[2] The mother of Saud and his much younger full-brother Abdul Rahman was part of the Ajman, a Bedouin tribe inhabiting the desert to the southeast of Riyadh.
[3] 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.
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.
[2] However, the Wahhabi leader, Abdul Rahman bin Hasan, did not endorse the rebellion of Saud and supported Abdullah as the legitimate ruler.
[5] However, in December 1870, Saud, aided by the rulers of Oman, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, defeated the forces of Abdullah in the battle of Juda and captured his brother other Muhammad.
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.
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.
[11] Three of them were taken by Muhammad bin Abdullah Al Rashid, Rashidi emir, as hostages and transferred to Hail.