The Wahhabi movement, a fundamentalist sect within Islam founded by Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab, will lead to creation of the Emirate of Diriyah as he and Muhammad bin Saud launch their campaign to reform Islam and consolidate power in Arabia from their power-base, and its eventual crushing by the Khedive, Muhammad Ali of Egypt, the semiautonomous  viceroy of the Ottoman Empoire.

The Wahhabi sack of Karbala in 1802 had resulted in five thousand deaths and the plundering of the Imam Husayn Shrine; by 1805, the Wahhabis controlled Mecca and Medina.

The Wahhabis also attack Ottoman trade caravans, which interrupts the Ottoman finances.

The Saudi amir has denounced the Ottoman sultan and called into question the validity of his claim to be caliph and guardian of the sanctuaries of the Hejaz.

The Ottoman Empire, suspicious of the ambitious Muhammad Ali, have instructed him to fight the Wahhabis, as the defeat of either would be beneficial to them.

Tensions between Muhammad Ali and his Albanian troops also prompt him to send them to Arabia and fight against the Wahhabi movement, where many die.

Muhammad Ali had been ordered as early as December 1807 by Sultan Mustafa IV to crush the Saudi state, but internal strife within Egypt had prevented him from giving full attention to the Wahhabis.

The Albanians are not able to recapture the holy cities until 1811.