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History of Saudi Arabia

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History of Saudi Arabia
Coat of arms of Saudi Arabia

The history of Saudi Arabia in its current form as a state began with its foundation in 1932 by Abdulaziz Al Saud, although the human history of the region extends as far as 20,000 years ago. The region has twice in world history had a global impact:[who?][citation needed]

  1. in the 7th century it became the cradle of Islam and the first center of the caliphate
  2. from the mid-20th century the discovery of vast oil deposits propelled it into a key economic and geo-political role

At other times, the region existed in relative obscurity and isolation, although from the 7th century the cities of Mecca and Medina had the highest spiritual significance for the Muslim world, with Mecca becoming the destination for the Hajj annual pilgrimage.

For much of the region's history a patchwork of tribal rulers controlled most of the area. The Al Saud (the Saudi royal family) emerged as minor tribal rulers in Najd in central Arabia. From the mid-18th century, imbued with the religious zeal of the Wahhabi Islamic movement, they became aggressively expansionist. Over the following 150 years, the extent of the Al Saud territory fluctuated. However, between 1902 and 1927, the Al Saud leader, Abdulaziz, carried out a series of wars of conquest which resulted in his establishing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932.

From 1932 until his death in 1953, Abdulaziz ruled Saudi Arabia as an absolute monarchy. Thereafter six of his sons in succession have reigned over the kingdom:

  1. Saud, the immediate successor of Abdulaziz, faced opposition from most in the royal family and was eventually deposed.
  2. Faisal replaced Saud in 1964. Until his murder by a nephew in 1975, Faisal presided over a period of growth and modernization fueled by oil wealth. Saudi Arabia's role in the 1973 oil crisis and, the subsequent rise in the price of oil, dramatically increased the country's political significance and wealth.
  3. Khalid, Faisal's successor, reigned during the first major signs of dissent: Islamist extremists temporarily seized control of the Grand Mosque in Mecca in 1979.
  4. Fahd became king in 1982 - during his reign Saudi Arabia became the largest oil producer in the world. However, internal tensions increased when the country allied itself with the United States, and others, in the Gulf War of 1991. In the early 2000s, the Islamicist opposition to the regime carried out a series of terrorist attacks.
  5. Abdullah succeeded Fahd in 2005. He instituted a number of mild reforms to modernize many of the country's institutions and, to some extent, increased political participation.
  6. Salman became king in 2015

Pre-Islamic Saudi Arabia[edit]

Main article: Pre-Islamic Arabia
Pre-Islamic Nabataean tombs carved into the cliffs at Mada'in Saleh, Saudi Arabia

There is evidence that human habitation in the Arabian Peninsula dates back to about 15,000 to 20,000 years ago.[1]

Archaeology has revealed some early settled civilizations: the Dilmun civilization on the Persian Gulf, and Thamud north of the Hejaz. The earliest known events in Arabian history are migrations from the peninsula into neighbouring areas.[2]

There is also evidence from Timna (Israel) and Tell el-Kheleifeh (Jordan) that the local Qurayya/Midianite pottery originated within the Hejaz region of NW Saudi Arabia, which suggests that the biblical Midianites originally came from the Hejaz region of NW Saudi Arabia before expanding into Jordan and Southern Palestine.[3][4]

The spread of Islam[edit]

Main article: History of Islam

Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, was born in Mecca in about 570 and first began preaching in the city in 610, but migrated to Medina in 622. From there, he and his companions united the tribes of Arabia under the banner of Islam and created a single Arab Muslim religious polity in the Arabian Peninsula.

The tribes of Arabia at the time of the spread of Islam (expandable map)

Following Muhammad's death in 632, Abu Bakr became leader of the Muslims as the first Caliph. After putting down a rebellion by the Arab tribes (known as the Ridda wars, or "Wars of Apostasy"), Abu Bakr attacked the Byzantine Empire. On his death in 634, he was succeeded by Umar as caliph, followed by Uthman ibn al-Affan and Ali ibn Abi Talib. The period of these first four caliphs is known as the Rashidun or "rightly guided" Caliphate (al-khulafā' ar-rāshidūn). Under the Rashidun Caliphs, and, from 661, their Umayyad successors, the Arabs rapidly expanded the territory under Muslim control outside of Arabia. In a matter of decades Muslim armies decisively defeated the Byzantine army and destroyed the Persian Empire, conquering huge swathes of territory from the Iberian peninsula to India. The political focus of the Muslim world then shifted to the newly conquered territories.[5][6]


Umayyad and Abbasid periods[edit]

Despite its spiritual importance, in political terms Arabia soon became a peripheral region of the Muslim world, in which the most important medieval Islamic states were based at various times in such far away cities as Damascus, Baghdad, Cairo, and Córdoba. Most of what was to become Saudi Arabia reverted to traditional tribal rule soon after the initial Muslim conquests, and remained a shifting patchwork of tribes and tribal emirates and confederations of varying durability.[9][10]

Muawiyah I, the first Umayyad caliph, took an interest in his native Mecca, erecting buildings and digging wells.[11] Under his Marwanids successors, Mecca became the abode of poets and musicians. Even then, Medina eclipsed Mecca in importance for much of the Umayyad period, as it was home to the new Muslim aristocracy.[11] Under Yazid I, the revolt of Abd Allah bin al-Zubair brought Syrian troops to Mecca.[11] An accident led to a fire that destroyed the Kaaba, which was rebuilt by Ibn al-Zubair.[11] In 747, a Kharidjit rebel from Yemen seized Mecca unopposed, but he was soon defeated by Marwan II.[11] In 750, Mecca, along with the rest of the caliphate, was passed to the Abbasids.[11]

Sharifate of Mecca[edit]

Main article: Sharifate of Mecca
The Arabian Peninsula in 1914


Ottoman Era[edit]

Beginning with Selim I's acquisition of Medina and Mecca in 1517, the Ottomans, in the 16th century, added to their Empire the Hejaz and Asir regions along the Red Sea and the Al Hasa region on the Persian Gulf coast, these being the most populous parts of what was to become Saudi Arabia. They also laid claim to the interior, although this remained a rather nominal suzerainty. The degree of control over these lands varied over the next four centuries with the fluctuating strength or weakness of the Empire's central authority. In the Hejaz, the Sharifs of Mecca were largely left in control of their territory (although there would often be an Ottoman governor and garrison in Mecca). On the eastern side of the country, the Ottomans lost control of the Al Hasa region to Arab tribes in the 17th century but regained it again in the 19th century. Throughout the period, the interior remained under the rule of a large number of petty tribal rulers in much the same way as it had in previous centuries.[12]

The first Saudi State 1744-1818

Rise of Wahhabism and the first Saudi state[edit]

Arabia in the 19th century
Second Saudi State
The second Saudi state 1824-1891, at its greatest extent.
Second Saudi State
The Rashidi realm 1830-1921, at its greatest extent

The emergence of the Saudi dynasty began in central Arabia in 1744. In that year, Muhammad ibn Saud, the tribal ruler of the town of Ad-Dir'iyyah near Riyadh, joined forces with the religious leader Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab,[13] the founder of the Wahhabi movement.[14] This alliance formed in the 18th century provided the ideological impetus to Saudi expansion and remains the basis of Saudi Arabian dynastic rule today. Over the next 150 years, the fortunes of the Saud family rose and fell several times as Saudi rulers contended with Egypt, the Ottoman Empire, and other Arabian families for control of the peninsula.[1][9]

The first Saudi State was established in 1744 in the area around Riyadh and briefly controlled most of the present-day territory of Saudi Arabia through conquests made between 1786 and 1816; these included Mecca and Medina.[15] Concerned at the growing power of the Saudis, the Ottoman Sultan, Mustafa IV, instructed his viceroy in Egypt, Mohammed Ali Pasha, to reconquer the area. Ali sent his sons Tusun Pasha and Ibrahim Pasha who were eventually successful in routing the Saudi forces in 1818 and destroyed the power of the Al Saud.[1][9]

Return to Ottoman domination[edit]

The Al Saud returned to power in 1824 but their area of control was mainly restricted to the Saudi heartland of the Najd region, known as the second Saudi state. However, their rule in Najd was soon contested by new rivals, the Rashidis of Ha'il. Throughout the rest of the 19th century, the Al Saud and the Al Rashid fought for control of the interior of what was to become Saudi Arabia. By 1891, the Al Saud were conclusively defeated by the Al Rashid, who drove the Saudis into exile in Kuwait.[1][9][9][16]

Meanwhile, in the Hejaz, following the defeat of the first Saudi State, the Egyptians continued to occupy the area until 1840. After they left, the Sharifs of Mecca reasserted their authority, albeit with the presence of an Ottoman governor and garrison.[9]

Arab Revolt[edit]

Main article: Arab Revolt

By the early 20th century, the Ottoman Empire continued to control or have suzerainty (albeit nominal) over most of the peninsula. Subject to this suzerainty, Arabia was ruled by a patchwork of tribal rulers (including the Al Saud who had returned from exile in 1902 – see below) with the Sharif of Mecca having preeminence and ruling the Hejaz.[9][12][17]

In 1916, with the encouragement and support of Britain and France[18] (which were fighting the Ottomans in the World War I), the sharif of Mecca, Hussein bin Ali, led a pan-Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire with the aim of securing Arab independence and creating a single unified Arab state spanning the Arab territories from Aleppo in Syria to Aden in Yemen.

Soldiers in the Arab Army during the Arab Revolt of 1916–1918, carrying the Flag of the Arab Revolt and pictured in the Arabian Desert.

The Arab army comprised bedouin and others from across the peninsula, but not the Al Saud and their allied tribes who did not participate in the revolt partly because of a long-standing rivalry with the Sharifs of Mecca and partly because their priority was to defeat the Al Rashid for control of the interior. Nevertheless, the revolt played a part in the Middle-Eastern Front and tied down thousands of Ottoman troops thereby contributing to the Ottomans' World War I defeat in 1918.[9][19]

However, with the subsequent partitioning of the Ottoman Empire, the British and French reneged on promises to Hussein to support a pan-Arab state. Although Hussein was acknowledged as King of the Hejaz, Britain later shifted support to the Al Saud, leaving him diplomatically and militarily isolated. The revolt, therefore, failed in its objective to create a pan-Arab state but Arabia was freed from Ottoman suzerainty and control.[19]


In 1902, Abdul-Aziz bin Saud, leader of the Al Saud, returned from exile in Kuwait to resume the conflict with the Al Rashid, and seized Riyadh – the first of a series of conquests ultimately leading to the creation of the modern state of Saudi Arabia in 1932. The main weapon for achieving these conquests was the Ikhwan, the Wahhabist-Bedouin tribal army led by Sultan bin Bajad Al-Otaibi and Faisal al-Duwaish.[16][20][21]

By 1906, Abdulaziz had driven the Al Rashid out of Najd and the Ottomans recognized him as their client in Najd. His next major acquisition was Al-Hasa, which he took from the Ottomans in 1913, bringing him control of the Persian Gulf coast and what would become Saudi Arabia's vast oil reserves. He avoided involvement in the Arab Revolt, having acknowledged Ottoman suzerainty in 1914, and instead continued his struggle with the Al Rashid in northern Arabia. In 1920, the Ikhwan's attention turned to the south-west, when they seized Asir, the region between the Hejaz and Yemen. In the following year, Abdul-Aziz finally defeated the Al Rashid and annexed all northern Arabia.[10][16]

Prior to 1923, Abdulaziz had not risked invading the Hejaz because Hussein bin Ali, King of the Hejaz, was supported by Britain. However, in that year, the British withdrew their support. At a conference in Riyadh in July 1924 complaints were stated against the Hejaz; principally that pilgrimage from Najd was prevented and it boycotted the implementation of certain public policy in contravention of shari'a. Ikhwan units were massed on a large scale for the first time, and under Khalid bin Lu'ayy and Sultan bin Bajad rapidly advanced on Mecca and plundered it, laying waste to symbols of "heathen" practices.[22] The Ikhwan completed their conquest of the Hejaz by the end of 1925. On 10 January 1926 Abdulaziz declared himself King of the Hejaz and, then, on 27 January 1927 he took the title King of Najd (his previous title was Sultan). The use of the Ikhwan to effect the conquest had important consequences for the Hejaz: The old cosmopolitan society was uprooted, and a radical version of Wahhabi culture was imposed as a new compulsory social order.[23]

Abdulaziz Al Saud, founder of Saudi Arabia

By the Treaty of Jeddah, signed on 20 May 1927, the United Kingdom recognized the independence of Abdul-Aziz's realm (then known as the Kingdom of Hejaz and Najd).[10][16] After the conquest of the Hejaz, the Ikhwan leaders wanted to continue the expansion of the Wahhabist realm into the British protectorates of Transjordan, Iraq and Kuwait. Abdul-Aziz, however, refused to agree to this, recognizing the danger of a direct conflict with the British. The Ikhwan therefore revolted but were defeated in the Battle of Sabilla in 1929, and the Ikhwan leadership were massacred.[24]

In 1932, the two kingdoms of the Hejaz and Najd were united as the 'Kingdom of Saudi Arabia'.[16][20] Boundaries with Transjordan, Iraq, and Kuwait were established by a series of treaties negotiated in the 1920s, with two "neutral zones" created, one with Iraq and the other with Kuwait. The country's southern boundary with Yemen was partially defined by the 1934 Treaty of Ta'if, which ended a brief border war between the two states.[25]

Modern history[edit]


In February 1945, King Abdul Aziz met President Franklin D. Roosevelt aboard the USS Quincy in the Suez Canal. A historic handshake agreeing on supplying oil to the USA in exchange for guaranteed protection to the Saudi regime is still in force today. It has survived seven Saudi Kings and twelve US presidents.

Abdulaziz died in 1953. King Saud succeeded to the throne on his father's death in 1953. Oil provided Saudi Arabia with economic prosperity and a great deal of political leverage in the international community. At the same time, the government became increasingly wasteful and lavish. Despite the new wealth, extravagant spending led to governmental deficits and foreign borrowing in the 1950s.[10][26][27]

However, by the early 1960s an intense rivalry between the King and his half-brother, Prince Faisal emerged, fueled by doubts in the royal family over Saud's competence. As a consequence, Saud was deposed in favor of Faisal in 1964.[10]


During the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, Saudi Arabia participated in the Arab oil boycott of the United States and Netherlands. A member of the OPEC, Saudi Arabia had joined other member countries in moderate oil price increases beginning in 1971. After the 1973 war, the price of oil rose substantially, dramatically increasing Saudi Arabia's wealth and political influence.[10]

Faisal was assassinated in 1975 by his nephew, Prince Faisal bin Musaid.[29]

King Faisal was succeeded by his half-brother King Khalid during whose reign economic and social development continued at an extremely rapid rate, revolutionizing the infrastructure and educational system of the country; in foreign policy, close ties with the US were developed.

The surviving insurgents of the seizure of the Grand Mosque,1979 under custody of Saudi authorities. c. 1980.

In 1979, two events occurred which the Al Saud perceived as threatening the regime, and had a long-term influence on Saudi foreign and domestic policy. The first was the Iranian Islamic revolution. There were several anti-government riots in the region in 1979 and 1980. The second event, was the seizure of the Grand Mosque in Mecca by Islamist extremists. The militants involved were in part angered by what they considered to be the corruption and un-Islamic nature of the Saudi regime.[10][26][27][30] Part of the response of the royal family was to enforce a much stricter observance of Islamic and traditional Saudi norms. Islamism continued to grow in strength.[10][26][27][30]

King Khalid died in June 1982.[10] Khalid was succeeded by his brother King Fahd in 1982, who maintained Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy of close cooperation with the United States and increased purchases of sophisticated military equipment from the United States and Britain.

Following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 Saudi Arabia joined the anti-Iraq Coalition and King Fahd, fearing an attack from Iraq, invited American and Coalition soldiers to be stationed in Saudi Arabia. Saudi troops and aircraft took part in the subsequent military operations. However, allowing Coalition forces to be based in the country proved to be one of the issues that has led to an increase in Islamic terrorism in Saudi Arabia, as well as Islamic terrorist attacks in Western countries by Saudi nationals – the September 11 attacks in New York City being the most prominent example.[10][31]

In 1995, Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke and the Crown Prince, Prince Abdullah assumed day-to-day responsibility for the government. In 2003, Saudi Arabia refused to support the US and its allies in the invasion of Iraq.[10] Terrorist activity increased dramatically in 2003, with the Riyadh compound bombings and other attacks, which prompted the government to take much more stringent action against terrorism.[30]

In 2005, King Fahd died and his half-brother, Abdullah ascended to the throne. Despite growing calls for change, the king has continued the policy of moderate reform.[32] King Abdullah has pursued a policy of limited deregulation, privatization and seeking foreign investment. In December 2005, following 12 years of talks, the World Trade Organization gave the green light to Saudi Arabia's membership.[33]

As the Arab Spring unrest and protests began to spread across Arab world in early 2011, King Abdullah announced an increase in welfare spending. No political reforms were announced as part of the package.[34] At the same time Saudi troops were sent to participate in the crackdown on unrest in Bahrain. King Abdullah gave asylum to deposed President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia and telephoned President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt (prior to his deposition) to offer his support.[35]

See also[edit]


  1. ^ a b c d Saudi Embassy (US) Website retrieved 20 January 2011
  3. ^
  4. ^ Bimson, John J.; Tebes, Juan Manuel, Timna revisited : egyptian chronologyand the copper mines of the southernArabah Antiguo Oriente Vol. 7, 2009
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Encyclopædia Britannica Online: History of Arabia retrieved 18 January 2011
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Joshua Teitelbaum. "Saudi Arabia History". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 2013-01-18. 
  11. ^ a b c d e f M. Th. Houtsma (1993). E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-1936. BRILL. pp. 441–442. ISBN 978-90-04-09791-9. Retrieved 2013-06-12. 
  12. ^ a b Goodwin, Jason. Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire (2003)
  13. ^ King Abdul Aziz Information Resource – First Ruler of the House of Saud retrieved 20 January 2011
  14. ^ 'Wahhabi', Encyclopædia Britannica Online retrieved 20 January 2011
  15. ^ The Saud Family and Wahhabi Islam. Library of Congress Country Studies.
  16. ^ a b c d e Global Security Retrieved 19 January 2011
  17. ^ David Murphy, The Arab Revolt 1916-18: Lawrence Sets Arabia Ablaze, Osprey Publishing, 2008,
  18. ^ Murphy, David The Arab Revolt 1916-1918, London: Osprey, 2008 page 18
  19. ^ a b David Murphy, The Arab Revolt 1916-18: Lawrence Sets Arabia Ablaze, Osprey Publishing, 2008
  20. ^ a b King Abdul Aziz Information Resource retrieved 19 January 2011
  21. ^ 'Arabian Sands' by Wilfred Thesiger, 1991
  22. ^ Schulze, Reinhard, A Modern History of the Islamic World (New York: New York University Press, 2002) ("Schulze"), p. 70.
  23. ^ Schulze, p. 69.
  24. ^ 'Arabian Sands' by Wilfred Thesiger, 1991, pps 248-249
  25. ^ Country Data – External boundaries retrieved 19 January 2011
  26. ^ a b c al-Rasheed, Madawi, A History of Saudi Arabia (Cambridge University Press, 2002) ISBN 0-521-64335-X
  27. ^ a b c Robert Lacey, THE KINGDOM: Arabia & The House of Sa'ud, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc, 1981 (Hard Cover) and Avon Books, 1981 (Soft Cover). Library of Congress: 81-83741 ISBN 0-380-61762-5
  28. ^ "Background note: Saudi Arabia". US State Department. 2012-06-29. Retrieved 2013-01-18. 
  29. ^ Robert Lacey, The Kingdom: Arabia and the House of Saud (Harcourt, Brace and Jovanovich Publishing: New York, 1981) p. 426.
  30. ^ a b c 'Jihad in Saudi Arabia: Violence and Pan-Islamism since 1979' by Thomas Hegghammer, 2010, Cambridge Middle East Studies ISBN 978-0-521-73236-9
  31. ^ Hegghammer 2010, p. 112
  32. ^ "Saudi Arabia | The Middle East Channel". Retrieved 2013-01-18. 
  33. ^ "Accession status: Saudi Arabia". WTO. Retrieved 2013-01-18. 
  35. ^ Black, Ian (31 January 2011). "Egypt Protests could spread to other countries". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 11 June 2011. 

Further reading[edit]

  • Bowen, Wayne H. The History of Saudi Arabia (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations, 2007)
  • Determann, Jörg. Historiography in Saudi Arabia: Globalization and the State in the Middle East (2013)
  • Kostiner, Joseph. The Making of Saudi Arabia, 1916-1936: From Chieftaincy to Monarchical State (1993)
  • Parker, Chad H. Making the Desert Modern: Americans, Arabs, and Oil on the Saudi Frontier, 1933–1973 (U of Massachusetts Press, 2015), 161 pp.
  • al-Rasheed, Madawi. A History of Saudi Arabia (2nd ed. 2010)
  • Vassiliev, Alexei. The History of Saudi Arabia (2013)
  • Wynbrandt, James and Fawaz A. Gerges. A Brief History of Saudi Arabia (2010)