The Rasheed dynasty, also called Al Rasheed or the House of Rasheed ( ; ), was a historic Arabian House or dynasty that existed in the Arabian Peninsula between 1836 and 1921. Its members were rulers of the Emirate of Ha'il and the most formidable enemies of the House of Saud, rulers of the Emirate of Nejd. They were centered in Ha'il, a city in northern Najd that derived its wealth from being on the route of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, and was also a commercial center. The rulers of Ha'il were the sons of Abdullah bin Rashid, founder of the dynasty. History The Rashidi dynasty derived their name from their forebear Abdullah bin Ali Al Rashid, the first emir, who began the establishment of the Emirate of Ha'il. The Rashidi emirs co-operated closely with the Ottoman Empire. However, that co-operation became problematic as the Ottoman Empire lost popularity. In 1890, Al Rashid occupied Riyadh and then defeated the Saudi tribes, who fled into exile, first to Bahrain, then to Qatar, and finally to Kuwait. As with many other Arab ruling dynasties, the lack of an accepted rule of succession was a recurrent problem for the Rashidi. The internal dispute normally centered on whether succession to the position of emir should be horizontal (to a brother) or vertical (to a son) and often were resolved violently. Six Rashidi leaders died violently in the last years of the nineteenth century. Nevertheless, the Rashidi still ruled and fought together during the Saudi–Rashidi Wars. During the first two decades of the 20th century, the Arabian Peninsula saw a long-running series of wars as the Saudis and their allies sought to unite the peninsula under their rule. By 1921, Ha'il was captured by Abdulaziz Al Saud. Some members of the Rashid family left the country and went into voluntary exile, mostly to the Kingdom of Iraq, Pakistan, Oman, Kuwait, and the UAE. By the 1990s, only a handful were still outside Saudi Arabia. Emirs of the House of Rashid ʿAbdullah bin Ali Al Rashid (), (1836–48). Abdullah came to power after he got the support from Imam Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah Al Saud to be assigned officially and takeover the Emirate of Hail instead of the current Emir, Muhammad bin Ali al-Jaafar al-Shammari. Abdullah bin Rashid came to the picture after leading a revolt (together with his brother prince ʿUbayd Al Rashīd)