popularity and prestige. It is thus an example of the challenge of Islamic Fascism that is beginning to characterize our era.These tables are based on both The New Islamic Dynasties by Clifford Edmund Bosworth [Edinburgh University Press, 1996] and the Oxford Dynasties of the World by John E. Morby [Oxford University Press, 1989, 2002]. The 'Alawid Sharifs and H.usaynid Beys are treated by both sources. Morby has a clearer presentation, but Bosworth also has a brief discussion of the history. Islamic IndexThe House of Su'ud & Saudi Arabia,1735-presentThe House of Su'udSu'ud ibn Muh.ammadAmir of Dir'iyya,d.1735Muh.ammad I1735-1765'Abd al-'Aziz I1765-1803Su'ud I1803-1814'Abdallah I1814-1819Egyptian Occupation, 1818-1822Turki1822-1834Mushari1834Fays.al I1834-1838,1843-1865Egyptian Occupation, 1838-1843Khalid IVassal of Egypt,1838-1841'Abdallah IIVassal of Egypt,1841-1843'Abdallah III1865-1871,1874?-1887governor,1887-1889Su'ud II1871-1874Muh.ammad II1887Conquest and rule by Rashidis,1887-1902'Abd al-Rah.mangovernor,1889-1891Muh.ammad IIIgovernor,1891Direct rule by Rashidis,1891-1902'Abd al-'Aziz IIAmir, 1902-1926;King of Najdand H.ijaz, 1926-1932;King of Sa'udiArabia, 1932-1952Su'ud III1952-1964Fays.al II1964-1975Khalid II1975-1982Fahd1982-2005'Abdallah IV2005-The central lands of the Arabian peninsula, the Najd ("highland, upland"), is not a place of much significance in world history -- until recently. The House of Su'ud has made it significant. At first this was just for religious reasons. The amirs allied themselves with a fundamentalist religious movement, the Wahhabis; and at the beginning of the 19th century, they began to trouble the Ottoman authorities at Mecca and Medina for the insufficient orthodoxy and purity of their institutions. Since the Wahhabis did not believe that graves should be marked, lest individuals receive respect and devotion that is only owing to God, even the Prophet's Tomb in Medina was not above suspicion. The threat became so serious that the Sult.an asked Muh.ammad 'Ali of Egypt to intervene. The Su'udis were sharply defeated and driven out of the Hijaz (1818). The job, however, had to be done all over again twenty years later (1838). This time the Egyptians maintained indirect control for a few years subsequently. Freed from Egyptian control, the Su'udis soon were more permanently subordinated to other Arabian princes, the Rashidis.The realm was permanently liberated from outside control by a formidable ruler, 'Abd al-'Aziz (II) ibn Su'ud. In his long reign (1902-1952), 'Abd al-'Aziz transformed the fortunes of his realm, by diplomacy, by war, and by extraordinary good fortune. Thus, a cash subsidy from the British meant that he was in the right place and at the right time to take advantage of the falling out between the British and the new king H.ussayn of the Hijaz, the erstwhile leader of the Arab revolt against the Turks in World War I. By deposing H.usayn in 1925, 'Abd al-'Aziz was soon able to unify the central Arabian Peninsula from the Persian Gulf right across to the Red Sea. This then became the Kingdom of Sa'udi Arabia. Before long the British subsidies were no longer necessary, since the discovery of vast oil reserves in the Persian Gulf soon brought in wealth such as the bare lands of Arabia had never seen before. The Najdi capital of Riyadh was at first so miserable that foreign embassies had been confined to Jiddah. Now "Arab" became a byword for "wealth."Despite incredible wealth, kicked into overdrive by the Arab oil boycott