Editing History of Qatar (section)

=== Battle of Al Wajbah ===
{{Main|Battle of Al Wajbah}}
[[File:Olddoha2-771x410.jpg|thumb|245px|Old city of Doha, January 1904.]]
In February 1893, Mehmed Hafiz Pasha arrived in Qatar to seek unpaid taxes and accost Jassim bin Mohammed's opposition to proposed Ottoman administrative reforms. Fearing that he would face death or imprisonment, Jassim bin Mohammed moved to [[Al Wajbah]] ({{Convert|10|mi|km|abbr=on|order=flip}} miles west of [[Doha]]); he was accompanied by several tribe members. Mehmed demanded that he disband his troops and pledge his loyalty to the Ottomans. However, Jassim bin Mohammed remained adamant in his refusal to comply with Ottoman authority. In March 1893, Mehmed imprisoned his brother, Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Thani, in addition to 13 prominent Qatari tribal leaders on the Ottoman [[corvette]] ''Merrikh''. After Mehmed declined an offer to release the captives for a fee of ten thousand [[Turkish lira|liras]], he ordered a column of approximately 200 Ottoman troops to advance towards Jassim bin Mohammed's fortress in Al Wajbah under the command of Yusuf Effendi.<ref>{{cite book |last= Fromherz|first= Allen|date= 13 April 2012|title= Qatar: A Modern History|publisher= Georgetown University Press|page= 60|isbn= 978-1-58901-910-2}}</ref>

Shortly after arriving at Al Wajbah, Effendi's troops came under heavy gunfire by Qatari infantry and cavalry troops, which totaled 3,000 to 4,000 men. They retreated to Shebaka fortress, where they once again sustained casualties from a Qatari incursion. After they retreated to the fortress of Al Bidda, Jassim bin Mohammed's advancing column besieged the fortress and cut off the neighborhood's water supply. The Ottomans conceded defeat and agreed to relinquish the Qatari captives in return for the safe passage of Mehmed Pasha's cavalry to [[Hofuf]] by land.<ref>{{Harvnb|Rahman|2006|pp=152}}</ref> Although Qatar did not gain full independence from the [[Ottoman Empire]], the result of the battle forced a treaty that would later form the basis of Qatar emerging as an autonomous country within the empire.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.qatarvisitor.com/index.php?cID=439&pID=1701 |title=Battle of Al Wajbah |publisher=Qatar Visitor |date=2 June 2007 |access-date=22 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117024415/http://www.qatarvisitor.com/index.php?cID=439&pID=1701 |archive-date=17 January 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>