Muhammad Ali captured the Hejaz region

Muhammad Ali's first military campaign was an expedition into the Arabian Peninsula. The holy cities of Mecca and Medina had been captured by the House of Saud, who had recently embraced a literalist Hanbali interpretation of Islam. Armed with their newfound religious zeal, the Saudis began conquering parts of Arabia. This culminated in the capture of the Hejaz region by 1805.