Battle of Mesaimeer

Battle of Mesaimeer
A 1937 sketch map illustrating both Mesaimeer and Doha (modern Al Bidda)
Date 2 June – 4 June, 1851 Location Mesaimeer, Qatar Result Stalemate Bahraini and Abu Dhabi forces retreat Qatar defects to the Emirate of Nejd Eventual treaty regranting Bahrain dominion over Qatar in exchange for an annual zakat to the Emirate of Nejd
Belligerents
Qatari tribes	Bahrain Abu Dhabi (nominally allied with Qatar) Supported by: United Kingdom	Emirate of Nejd
Commanders and leaders
Mohammed bin Thani Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani	Muhammad bin Khalifa Al Khalifa Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa Saeed bin Tahnun Al Nahyan	Faisal bin Turki
Strength
Unknown ("few in number" according to sources)	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown

The Battle of Mesaimeer (Arabic: وقعة مسيمير) was a significant military engagement that took place from June 2–4, 1851, near the village of Mesaimeer in Qatar. The conflict primarily involved Qatari forces led by Mohammed bin Thani and Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, then under Bahraini suzerainty, against the invading army of Faisal bin Turki, Imam of Emirate of Nejd, who was seeking to stage his third invasion attempt of Bahrain from the peninsula. Bahraini and Abu Dhabi forces, nominally allied with Qatar, remained largely uninvolved in the fighting.

The battle, which lasted three days in total, was primarily centered around Faisal bin Turki's camp in Mesaimeer and the nearby settlement of Al Bidda. On 2 June, the Qatari and allied forces, though vastly outnumbered, successfully repelled an attack by Faisal's army. The Bahraini ruler Ali bin Khalifa, nominally allied with the Qataris, retreated to his ship on the second day of battle, declining to render aid. After the third day of fighting and following Faisal's retreat to his camp in Mesaimeer, Mohammed bin Thani proceeded to make peace with Faisal, angering his former Bahraini allies, who viewed this as a betrayal.

After this peace agreement, in which Mohammed bin Thani agreed to Wahhabi governance, a new agreement was brokered by Saeed bin Tahnun Al Nahyan in July 1851, stipulating that Qatar be returned to Bahrain in exchange for a tribute paid to Faisal bin Turki. This battle and the political enmity arising from it would contribute to the start of the Qatari–Bahraini War in 1867.