Ar-Rass

Ar-Rass lies beside Wadi al-Rummah in western Qasim, amid the wells and cultivated lands of Najd. Its old town was protected by thick walls, a ditch and a fortress. The strength of those defences became famous during the campaign against the first Saudi state.

In 1817 Ibrahim Pasha's Egyptian army advanced into Qasim and besieged ar-Rass. The townspeople defended it alongside a Saudi garrison, while the guns battered its walls. The siege lasted more than three months; the defenders suffered casualties and sent to Abdullah ibn Saud at Unayzah for help or permission to make terms. With relief uncertain and the besiegers reinforced, the two sides agreed to a settlement. The siege was lifted, the inhabitants laid down their arms and promised neutrality, and Ibrahim's soldiers were not to enter the town. The agreement spared ar-Rass an assault after a long and costly resistance.