History of Saudi Arabia

The history of Saudi Arabia as a nation state began with the Al Saud dynasty in 1727.^[1][2]

The territory that is now Saudi Arabia was the site of several ancient cultures and civilizations. The prehistory of Saudi Arabia shows some of the earliest traces of human activity in the world.^[3]

It was founded in the area of Najd, the central part of the Arabian Peninsula. The Sa'udi emirate's leadership is a traditional form of rule on Arabia since the 18th century. Over the next century and a half, the family went through a lot of opposition and hurdles. The family faced opposition from powerful families of Arabia but also rulers of Egypt and the Ottoman Empire.^[4]

Map of Saudi Arabia.

In 1902, Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, also known as Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, took over the city of Riyadh from another family, the Al-Rashid.^[5] He continued to win more areas, and on 8 January 1926, he became the King of Hejaz and the Sultan of Najd.^[6] On 20 May in 1927, the government of the United Kingdom accepted him as the King of the areas ruled by him (the Nejd and Hejaz).^[6] His kingdom now had its sovereignty recognized. The modern nation state of Saudi Arabia was established in 1932 as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and was declared by King Abdulaziz Al-Saud.^[5] Petroleum oil was found in Saudi Arabia on 3 March in 1938, which made the country rich since the export of oil started bring ingin a lot of money.^[7]

However, the history of the Arabian Peninsula goes uch further and led to the development of the Saudi state. People and cultures can be traced back 63,000 years ago.^[8] The most significant event that happened in the Peninsula is the rise of the Islamic religion presented by Muhammad. The Rashidun Caliphate, the Umayyad Caliphate, Abbasid Caliphate and Fatimid Caliphate all occupied the Arabian Peninsula and helped it develop to whit it is we today. Other dynasties existed in history, but the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina were under the protection of the Hashemite Sharifs of Mecca from the 10th century onwards.^[9][10]

Early history

Pre-Islamic Arabia

Pre-Islamic Arabia is the time before 610 AD.,when Muhammad started speading the religion of Islam. The term ‘Pre-Islamic Arabia’ is useful because it shows the importance of Islam and its influence in forming the Arabian Peninsula as we know it today with all its religions and cultures. It also shows a relation between the rise of Islam and the native Arabs, who lived through conquest, trade and innovations.^[9]

The era covers thousands of years with many different cultures and communities. The oldest evidence pointing to inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula is perhaps 63,000 years old.^[8] The area had trading relations with many parts of the ancient world, but the hot and harsh climate had made large settlements difficult. Bedouin groups were naturally also present. Some settlements had always existed around oases, places in the deserts in which growth and water are available. For instance, the Dilmun culture was very old and existed along the Persian Gulf. It exxisted at the same time as the ancient civilizations of the Sumerians and of Egyptians. The Kindite Kingdom and other ancient communities also existed there.^[11]

The history of Arabia page gives more information on Pre-Islamic Arabia. This page will cover more of the post-Islamic era because of its strong relationship with Saudi Arabia.

Main article: History of Arabia

Post-Islamic Arabia

Brth of Islam

The Hejaz area became an important center as Islam rose in the 620s. After Muhammad of the Quraysh tribe started sprading Islam in 610, the existing cities of Medina (formerly called Yathrib) and Mecca eventually became the holiest places of Islam. The number of Muslims rapidly began to grow after the migration (or Hijra) of Muhammad and his companions in 622 from Mecca to Medina. During the completion of the religion, both cities became the holiest places in the Muslim world. Masjid al-Haram and Al-Masjid al-Nabaw are the main locations of pilgrimage, and Muslims hopes to visit the Kaaba, primarily in Masjid al-Haram and the Prophet's tomb in Al-Masjid al-Nabawi, at least once in their lifetimes.

Expansion of the Rashidun Caliphate (632-655).

Muhammad and his companions went through the Arabian Peninsula in the following years and united the divided tribes of Arabia under one flag. That led to Medina becoming the capital of the newly-established Islamic state, which he ruled.^[9]

After Muhammad died in 632, a new head of the state, the caliph, replaced him, Abu Bakr. He was the first of the four caliphs whose caliphate was called that of the Rashidun, which means 'rightly guided'. After dealing with the Ridda Wars against rebellious tribes that rebelled after Muhammad's death, Abu Bakr started to campaign against the Byzantines. Abu Bakr did not live to see the results of his initiative and suffered a natural death in 634. However, his successors saw theor success.^[9]

Umar was the second caliph and managed to lead the Muslims to westward conquests of Roman Egypt and even of what is now Libya. Umar's caliphate eventually went eastwatd all the way to the Indus River its conquest of the Sassanid Empire. Eventually, in 644, Umar was killed by famines nor plagues but by a Persian slave.^[10]

Uthman ibn Affan followed Umar as a caliph and ruled the longest of the four caliphs. In his twelve years of rule, he standardized the Qur'an nd spread the empire westward to the Maghreb and even part of Spain and eastward farther into Central Asia. He was also assasinated, which led to Ali ibn Abi Talib being the fourth Sunni caliph and the first Shia imam.^[10]

Main article: Islam

Umayyad and Abbasid Empires

The assassination of Ali ibn Abi Talib in 661 gave birth to a new era in which the Umayyad Caliphate thrived and continued to expand the land that had been left by the Rashidun.

Modern history

Wahhabism and First Saudi State

After Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab were exiled from Uyaynah, he sought refuge in Diriyah, where some of his followers were residing. At that time, Muhammad bin Saud was the local chieftain of Diriyah. Two brothers and the wife of Muhammad bin Saud were followers of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab's ideology. They encouraged co-operation between Muhammad bin Saud and Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab needed military support to secure his ideology and preaching, and Muhammad bin Saud needed pastoral support. Fulfilling those needs eventually led to an alliance between the scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab and the ruler Muhammad bin Saud. They created the First Saudi State, the Emirate of Diriyah.^[12]

When Muhammad bin Saud died in 1765, his son Abdulaziz bin Muhammad Al Saud was a dedicated student of Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab and became the leader of the Emirate of Diriyah. In his reign, the Emirate of Diriyah expanded its territory throughout the Arabian Peninsula. In the eastern part of the peninsula, Abdulaziz bin Muhammad Al Saud got Al-Hasa, Qatar, Al-Buraimi and Bahrain under his influence. In the western part of the Peninsula, he conquered parts of the Hejaz region. During his conquests, the Saudi State got involved in a war against the Ottomans.

At that stage, the Ottoman campaigns against the Saudi State failed, and Abdulaziz bin Muhammad Al Saud was expanded his territory inside Ottoman territories. With his death in 1803, his son Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud became ruler andconquered the holy cities of Mecca and Medina for a few years, which gave him the title of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.^[4] Eventually, Egypt, which was supported and led by the Ottomans, destroyed his power in 1818. That marked the end of the First Saudi State.^[13]

Portrait of King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia. (23 September 1932 – 9 November 1953)

Ottoman domination

By 1824, the Al Saud family regained control over parts of the Nejd region, which is seen as the beginning of the Second Saudi State, the Emirate of Najd. The Saudi ruler, Turki bin Ali, made Riyadh the capital of his state, which remains the capital today. Turki bin Ali succeeded in retaking most of the lands that had been lost to the Ottomans.

In 1865, the Ottomans launched another attack on the Saudi State. This time, with help from the Al Rasheed family of Ha'il, another powerful family of the Najd region, the Ottomans captured part of the Saudi State.^[14] The Al Rasheed family defeated the Saudi State in 1891, which marked the end of the Second Saudi State. Abdul Rahman bin Faisal Al Saud, who was the Saudi leader, retreated into the desert and eventually to Kuwait with his family.^[13]

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

In 1902, Abdul Rahman's son Abdulaziz regained Saudi territory from the Al Rasheed family. He even regained control over Mecca and Medina from 1924 to 1925. In 1932, he declared the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as it is still known till.^[14]

Boundaries

Discussions for Saudi Arabia to fix definite boundaries with its neighboring countries started in 1920. It later finalized its boundaries with Iraq, Jordan, and Kuwait. At the borders with Iraq and Kuwait, two neutral zones were created: one with Iraq and the other one with Kuwait. In 1934, the borders with Yemen were almost finalized.^[5]

Flag of Saudi Arabia (1932-1934)

In 1965, Saudi Arabia and Jordan exchanged lands with each other. In 1971, the neutral zone between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait was divided between both countries. Likewise, Saudi Arabia and Iraq decided in 1981 to dicide the neutral zone between them. That happened in 1984.

Saudi Arabia's borders with the United Arab Emirates and Oman were still not finalized. The border with Qatar was finalized in 2001.

Politics

King Abdulaziz died in 1953.^[6] His son, who was Saud, became the King and reigned for 11 years. In 1964, he was forced to step down, and his half-brother, Faisal, became the King. Faisal had the support of the senior members of the royal family and the religious leaders.^[5] Faisal also held the post of the Prime Minister.^[5] This tradition of being both the King and the Prime Minister still continues in Saudi Arabia. All Kings after Faisal have followed that practice.

Faisal took several new steps for economic development of Saudi Arabia. During his reign, many important political events also happened like the ones noted below:

• Differences between Saudi Arabia and Egypt over Yemen: Egypt supported the new republican government of Yemen, but Saudi Arabia supported the royal family of Yemen to stay in power.^[5]
• The Six-Day (Arab-Israeli) War of June 1967: Saudi Arabia did not directly fight in the war, but it provided financial support to Egypt, Syria, and Jordan after the war.^[5]
• Stopping of supply of oil to the United States and Europe: Saudi Arabia and other Arab oil-producing countries stopped supplying petroleum oil in 1973 to the United States and Europe because they began to see Western interests as a threat.^[5]

In 1975, King Faisal was assassinated by one of his nephews.^[13] The nephew was found guilty, and he was sentenced to death. King Faisal's half-brother Khalid became King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. During Khalid's reign, Saudi Arabia's importance in regional politics increased. The economic growth of the country also continued at a steady pace until his death in 1982.^[15]

King Fahd's period

Portrait of King Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia(13 June 1982 – 1 August 2005)

After Khalid, Fahd became the King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. His half-brother Prince Abdullah became the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.^[13]

The income of Saudi Arabia became lower during King Fahd's reign^[15] as a result of lower price of petroleum oil. Fahd's government used an economic policy that helped the country to survive with a lower income.^[13]

Fahd helped Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War. Iraq's economy had become terrible because of the war. The King had discussions with both countries to stop the fighting. Both Iran and Iraq ended the war in August 1988. The King also helped in making the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) a more vital organization. The GCC is an organization of six countries in the Persian Gulf. Its purpose is to increase the development of and the co-operation among its member countries.^[13]

Gulf War

In 1990, Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq. The Gulf War of 1991 started after he invaded Kuwait. Many people thought that his army would also invade Saudi Arabia.^[16] King Fahd allowed some Western countries, led by the United States, to send their forces to the country. Many Muslims in the world were against their most holy land being used by non-Muslim soldiers.^[5]

During and after the Gulf War, King Fahd’s role was vital. During the war, he allowed the entry of the royal family of Kuwait inside Saudi Arabia, followed by 400,000 other people from Kuwait, to stay temporarily. He let the troops of countries like the United States mount attacks from his land on Kuwait to liberate it. He also helped arrange the support from former Muslim countries for the liberation of Kuwait. Iraq was eventually forced out from Kuwait.

Terrorism

The presence of troops from Western countries angered many Muslims. One of them was the rich man Osama bin Laden.^[17] He was forced to leave Saudi Arabia when he disagreed and opposed the King. Other than bin Laden and his followers, several other persons and groups did not like the presence of Western troops in Saudi Arabia.

People and groups agaisnt the presence of Western troops attacked people and tried to attack mainly the foreign forces in Saudi Arabia. Here are exxamples of such attacks :

• Five Americans and two East Indian personnel were killed when four terrorists triggered a bomb near Riyadh's Saudi Arabian National Guard headquarters in November 1995.^[18]
• Khobar Towers Bombing: A truck bomb killed 19 American troops in June 1996.^[19]

The September 11, 2001 attacks in New York resulted in many deaths and much destruction. It later came to light that out of the 19 suspects for the attacks, 15 had come from Saudi Arabia.^[20]

Such things attracted the attention of the government of Saudi Arabia. The government started a policy to check such activities. Even then, terrorist activities of such persons and groups continued.^[21]

Present position

• Death of King Fahd in August 2005: His brother Prince Abdullah became King.^[13]
• Death of King Abdullah in 2015 died of sickness: His half-brother Prince Salman became King.^[22]
• Oil hub: Saudi Arabia has the world's largest oil reserves. The government is giving much importance to the developments of infrastructure, science, and technology. Many economists and other scholars think that the country is on its way to becoming a leading country in the Middle East.

Related pages

• Saudi Arabia