Dahham ibn Dawwas

Dahham ibn Dawwas al-Shalaan
دهام بن دواس الشعلان
Chieftain of Riyadh
In office
1745 – 5 July 1773
Preceded byIbn Zaid Abu Zara’ah
Succeeded byAbdulaziz ibn Muhammad (leader of the First Saudi State)
Regent for the House of Zaraʽah
In office
1740–1745
MonarchIbn Zaid Abu Zara’ah
Preceded byKhamis
Personal details
BornEarly 18th century
Manfuhah, Al-Yamama, Arabia (present-day Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)
DiedLate 18th century
Al-Hasa, Bani Khalid Emirate (present-day Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia)
ParentDawwas ibn Abdullah (father)

Dahham ibn Dawwas ibn Abdullah al-Shalaan (Arabic: دهام بن دواس بن عبد الله الشعلان, romanizedDahām ibn Dawwās ibn ʿAbd Allāh āl-Šaʿlān) was an 18th-century Arab tribal and political leader from Manfuhah who ruled as the first chieftain of the walled town of Riyadh from 1745 until 1773. He previously reigned as the regent for Ibn Zaid ibn Musa between 1740 and 1745 and is widely credited with laying the foundations of Riyadh, the-present day capital of Saudi Arabia, by constructing a mudbrick palace and erecting a defensive wall to ward-off invaders and intruders.[1][2] He was one of the earliest political and military opponents to the House of Saud and the nascent Wahhabi movement,[3][4] resulting in a conflict with Diriyah that lasted for almost 27 years.[5] His overall strategic failure and miscalculated decisions throughout the course of the conflict led to his eventual overthrow at the hands of the First Saudi State, making his name synonymous with acts of foolishness and ineptitude in the Najd.[6][7]

During his reign over the walled town, the names Hajr and Migrin, which were previously used for the area, fell into disuse as the name Riyadh had begun to surface in the Najd, including for settlements such as Owd and Mi’kal.[8]

He rose through the ranks of the Zaraʽah dynasty in the 1730s when Zaid ibn Musa got killed in a skirmish with the Anizah tribe. He was succeeded by his slave, Khamis, who acted as the regent of Zaid's son and made Dahham as his close aide. He fled the town for Manfuhah in 1740 in fear of an uprising. The power vacuum gave Dahham the opportunity to seize control of the town.

  1. ^ "المعالم الأثرية في بلدة الرياض". www.al-jazirah.com. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  2. ^ مجلة الفيصل: العدد 13 (in Arabic). مركز الملك فيصل للبحوث والدراسات الإسلامية. 1978-06-01.
  3. ^ "Al-Jazirah". www.al-jazirah.com. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  4. ^ Pfullmann, Uwe (2021-10-11). Thronfolge in Saudi Arabien (in German). Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. ISBN 978-3-11-240013-5.
  5. ^ Firro, Dr Tarik K. (2018-07-12). Wahhabism and the Rise of the House of Saud. Liverpool University Press. ISBN 978-1-78284-578-2.
  6. ^ Wynbrandt, James (2021-05-01). A Brief History of Saudi Arabia, Third Edition. Infobase Holdings, Inc. ISBN 978-1-4381-9954-2.
  7. ^ ""طقّة دهام بن دواس".. شاهد بدايات التأسيس". www.alriyadh.com. 25 September 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  8. ^ Rashīd, Zāmil Muḥammad (1981). Suʻūdī Relations with Eastern Arabia and ʻUmān, 1800-1870. Luzac & Company. ISBN 978-0-7189-0258-2.

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