[2][3] In 1744, the emir of a Najdi town called Diriyah, Muhammad bin Saud, and the religious leader Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab signed a pact to found a socio-religious reform movement to propagate the Wahhabi religious doctrine under the political leadership of the House of Saud.

[4][5] The House of Saud and its allies quickly rose to become the dominant power in Arabia by first conquering Najd, and then expanding their influence over the eastern coast from Kuwait down to the northern borders of Oman.

Saud's forces also captured the highlands of 'Asir, while Muhammad ibn Abd Al Wahhab wrote letters to people and scholars to join jihad.

The task of weakening the grip of the House of Saud was given to the powerful viceroy of Egypt, Muhammad Ali Pasha, by the Ottomans.

Abdullah bin Saud was later executed in the Ottoman capital Istanbul with his severed head later thrown into the waters of the Bosphorus, marking the end of what was known as the First Saudi State.