TRENDEFRARAtlas of the Sultans · Wars, battles and treaties
Campaign · 1811
After the Wahhabis seized Mecca and Medina at the start of the 19th century, the Porte asked the governor of Egypt, Kavalalı Mehmed Ali Pasha, to mount an expedition to the Hejaz. According to the TDV article on Mehmed Ali Pasha, he sent his son Tosun, appointed governor of Jeddah and commander of the expedition, to the Hejaz in 1811. According to the TDV article on Wahhabism, the Egyptian forces that set out in 1811 had brought Mecca and Medina back under Ottoman rule by 1813. When Tosun failed to achieve enough, Mehmed Ali went in person in 1813 and stayed until 1815; the suppression of the Wahhabis was then entrusted to his son İbrahim Pasha. İbrahim Pasha besieged the Wahhabi centre of Diriyah on 6 April 1818 and took it on 9 September. The victory secured the pilgrimage routes. The Saudi emirate was re-established in 1824 with Riyadh as its centre.
| Date | 1811 – 9 September 1818 |
|---|---|
| Location | Hejaz and Najd (Diriyah) |
| Result | Mecca and Medina were recovered; Diriyah fell and the pilgrimage routes were secured |
| Belligerents | Ottoman Empire | Emirate of Diriyah |
|---|---|---|
| Commanders | Kavalalı Mehmed Ali Pasha Tosun Pasha İbrahim Pasha |
Took place during the reign of Mahmud II (1808–1839). Mahmud II
Open the reign of Mahmud II on the mapBy the atlas's calculation the Ottoman lands covered about 4,551,000 km² in 1811; at the start of Mahmud II's reign they measured 4,551,000 km², at its end 3,803,000 km².
During Mahmud II (1808–1839) the atlas records 0 regions gained and 6 regions lost.
Regions lost: Cyclades (Naxos) (1821), Morea (Peloponnese) (1828), Akhaltsikhe (Childir) (1828), Athens–Central Greece (1829), Algiers (1830), Euboea (Negroponte) (1833).
He recentralised the state: he abolished the Janissaries and founded modern ministries, schools and the census. The territorial losses were heavy (Greece, Algiers, Bessarabia), but the administrative structure he built made the Tanzimat possible.
Areas are land area computed from the atlas's region data; see Method and sources.
Source: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, “KAVALALI MEHMED ALİ PAŞA” (Turkish); text written for the atlas.
Cite as: Atlas of the Sultans, “Ottoman–Wahhabi war (1811): Date, Commanders and Outcome”, https://padisahlaratlasi.com/en/events/ottoman-wahhabi-war/ (last updated 12 November 2026). Corrections
Terms on this page: Sublime Porte