Qasr Ibn Uqayyil
Qasr Ibn Uqayyil
A mud-brick settlement on the south bank of Wadi al-Rummah, some 12 km west of al-Rass. In 1322/1904 Abd al-Aziz held it; Ibn Rashid shelled its roshan, then the Ottoman–Jabal camp broke in the wadi.
Why visit?
The Qassim campaign broke, not in a capital, but at a small Tamimi town on the Rummah.
Ibn Uqayyil is a walled mud settlement on the south bank of Wadi al-Rummah, about 12 km west of al-Rass and 90 km from Buraydah. It belongs to Al Uqayyil of al-Masharifa, of al-Wahaba of Banu Tamim. Before the fight it was often called Mashrafa; the present name stuck after Abd al-Aziz held the place.
In Rajab 1322 / September 1904, after al-Bukayriyya, Ibn Rashid sat at al-Shanana opposite Ibn Saud at al-Rass. Supplies failed. Ibn Rashid moved on the qasr at dawn; Abd al-Aziz was already inside, in the roshan and the war-room by the mosque. Guns opened; the garrison and Ibn Uqayyil came out; the fight ran into the wadi northwest of the town. Najdi narrative has the Ottoman regulars break and Ibn Rashid withdraw to spare Hail lives. Booty, including chests later called Ottoman gold, was gathered for days and taken to Unayzah. 18 Rajab 1322 / 29 September 1904 is the usual date for the Shanana campaign; the shelling of the qasr is an episode within it.
The Heritage Commission survey records walls, towers and mud fabric. The roshan tied to Abd al-Aziz is the standing architectural witness. Earlier images in this record are test-licensed only.