The modern history of Medina , the second, after Mecca, of the holiest cities of Islam, is marked by the end of Ottoman rule, in 1919, a few years of Hashemite control, and the seizure of power by the Āl Suʿūd dynasty in December 1925. Following the Arab Revolt staged by the Hashemite amīr s of Mecca in June 1916, the Ottoman government made considerable efforts to maintain its rule over Medina. Under the command of general Fahreddin (Fakhr al-Dīn) Paşa, the Ottomans successfully defended Medina until the armistice of