The House of Saud and its allies quickly rose to become the dominant sovereignty in Arabia by first conquering Najd , and then expanding their influence over the eastern coast which measures from Kuwait down to the northern borders of Oman . Furthermore , Saud 's forces brought the highlands of ' Asir under their suzerainty , while Muhammad bin Abd Al Wahhab wrote letters to people and scholars to enter the field of jihad . After many military campaigns , Muhammad bin Saud died in 1765 , leaving the leadership to his son , Abdul-Aziz bin Muhammad . Saud 's forces went so far as to gain command of the Shi'a holy city of Karbala in 1801 . Here they destroyed the shrine of the saints and monuments and killed over 5000 civilians . In retribution , Abdul-Aziz was assassinated by a young Shia in 1803 , having followed him back to Nejd Muhammad bin Abd Al Wahhab died in 1792 . In 1803 , eleven years after Wahhab 's death , the son of Abdul Aziz Bin Muhammad , Saud bin Abdul-Aziz bin Muhammad bin Saud , sent out forces to bring the region of Hejaz under his rule . Ta'if was the first city to be captured , and later the two holy cities of Mecca and Medina . This was seen as a major challenge to the authority of the Ottoman Empire , which had exercised its rule over the holy cities since 1517
gain command
Wahhabi sack of Karbala
Emirate of Diriyah