Saudi Arabia History

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Saudi Arabia

History

General History

Saudi Arabia is situated on the Arabian Peninsula in southwest Asia at the crossroads of Asia and Africa. The region has been home to human cultures for millennia and contains some of the earliest traces of human activity in the world. While ancient Saudi Arabia did host some permanent cities and civilizations, many of its people throughout history lived as nomads and kept limited written records.

In the early 7th century CE, Saudi Arabia was the birthplace of Islam, now the world's second-largest religion. It began with the prophet Muhammad bin Abdullah ﷺ, a merchant living in Mecca in the western Hejaz region of the Arabian Peninsula, whose spiritual yearnings led to divine communications with the angel Gabriel. His teachings emphasized carrying for the socially underprivileged and submission (literally islām إِسْلام in Arabic) a loving and omnipotent God. Despite severe persecution, Muhammad ﷺ and his followers successfully laid the foundations of a the new religion, following in the Abrahamic tradition of Judaism and Christianity. By the time of Muhammad's ﷺ death in 632 CE, most of the Arabian Peninsula had accepted Islam. In the decades and centuries that followed, the religion spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa, reaching regions as distant as the Iberian Peninsula, India, and Central Asia. Islam has played a undeniable role in shaping not just Saudi Arabia but all of the Middle East.

Throughout much of the Middle Ages, the coasts of the Arabian Peninsula, including the holy cities of Medina and Mecca, remained marginally in the control of large Islamic Empires while the nomadic tribes of the interior maintained a large degree of independence. From the 10th century on, the Hashemite Sharifs, descendants of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and caretakers of the two holy cities, maintained a quasi-independent state that eventually comprised much of the Hejaz region. This status quo stayed the same after the Ottoman Empire gained control of the region in 16th century.

The first Saudi kingdom arose in 1727 near Riyadh and expanded rapidly after its leader, Muhammad ibn Saud, joined forced with Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, founder of the Wahhabi Islamic movement. This first state came to an end after the Ottoman Empire, with the use of Muhammad Ali Basha's Egyptian forces, re-affirmed control in 1818. In 1902, the Al Saud family and their forces, under the leadership of Abdulaziz, returned from exile and began retaking large portions of the Peninsula. By 1932, Abdulaziz had gained control of what became Saudi Arabia, with him as the state's first king. The Kingdom continues to be ruled by members of the Al Saud family.

In 1938, the fortunes of Saudi Arabia changed dramatically when large oil reserves began to be discovered within its borders. Since then, Saudi Arabia has used the wealth and prestige awarded by its oil and natural gas resources to rapidly develop and establish one of the highest standards of living in the world.

Timeline

• 1744 The foundation of the first Saudi state by the Emir of Diriyah, Muhammad ibn Saud and Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, after which the Wahhabi movement is named.
• 1818 The first Saudi state falls to the Ottoman Empire.
• 1902 King Abdulaziz ibn Saud captures Riyadh, marking the beginning of the unification of Saudi Arabia.
• 1924-1925 King Ibn Saud conquers and unites the Hejaz region, including the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
• 1932 The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is officially established by King Abdulaziz ibn Saud.
• 1938 Petroleum reserves are first discovered on Saudi Arabian territory.