His son and successor, Abdul Aziz, in a rapid series of successful campaigns, extended his dominion and that of the reformed faith far beyond the limits of Nejd.
In 1801 Saud, son of the amir Abdul Aziz, led an expedition to the Euphrates, and on the festival of Bairam, the 10th of April, stormed Kerbela, put the defenders to the sword, destroyed the sacred tomb, scattered the sacred relics and returned laden with the treasures, accumulated during centuries in the sanctuary of the Shia faith.
On the 14th of October 1802 the amir Abdul Aziz, at the age of eighty-two years, was murdered by a Shia fanatic when at prayers in the mosque of Deraiya, and Salad, who had for many years led the Wahhabi armies, became the reigning amir.
In the following February, however, Midhat was dismissed and banished for supposed complicity in the murder of Abdul Aziz.
The Nischan-i-Osmanie, the Osmanieh, for civil and military merit, was founded by Abdul Aziz in 1862; it has four classes.