Key Facts
- Dates
- 1918–1919
- Key contested location
- al-Khurma
- Ceasefire duration
- Until 1924
- External mediator
- British intervention halted Saudi advance
Strategic Narrative Overview
Saudi forces under Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, fighting alongside their Ikhwan allies, engaged Hashemite troops in the disputed border region. The Ikhwan, a religiously motivated military force, proved highly effective in the field. Hashemite forces were defeated and the Saudis captured al-Khurma. British imperial authorities, who maintained treaty relationships with both parties, intervened diplomatically to prevent a total Saudi overrun of the Hashemite kingdom.
01 / The Origins
The al-Khurma dispute arose from the longstanding rivalry between the Hashemite rulers of the Kingdom of Hejaz and the Saudi Emirate of Nejd and Hasa over supremacy in the Arabian Peninsula. Control of the town of al-Khurma, situated on the contested frontier between the two powers, became the immediate flashpoint for armed confrontation in 1918, reflecting broader competition for political and religious dominance in Arabia.
03 / The Outcome
British intervention imposed a ceasefire that preserved the Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz from immediate collapse following its military defeat. Al-Khurma remained under Saudi control. The truce proved temporary; underlying tensions between the two dynasties persisted and eventually erupted again in 1924, when the Saudis completed their conquest of Hejaz, ending Hashemite rule in the Arabian Peninsula.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Abdulaziz Ibn Saud.
Side B
1 belligerent
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.