Battle of Turubah (1813)

The town of Turubah was located southeast of Mecca and was the home of the Al-Bugum tribes, who worked as shepherds and cultivators. They were led by a widow named Ghaliyya Al Bogammiah whose husband was one of the chiefs of Turuba and possessed great wealth. She distributed her wealth to the poor who were ready to fight the Ottomans and sh eusually held councils with other Saudi chiefs in her house.[1] In the month of Sha'ban (August), she led the Saudi troops against Mustafa Bey, who attacked Turuba, and successfully defeated the first Ottoman attack.[2][3]

The Ottoman army's fears soon inspired stories against her. They regarded her as chief of the Wahhabis and circulated stories about her being a sorceress. Such reports generally discouraged the Ottomans and improved the confidence and morale of the Saudis.[4] After the first failed attack on the city, Saud Bin Abdulaziz began fortifying it and ordered the Arab tribes of the Hejaz to reinforce the garrison.[5]

Muhammad Ali Pasha was determined to launch a second attack, so he dispatched his son Tusun Pasha with a force of two thousand men, who left Taif in late October or early November. During the march between Taif and Turuba, they encountered the hostile tribes of Otaibah, Nasira and Banu Sa'd, who were originally neutral but began attacking the Ottomans after the capture and exile of Ghalib ibn Musa'id. Tusun engaged with these tribes , which wasted his supplies and provisions. He chased them into the mountains and reduced half of them to subjugation. By the time he arrived in Turuba, he only had enough supplies and provisions for three days.[4]

The Ottomans immediately attacked the town, but the Saudis held firm and repulsed the attack, being animated by the speeches and exhortations of Ghaliyya, while the Ottomans were already exhausted by previous combat with the hostile tribes. Tusun ordered a second attack on the next day but the Ottoman soldiers openly refused his orders. His officers reported that the the troops were exhausted and urged a retreat towards Taif. The Saudis, aware of what was happening, began chasing them as soon as they retreated and attacked them during their march, killing many of them and forcing them to abandon their baggage and guns.[4]

The Ottomans lost seven hundred men during the retreat and many more died from lack of water and supplies. The army was saved from destruction by a hundred cavalry. The Saudis were unable to withstand the cavalry charge and retreated back to Turuba.[4] The battle had lasted four days.[4][5]

The Saudis returned again to harassing the Pasha's caravans and began cutting the lines of communication between Mecca and Medina, weakening the Ottoman position and gaining advantage for the Saudis.[6]