HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES. 315 



at the court of a pasha. At Medina he fought with 

 equal courage, being the first man that mounted the 

 breach, and after distinguishing himself on several 

 other occasions, he was made governor of that city 

 in April 1815. 



The success of the expedition in northern Hejaz 

 encouraged Ali Pasha to despatch another of 1000 

 horse and 500 foot against Jidda and Mecca, un- 

 der the command of his brother-in-law Mustapha 

 Bey. The Sheriff Ghaleb, intimidated by the fall 

 of Medina, had renewed his offers to the Turks, and 

 sent messengers inviting their chief to enter the town 

 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 Ta'if. 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 re- 

 spected, 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. Ta'if immediately fell, and its 

 brave defender, Medaifa, was soon after seized by 

 the partisans of Ghaleb, and despatched to Constan- 

 tinople, 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 interrupt- 

 ed for several years; but it had not broken the 



