History of Saudi Arabia

The **history of Saudi Arabia** as a nation state began with the Al Saud dynasty in  1727. 

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.

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.

In 1902, Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, also known as Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, took over the city of Riyadh from another family, the Al-Rashid. He continued to win more areas, and on 8 January 1926, he became the King of Hejaz and the Sultan of Najd. 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).

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.

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. 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.

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. 

### 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.

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.

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.

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. 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. 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.

### King Fahd's period 
After Khalid, Fahd became the King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. His half-brother Prince Abdullah became the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. 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. 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.
*Khobar Towers Bombing: A truck bomb killed 19 American troops in June 1996.

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.

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.

### Present position 
*Death of King Fahd in August 2005: His brother Prince Abdullah became  King.
*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

## References