Battle of Sarif

Battle of Sarif
Part of Kuwaiti–Rashidi war
Date 1901(17 march) Location Sarif Northwest of Buraydah Result Emirate of Jabal Shammar victory • Kuwaiti invasion of Nejd and Jabal shammer fails The Emir of Jabal Shammar pursued Mubarak Al-Sabah until he besieged Jahra in 1901(31March)
Belligerents
Sheikhdom of Kuwait Al-Muntafiq Union Emirate of Muhammara 17 Arab tribes	Emirate of Jabal Shammar
Commanders and leaders
Mubarak I (WIA) Hamoud Al-Sabah †	Abd al-Aziz II
Units involved
64,000	12,000
Casualties and losses
9,000 killed 850-400Captive	400 killed

The Battle of Sarif was a conflict between the Sheikhdom of Kuwait and the Emirate of Jabal Shammar which was fought from 1900 to 1901. It began in mid-December 1900, when the emir of Kuwait, Mubarak Al-Sabah launched a raid into central Arabia. It saw moderate initial success, with the Kuwaitis moving into Najd towards the end of February 1901, and having captured Unaizah, Buraidah and Al Zulfi by 11 March. Most of Riyadh was also captured (except for the besieged citadel), from where the Kuwaitis attempted to march on Ha'il, and on 11 March the Kuwaitis began a pursuit of the emir of Jabal Shammar, who was thought to be in the vicinity of Ha'il. However, Kuwaiti success saw a reversal on 17 March 1901 when the Kuwaiti army was defeated in the Battle of Sarif. Upon hearing of this defeat, Ibn Saud, who was besieging the Masmak fort in Riyadh (which was defended by Aljan ibn Muhammad), hastily retreated to Kuwait, and the emir of Kuwait followed suit, arriving in Kuwait on 31 March.