Dhaydan bin Hithlain

Dhaydan bin Hithlain (Arabic: ضيدان بن حثلين; died May 1929) was one of the leaders of the Ajman tribe and Amir of the hijrah (settlement) of Al Sarrar.^[1] His full name was Dhaydan bin Khalid bin Hizam bin Hithlain.^[1] Alexei Vassiliev also calls him Zaidan.^[2]

Dhaydan bin Khalid bin Hizam bin Hithlain
Dhaydan (in the middle) with fellow tribesmen
Died	May 1929 Uyayna
Allegiance	Emirate of Riyadh (1910–1921) Sultanate of Nejd (1921–1926) Ikhwan (1927–1929)
Service / branch	Ikhwan
Years of service	1914–1929
Unit	Ikhwan from the Ajman tribe
Battles / wars	Battle of Kanzan Unification of Saudi Arabia Ikhwan revolt
Relations	Faisal Al Duwaish (nephew)

Biography

The mother of Faisal Al Duwaish, another tribe leader and one of the significant Ikhwan chiefs, was the sister of Dhaydan bin Hithlain.^[1] When Ibn Saud captured the base of the Al Ajman tribe, Al Ahsa, in 1913, the tribe resisted the Saudi forces due to the termination of their privileges granted to them by the Ottomans.^[3] However, after the disputes with Ibn Saud were settled, Dhaydan joined the Ikhwan movement in 1919.^[4][5] Soon he became one of major Ikhwan leaders in addition to Faisal Al Duwaish, Sultan bin Bajad Al Otaibi and Muhsin Al Firm.^[6][7] However, Dhaydan and Muhsin Al Firm were relatively minor Ikhwan figures in contrast to Faisal Al Duwaish and Sultan Al Otaibi.^[6] In 1915 the forces of the Ajman tribe led by Dhaydan bin Hithlain did not manage to defeat Al Rashid troops in the battle of Jarrab.^[2]

In late 1926 the Ikhwan leaders met in Al Artawiyah and made a pact to contribute one another against Ibn Saud if he would attack one of them.^[8][9][10] They also shared the regions among themselves, and Dhaydan bin Hitlain assumed the responsibility of Al Ahsa region.^[7] Because they thought that Ibn Saud would appoint them as emirs of these regions.^[11] However, their plans were not materialized when Ibn Saud's sons, brothers and cousins were given the post.^[11] As a result, their relation with Ibn Saud became much more strained.^[11]

Ibn Saud held a meeting in Riyadh in October 1928 to settle the conflicts with the Ikhwan leaders, but none of them attended the meeting.^[12] As a result, Dhaydan bin Hithlain and others were removed from their posts in the Ikhwan movement due to their challenge against Ibn Saud's rule.^[13] In addition, they were declared by Ibn Saud as rebels on the same date.^[14] On 30 March 1929 other Ikhwan leaders rebelled against Ibn Saud due to the latter's activities and fought against him in the battle of Sabilla.^[15] Ibn Saud won the battle, and the Ikhwan leaders were arrested or perished.^[4] Dhaydan bin Hithlain did not openly confront with Ibn Saud during and following the battle^[1] and sent him a letter expressing his loyalty.^[16] However, Dhaydan bin Hithlain covertly supported the Ikhwan forces, although his forces did not take part in the battle.^[17]

After the battle Dhaydan bin Hithlain remained in Al Ahsa.^[17] In May 1929 he was invited to the camp of Fahd bin Abdullah, son of Abdullah bin Jiluwi who was the governor of Al Ahsa province.^[1][4] He and his five companions were murdered by Fahd who was in turn killed by the members of the Ajman tribe.^[2][15] Dhaydan's son, Rakan, and Nayef bin Hithlain succeeded him as the leaders of the Ajman tribe.^[18][19]

References

1. Talal Sha'yfan Muslat Al Azma' (July 1999). The Role of the Ikhwan under 'Abdul Aziz Al Sa'ud 1916-1934 (PhD thesis). Durham University. pp. 106, 195.
2. Alexei Vassiliev (2013). King Faisal: Personality, Faith and Times. London: Saqi. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-86356-761-2.
3. Khalid Abdullah Krairi (October 2016). John Philby and his political roles in the Arabian Peninsula, 1917-1953 (PhD thesis). University of Birmingham. pp. 131, 250.
4. Rayed Khalid Krymli (1993). The political economy of rentier states: A case study of Saudi Arabia in the oil era, 1950-1990 (PhD thesis). George Washington University. pp. 125, 131. ProQuest 304080655.
5. Sebastiano Andreotti (2013). "The Ikhwan Movement and Its Role in Saudi Arabia's State-Building". In Kenneth Christie; Mohammad Masad (eds.). State Formation and Identity in the Middle East and North Africa. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 91. ISBN 978-1-349-47503-2.
6. John S. Habib (1970). The Ikhwan Movement of Najd: Its Rise, Development, and Decline (PhD thesis). University of Michigan. p. 135. ProQuest 288186259.
7. Nabil Mouline (2014). The Clerics of Islam. Religious Authority and Political Power in Saudi Arabia. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. pp. 102, 105. doi:10.12987/9780300206616-004. ISBN 9780300178906. S2CID 246092501.
8. John Demetrios Sotos (1982). Principles, pragmatism, and the al Saud: the role of Islamic ideals in political dissent in Saudi Arabia, 1919-1982 (MA thesis). American University. pp. 72–73. ISBN 9798641587837. ProQuest 219906171.
9. Christine Helms (2020). The Cohesion of Saudi Arabia: Evolution of Political Identity. London: Routledge. p. 307. ISBN 978-1-00-011293-1.
10. H.V.F. Winstone; Zahra Freeth (2017). Kuwait: Prospect and Reality. London: Routledge. p. 167. ISBN 978-1-351-66983-2.
11. Madawi Al Rasheed (2020). The Son King: Reform and Repression in Saudi Arabia. London: C. Hurst & Co. Ltd. p. 51. doi:10.1093/oso/9780197558140.001.0001. ISBN 9781787383791.
12. Abdulaziz Al Fahad (2002). "The 'Imama vs. the 'Iqal: Hadari-Bedouin Conflict and the Formation of the Saudi State". EUI Working Papers. 11: 23. hdl:1814/1769. ISSN 1028-3625.
13. "Ikhwān". Encyclopedia Britannica.
14. Harold Courtenay Armstrong (2001). Lord of Arabia: Ibn Saud: An Intimate Study of a King (PDF). Simon Publications. p. 228. ISBN 9781931541282. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2019.
15. Nadav Safran (2018). Saudi Arabia: The Ceaseless Quest for Security. Ithaca, NY; London: Cornell University Press. p. 53. ISBN 978-1-5017-1855-7.
16. "Al Ajman History (Part Three)" (in Arabic). Al Ajman Website. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
17. Hassan S. Abedin (2003). Abdulaziz Al Saud and the Great Game in Arabia, 1896-1946 (PDF) (PhD thesis). King's College London. p. 193. OCLC 59173487.
18. Joseph Kostiner (July 1985). "On Instruments and Their Designers: The Ikhwan of Najd and the Emergence of the Saudi State". Middle Eastern Studies. 21 (3): 315. doi:10.1080/00263208508700631.
19. Mohammed Suleiman Al Haddad (1981). The Effect of Detribalization and Sedentarization on the Socio-Economic Structure of the Tribes of the Arabian Peninsula: Ajman Tribe as a Case Study (PhD thesis). University of Kansas. p. 168. ProQuest 303145966.

External links

• Media related to Dhaidan bin Haithlin at Wikimedia Commons