Evening star., 1953-11-09
King Ibn Saud Dies;
Saudi Arabia Ruler
Is Richest in World
Continued From First Page0

CONTINUED From First Page)
lister Prince Faisal, 46, another
son of the dead king, became
crown prince.
Married 135 Times.
Ibn Saud was a 6-foot, 4-inch
giant of man who during his
lifetime of about 73 years had
married 1876 times, fathered &c
sons and more than 100 daugh-
ters. But he lived in strict &C
cord with MoSlem law, never
taking more than four wives at
a time. He did not drink or
smoke.
He was a devout ruler of a
country with 6 million subjects
which contains MoSlem's most
sacred shrine-the birthplace of
the prophet Mohammed at
Mecca. In late years the king
had been crippled by arthritis,
Staunch Friend of West.
with the death of Ibn Saud.
the West lost its strongest
supporter among the explosive
Arab nations. Throughout the
many periods of crisis since the
establishment of the new State
of Israel. he maintained
friendly relations with the
United States and protected
our oil interests in his country.
(The new regime is not ex-
pected to change that policy.
Since last month, Emir Saud
has been virtually ruling the
country as prime minister. The
effect of his death on the Arab
League appeared somewhat
more doubtful.
Qn 1947, when bitterness
over Israel was at it's height,
1bn Saud braved the anger of
the Arab world by sticking to
his pledge to the United States.
Whatever happened, he said,
he would protect and main
tain" Americas vast oil in
terests in Saudi Arabia.
Nevertheless, the King
fought the creation of the
Israeli state. His representa-
tives at the United Nations
waged a long and fruitless
battle to prevent it's creation.)
Began COnqueSts at 20.
The kings full name was King
Abdul Aziz Ibn Abdul Rahman
AL Faisal Al Saud. He was the
son of the sultan of Nejd, and
through his acts of daring and
skill not only recovered his faith
er's kingdom but added materi-
ally to it.
When he was only 20 years old
1bn Saud and some of his BROTH
erS, cousins and servants invaded
Riyadh by night, surprised the
garrison. killed the governor and
announced that new Saud had
come to power.
In cooperation with the
famed Lawrence of Arabia, Ibn
Saud and his Wahaoi army
drove the Turks out of the Ara
bian peninsula. The British rec
ognized the independence of Ibn
Saud in 1915. Nine years later
he defeated the Hashemite
forces of King Hussein of the
Hejaz. In 1926 he was proclaimed
King of the Hejaz. He became
protector o. the sacred Moslem
cities of Mecca and Medina.
In a final step in restoring the
prestige of the Saud family, he
proclaimed the kingdom of Saudi
Arabia in 1882, uniting the Hejaz
and Nejd. He bore nine battle
wounds from his years as a
warrior.
Decorated by Truman.
During World War II Ibn
Saud, as a friend of the West.
kept land, air and sea routes
open for the allies. This won
him the Legion of Merit from
President Truman in 1947.
He had left his country for the
first time in 1945 to meet PreSi-
dent Roosevelt aboard the lat
ter'S cruiser in Great Bitter Lake
In the Suez Canal. Mr.. Roose-
velt was on his way back from
the Big Three conference at
Yalta. A destroyer brought Ibn
Saud and his retinue to the
meeting. The big Arabian pot
entate was seated on a gilded
chair on pile of multi-colored
rugs. His guards were decked
with ScimitarS and bandoleers
of cartridges. It was strange
sight aboard a modern warcraft,
reminiscent of something out of
Arabian nights.
When Ibn Saud saw Mr..
Roosevelt in a wheel chair he
wanted a duplicate. One was
sent to him. Arrangements were
made to fit the chair in the fab
ulous custom made automobiles
the King ordered in America and
Europe. His private plane was
also equipped to handle the
wheel chair.
Ibn Saud received revenues
from the pilgrims making the
annual visit to Mecca, but his
income really scared when the
Arabian American Oil Co. began
to tap the underground reser-
voirs of oil in Saudi Arabia.
The company invested more
than $100 million in exploration
and producing oil. 1t has a Co.
year concession. In 1850 Ibn
Saud signed an agreement giving
him so per cent of the profits.