Sara bint Ahmed Al Sudairi (Arabic: سارة بنت أحمد السديري Sara bint Aḥmed Al Sudairī; died 1910) was a Saudi royal. She was a member of the Al Sudairi family and the wife of Abdul Rahman bin Faisal who was the last ruler of the Second Saudi State. Sara was the mother of King Abdulaziz or Ibn Saud who was the founder of Saudi Arabia.[1][2]

Sara bint Ahmed Al Sudairi
BornAl Ahsa
Died1910
Riyadh
Burial
Spouse
Issue
List
Names
Sarah bint Ahmed bin Muhammad bin Turki bin Suleiman Al Sudairi
House
  • Sudairi (by birth)
  • Al Saud (by marriage)
FatherAhmed bin Muhammad bin Turki Al Sudairi
MotherHessa bint Muhanna bin Saleh Al Nuwairan

Biography

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Sara bint Ahmed was a member of the Al Sudairi family who are part of the Dawasir tribe[3] settled in Al Ghat that is an oasis town located in central Arabia nearly 250 kilometers northwest of Riyadh.[4]

Her mother was Hessa bint Muhanna bin Saleh Al Nuwairan.[5] The father of Sara was Ahmed bin Muhammad bin Turki bin Suleiman Al Sudairi who was nicknamed Ahmed Al Kabeer (The Great).[6] He was assigned by Faisal bin Turki, the ruler of the Second Saudi State, to different regions as an administrator, including Al Ahsa where Sara was born.[6] He also served in Al Ghat and Buraimi, and died in 1860.[7] Sara's uncle, Abdullah bin Muhammad, also served as the governor of Al Ahsa under Faisal bin Turki.[8]

Sara had six brothers, Muhammad, Turki, Abdul Mohsen, Abdulaziz, Saad, and Abdul Rahman, and two sisters, Falwa and Noura.[6] Of them Muhammad was made the governor of Al Ahsa following the death of his father who had been in the post until his death.[9] Another, Turki, was the governor of Saudi Oman.[9] Sara's sister Falwa married Muhammad bin Faisal bin Turki, and Noura was the spouse of Jiluwi bin Turki bin Abdullah.[6][9] Noura and Jiluwi were the paternal grandparents of Al Jawhara bint Musaed who was the mother of King Khalid, Prince Muhammad and Princess Al Anoud.[10]

Sara's first husband, Abdullah bin Hamad bin Abdul Jabbar, died, and they did not have any child.[11] Then she married Abdul Rahman bin Faisal.[4][9] Her children from this second marriage were Faisal, Noura, Abdulaziz, Bazza, Haya and Saad.[12] She accompanied her husband and children when they were forced to leave Riyadh in 1891.[11]

Sara was a tall woman like her son, Abdulaziz.[11] She died in Riyadh in late 1910.[11][12][13] However, there is another report giving her death year as 1908.[4] She was buried in Al Oud cemetery in Riyadh.[11]

Ancestry

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References

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  1. ^ Alexei Vassiliev (2013). The History of Saudi Arabia. London: Saqi. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-86356-779-7.
  2. ^ Brian Lees (2006). "The Al Saud family and the future of Saudi Arabia". Asian Affairs. 37 (1): 45. doi:10.1080/03068370500457411. S2CID 162227738.
  3. ^ Mordechai Abir (April 1987). "The Consolidation of the Ruling Class and the New Elites in Saudi Arabia". Middle Eastern Studies. 23 (2): 150–171. doi:10.1080/00263208708700697. JSTOR 4283169.
  4. ^ a b c Nadav Samin (2015). Of Sand or Soil: Genealogy and Tribal Belonging in Saudi Arabia. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 118. ISBN 9780691164441.
  5. ^ "نورة بنت عبد الرحمن.. السيدة السعودية الأولى". Al Bayan (in Arabic). 24 May 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d Abdullah Al Madani (17 May 2020). "نورة بنت عبدالرحمن.. السيدة الأولى". Elaph (in Arabic). Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  7. ^ Khalid Abdullah Krairi (October 2016). John Philby and his political roles in the Arabian Peninsula, 1917-1953 (PhD thesis). University of Birmingham. p. 396.
  8. ^ Bilal Ahmad Kutty (1997). Saudi Arabia under King Faisal (PDF) (PhD thesis). Aligarh Muslim University. p. 45.
  9. ^ a b c d Gary Samuel Samore (1984). Royal Family Politics in Saudi Arabia (1953-1982) (PhD thesis). Harvard University. pp. 24–25. ProQuest 303295482.
  10. ^ Yousef Othman Al Huzaim. An Exceptional Woman Wife of a King. Darussalam Publishers. p. 7. GGKEY:D6ZEE3WS95S.
  11. ^ a b c d e "سارة بنت أحمد (الكبير) بن محمد السديري". Great Sciences (in Arabic). 30 May 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  12. ^ a b "Noura bint Abdul Rahman.. Adviser to the King and the Secrets Portfolio". Saudi 24 News. 17 May 2020. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  13. ^ Khaled ibn Abdul Rahman Al Jeraisy. "King Abdulaziz' Noble Character" (PDF). Islam House. Retrieved 2 October 2020.