y into
the palace, killed Masharah, and placed Fesal on the throne of his
father. As a reward for his services Abdallah was appointed governor of
Jebel Shammar, and had already established himself in Hail when the
Egyptian expedition of 1836 removed Fesal temporarily from Nejd. During
the exile of the latter he steadily consolidated his power, extending
his influence more especially over the desert tribes, till on Fesal's
return in 1842 he had created a state subject only in name to that of
which Riad was the capital.

On the death of Abdallah in 1843, his son Talal succeeded. He set
himself to work to establish law and order throughout the state, to
arrange its finances, and to encourage the settlement in Hail of
artificers and merchants from abroad; the building of the citadel and
palace commenced by Mehemet Ali, and continued by Abdallah Ibn Rashid,
was completed by Talal. The town walls were strengthened, new wells dug,
gardens planted, mosques and schools built. His uncle Obed, to whom
equally with Abdallah is due the foundation of the Ibn Rashid dynasty,
laboured to extend the Shammar boundaries. Khaibar, Tema and Jauf became
tributary to Hail.

Though tolerant in religion Talal was careful to avoid the suspicion of
lukewarmness towards the Wahhabi formulas. Luxury in clothing and the
use of tobacco were prohibited; attendance at the mosque was enforced:
any doubt as to his orthodoxy was silenced by the amount and regularity
of the tribute sent by him to Riad. Equally guarded was his attitude to
the Turkish authorities; it is not improbable that Talal had also
entered into relations with the viceroy of Egypt to ensure his position
in case of a collision with the Porte. During his twenty years' reign
Jebel Shammar became a model state, where justice and security ruled in
a manner before unheard of. Fesal may well have watched with jealous
anxiety the growing strength of his neighbour's state as compared with
his own, where all progress was arrested by the deadening tyranny of
religious fanaticism.

The amir Mahommed.

On the 11th of March 1868 Talal, smitten with an incurable malady, fell
by his own hand and was succeeded by his brother Matab; after a brief
reign he was murdered by his nephews, the elder of whom, Bandar, became
amir. Mahommed, the third son of the amir Abdallah, was at the time
absent; with a view of getting his uncle into his power, Bandar invited
him to return to Hail, and on his arrival