Battle of Al Wajbah

Despite the disapproval of local tribes, Al Thani continued supporting Ottoman rule. However, Qatari–Ottoman relations soon stagnated, and in 1882 they suffered further setbacks when the Ottomans refused to aid Al Thani in his expedition of Abu Dhabi-occupied Khor Al Adaid. In a further blow to bilateral relations, the Ottomans supported the Ottoman subject Mohammed bin Abdul Wahab who attempted to supplant Al Thani as kaymakam of Qatar in 1888. In 1890, the Ottomans attempted to further consolidate their influence over Qatar by imposing numerous administrative reforms, increasing taxes and stationing additional troops in their garrison at Al Bidda. This eventually led Al Thani to rebel against the Ottomans, who he believed were seeking to usurp control of the peninsula. He resigned as kaymakam and stopped paying taxes in August 1892. ==Chronology==

Negotiations In October 1892, an Ottoman army comprising approximately 200 men led by the governor of Basra, Mehmed Hafiz Pasha, was sent to Qatar in response to Al Thani's transgressions. They arrived in February 1893, with further reinforcements en route from Kuwait. Al Thani, fearing that he would face death or imprisonment, fled first to Al Daayen, and then to Al Wajbah Fort ( west of Doha) where he was accompanied by several Qatari tribes. He also blockaded the village of Al Wajbah. Shortly after Effendi's troops arrived at Al Wajbah, they came under heavy gunfire from Qatari infantry and cavalry troops, which totalled 3,000 to 4,000 men. After seven hours of exchanging gunfire, The Ottoman troops retreated for a third time, to their fortress in Al Bidda, where their corvette was stationed. They proceeded to fire indiscriminately at the townspeople, killing a number of civilians. Furthermore, the Ottoman sultan, Abdul Hamid II, deposed Mehmet Hafiz Pasha as governor of Basra. It is also seen by Qataris as a defining moment in the establishment of Qatar as a modern state. ==References==