. He provided the governors of Al-Ahsa, Al-Qatif, Qassim, and Hail with money, weapons, and men. Returning swiftly from the Hejaz, he rallied townspeople, Bedouins, and settlers from hijrahs harmed by Al-Duwaish's actions, and dispatched his men in all directions to fight them.
Events of the Battle of Umm Radhuma
Some Ikhwan leaders repeatedly sought to weaken King Abdulaziz and his state by attacking allied tribes and intimidating them. Following their defeat at the Battle of Sabila, Faisal Al-Duwaish launched scattered raids on tribes loyal to King Abdulaziz. His son, Abdulaziz Al-Duwaish, set out with about eight hundred fighters to raid northern tribes, seizing considerable wealth. He then decided to return to Al-Wufra by way of Umm Radhuma.
Abdulaziz Bin Musaad, governor of Hail, monitored these aggressions closely. He kept track of Al-Duwaish's movements and gathered forces from Hail, along with men who had regrouped in Al-Shuaibah after the Battle of Sabila. He ambushed Al-Duwaish near a water source in Umm Radhuma, where a fierce battle broke out to the west of the site. Abdulaziz Al-Duwaish and about five hundred of his men were killed, while Ibn Musaad lost about twelve men.
Sources
History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah Al-Saleh Al-Uthaymeen, 2005.
History of the Kings of Al Saud, Prince Saud Bin Hathloul, Riyadh Printing Presses, 1961.