278 HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES. 



under his charge. Thus deserted by his relation, 

 Medaifa, who commanded the Wahabee forces in 

 that district, found himself too weak to hazard a 

 battle, and retired towards Taif. Jidda was seized 

 by a detachment of a few hundred men, while Mus- 

 tapha, with the principal corps, entered Mecca in 

 January, 1813. The property of the citizens was 

 respected, as it had formerly been by the soldiers 

 of Saoud; while 1000 Arabs and black slaves, with 

 the sheriff at their head, were added to the ranks 

 of the Egyptian army. Taif immediately fell, and 

 its brave defender, Medaifa, was soon after seized 

 by the partisans of Ghaleb, and despatched to Con- 

 stantinople, where the youngest son of Mohammed 

 Ali presented him to his sovereign, with the keys 

 of the holy cities, together with many valuable offer- 

 ings. The noble captive was immediately beheaded ; 

 and thus the reformers lost their most active and 

 intrepid ally in Hejaz. 



The recovery of this province opened a free pas- 

 sage for the haj-caravans, which had been inter- 

 rupted for several years ; but it had not broken the 

 power of the Wahabees. All the tribes eastward of 

 the mountains that bound the great desert parallel 

 with the sea still acknowledged the supremacy of 

 Saoud. The Turks never encountered them in the 

 open country without being defeated ; and as the 

 conduct of Ghaleb was by no means such as to in- 

 spire his new allies with confidence, Mohammed Ali 

 thought it necessary to visit in person the scene of 

 action, that he might establish his authority on a 

 more secure and permanent footing. Egypt had 

 long been in a state of complete subjection ; so that 

 he could allege no excuse to the Porte for disobe- 

 dience to its peremptory commands. He embarked 

 at Suez with 2000 infantry, while an equal number 

 of cavalry, accompanied by a train of 8000 camels, 

 proceeded by land. Of the latter only five hundred 

 survived, the rest having perished on the road, 



I 



