Dahham was born to Dawwas ibn Abdullah al-Shalaan in early 18th century in
Manfuhah. His father Dawwas ibn Abdullah ruled the Manfuhah from 1681 until his death in 1726. His name is translated to 'crusher'. His brother Muhammad ibn Abdullah reigned over Manfuhah before a tribal uprising killed him. A rival faction of his family led by his uncle Mansour bin Marawi al-Shatri took control of the town and subsequently exiled him and rest of his siblings to the town of
Migrin, which was then ruled by the Zaraʽah dynasty led by Zaid ibn Musa. Zaid eventually granted asylum to Dahham and his family and also had himself married to the sister of Dahham in order to strengthen their relations. When Zaid got killed by his cousin in 1737, his slave, Khumayyis, avenged the death of his master by murdering the assassin and subsequently taking control of the town as a regent of Ibn Zaid, the underaged heir apparent of Zaid ibn Musa. Although he promised a smooth transfer of power once the child
reached the age of maturity, several loyalists of the Zar'ah clan saw his rule as illegitimate and as an attempt to cling on to power. Therefore, in 1740, Khumayyis, fearing an impending coup, fled from Migrin to the town of Manfuhah and later got assassinated. Dahham, who was working as a subordinate to Khumayyis, seized control of the town as a regent of Ibn Zaid in 1740. Like his predecessor, he also vowed transfer of power to Ibn Zaid once he reaches the age of maturity, however in 1745, Dahham banished the underaged son from the town and assumed absolute authority of the settlement. Fearing to share the same fate as Khumayyis, he began building
a wall and a
mudbrick palace in order to keep a potential uprising at bay. Soon after seizing control of the town, the inhabitants of the town rose up against him and besieged him in his palace. He sought assistance from
Muhammad ibn Saud, who then mobilized a unit led by his brother, Mishari, in support of Dahham, enabling the latter to successfully suppress the rebellion. However, Dahham and the Emirate of Diriyah found itself at loggerheads when the former tried to annex his ancestral hometown of
Manfuhah in 1746, which was in alliance with Diriyah. This marked the start of long drawn out conflict between
Riyadh and
Diriyah that lasted until 1773 when
Imam Abdulaziz ibn Muhammad conquered
Riyadh and deposed Dahham. It was during this time period during his reign over the
walled town, the names
Hajr and
Migrin, which were previously used for the area, fell into disuse and the name Riyadh had begun to surface in the Najd, including for settlements such as
Owd and
Mi’kal. == Personal life ==