Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 75 Arab Tribes

The thriving scene in Tehran is not only incredible to its own people, but also a huge shock to people from overseas.

Ahmed received an invitation from Iran to come to Tehran to discuss matters. Their tribe, located in the Dhahran area, has a population of less than 30,000 and some camels, relying on its coastal location and oases to develop agriculture.

In the desert, food and water are the most important resources. The Shamari tribe living in Dhahran became easy prey for powerful tribes, being successively occupied by the Khalid and Saud families. They were also forced to supply these two powerful families.

The Iranian personnel responsible for receiving them arrived quickly.

"Hello Prince Shamari, please come with me. The Crown Prince has been waiting for a long time."

"Okay, that's troublesome."

Ahmed and his entourage were led into the Gulestan Palace, where Nasser al-Din had been waiting for some time.

"Ah, welcome, Prince Ahmed."

Nasserdin immediately gave Ahmed a big hug, which startled him. But he quickly recovered and said to Nasserdin...

"I am honored to be here."

After they finished speaking, the two sat down and began to talk about the tribe.

“The Shah is deeply moved by the Shamari tribe’s steadfast adherence to their true faith. I never imagined that there were people in the Naj region who were so devoted to their beliefs.”

Ahmed smiled somewhat embarrassedly, “The great Ali and Hussein were killed by traitors, it is an unspeakable pain. Everyone should mourn this tragedy, but unfortunately, not many people remember it anymore.”

This actually suggests that the situation for Shiites in the Arabian Peninsula is not good; the conflict between Sunnis and Wahhabis is hurting them.

“They take advantage of their majority to oppress their brothers. The Shah is heartbroken about this and doesn’t know how to help them.”

Hearing that he could help Ahmed, he knew that an opportunity had come. His tribe was short of weapons and other supplies. He also knew a bit about history; back then, Ali's modern army had directly crushed the Saudi army.

Decades ago, Nejd gradually developed from a small state into a powerful Sunni nation dominating the Arab world, and within a short period of time, it controlled the Hejaz region of the Ottoman Empire. Mecca and Medina, located in the Hejaz region, are the birthplace of the Great Mosques of Islam. These expansionist actions aroused the dissatisfaction of the Ottoman Empire.

In 1811, the Ottoman Empire declared war on the Emirate of Nejd. The Ottoman Empire dispatched the Egyptian governor, Muhammad Ali Pasha, on an expedition that recaptured the Hejaz region. Seven years later, the Emirate of Diriyah was defeated by the Ottoman Empire, its capital Diriyah was razed to the ground, and its last Imam, Abdullah al-Saud, was executed.

While Iran may not be as powerful as it was during Ali's time, its aid will certainly be substantial. It all depends on what they can offer in return.

“I think if the Shah were willing to provide some weapons, then the entire Najd would become a loyal follower.”

In reality, Saudi rule has few supporters. If even one tribe rebels, war breaks out everywhere, and they quickly slink away or disappear altogether.

Naser al-Din smiled; this was the outcome he wanted. Wahhabi and Sunni sects were notorious for producing terrorists; the Shia sects were much safer, posing no threat whatsoever. Although agricultural production in the Najd region was weak, they had abundant resources. Of course, there was also plenty of phosphate, and neither the Ottomans nor the British would venture deep into the area; it was very safe.

“Well, the Shah believes that if… a tribe can get help, then he can conquer Nejd and is willing to maintain friendly relations with Iran and form an alliance.”

As he spoke, Nasser al-Din glanced at Ahmed. Ahmed understood and replied...

"I think we should be able to achieve a very good collaboration."

“Just what I wanted. Congratulations, Prince, your tribe is about to become the ruler of Nej.”

One wants allies and markets, the other wants his family to rule Najd. And since they both adhere to Shia Islam, how can they not cooperate?

They signed an agreement as quickly as possible, with Iran supporting the Shamari tribe in obtaining Naj and providing some weapons and supplies, in exchange for the tribe pledging allegiance to Iran.

Iran remains a Shia stronghold in the Middle East, and despite its civil war, its authority is still very high. Furthermore, its state system is quite mature, and many tribes rely on it for assistance.

Furthermore, while the Arab population in Najd is not large, it still numbers in the hundreds of thousands. Forgive Iran's short-sightedness; it can only compete for markets and land on its own doorstep. Besides, no one else seems interested in this place.

Before leaving, Nasser al-Din gave Ahmed more than 20 matchlock guns and a bunch of canned food, including fruits and vegetables, in his personal capacity, so that they could take them back and have a taste.

These cans aren't made of metal; they're made of glass jars with corks and reinforced with string. This solves the problem of preserving fruits and vegetables, and it also works for tribes, as they typically have very limited access to fresh produce.

Nasser al-Din wasn't unwilling to produce tin cans; the problem was that they couldn't be opened. They were too sturdy; only a knife or an axe could open them.

This made Nasserdin realize that this wouldn't work, and he decided to invest in a cannery. Without a can opener, sales wouldn't be high. After all, who would pay for something that's difficult to open?

While there's no penalty for using cutting-edge technology in this era, you still have to actually be able to use it. Telephones, cars, internal combustion engines—let alone internal combustion engines, the steam engine isn't even widespread yet, so don't even think about it.

“Alas, there has never been anyone like me who has helped them,” Naserdin muttered to himself.

If the King of Bahrain knew this, he would surely be furious. After being forced to submit to Iran, they had to hand over huge amounts of gold coins, and their country was flooded with Iranian goods. Britain, on the other hand, offered no help whatsoever, claiming it was for the sake of regional peace.

Forget about peace. It's just that Iran gives you what we can't. Don't say such high-sounding things. Right now, we can only take it one step at a time. If Iran really wants to annex them, they don't have the ability to expel them, unless the British suddenly have a change of heart.

The Najd region is so impoverished that no major power wanted to control it before the advent of black gold. Doing a favor by letting a Shia tribe take control is a good thing. At least there won't be a Wahhabi family opposing Iran.

Furthermore, the withdrawal of Egypt has created a power vacuum in the region. Saudi Arabia controls most of the area, but it's merely a tribal leader, and some smaller tribes are still dissatisfied. This presents an opportunity for Iran to provide support. As for whether it will eventually break free from these constraints, we'll have to wait and see.

(End of this chapter)