Last Survivor of Saudi Unification Wars Dies At 118

Last man who battled in one of the Kingdom's unification wars alongside King Abdul Aziz's forces, named Saeed Bin Mohie Bin Ahmed Al-Ahmed Al-Qahtani, passes away at the age of 118 year old on Tuesday in his town of Al-Omrah in the Uhud Rufaidah governorate, according to Saudi Gazette.

His ID card indicated Al-Qahtani was born in 1327 H (1909) yet he used to say he was born much earlier.

Al-Qahtani is survived by two of his children Mohammed (75) and Ali (65). The last war he battled in was at Baqim in 1352H (1934). 

On the occasion of the 88th anniversary of the Saudi Arabia's National Day last September, Al-Watan published a full-page meeting of Al-Qahtani. The paper said his memory was great and that his child Ali and his grandson Abdul Kareem were recording his memoirs.

In his interview to Al-Watan, Al-Qahtani said however he was very youthful at the time, he still remembered the Ottoman reign in Asir when Turkish soldiers patrolled the marketplace in Abha.

He also remembered the short era of Prince Hassan Bin Ali Al-Ayed. He said he hastened to join the forces of King Abdul Aziz when he saw them coming from the east. Al-Qahtani said Sheikh Bin Haif, the chieftain of the Khattab and Jarmah regions, was choosing fighters from their area. He said his role in the Baqim war was logistical where he used to bring flour to feed the fighters in the battlefront.

He remembered that just three men from his zone were taken to participate in the war.

They were Mubarak Bin Abdullah Al-Abu Hawi, Abdullah Bin Ali Al-Huraid and Mohammed Bin Maeedh Al-Mashouf.