A Brief History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is a desert nation in the Middle East that has been inhabited by humans since ancient times. It is one of the last kingdoms in the world. Saudi Arabia has been an obscure and isolated nation for most of history, but has twice had a huge impact on the rest of the world. The first and biggest impact it had on the world was that in the 7th century it became the birthplace and cradle of Islam, as well as the first center of the Arab Empire. The second, smaller impact it had on the rest of the world was that from the mid-20th century until now the discovery of vast oil deposits propelled it into a key economic and geo-political role.
Mohammed, the last prophet of Allah, was born
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In that year, Mohammed ibn Saud, the ruler of the town of Ad-Dir'iyyah near Riyadh, formed an alliance with Mohammed ibn Abd-al-Wahhab, the founder of Wahhabism, a radical form of Islam. This alliance remains the basis of Saudi Arabian dynastic rule today. Over the next 150 years, the Saudi rulers fought with Egypt, the Ottoman Empire, and other Arabian families for control of the peninsula. Concerned by the growing power of the Saudis, the Ottoman Sultan, Mustafa IV, tried to reconquer the area. He was eventually successful in defeating the Saudi armies in 1818 and destroyed the power of the Al Saud family. The Al Saud returned to power in 1824 but they only controlled the Najd region, known as the Second Saudi State. The Al Saud fought with the Rashidis of Ha'il throughout the rest of the 19th century for control of the interior of Saudi Arabia. By 1891, the Al Saud were defeated and driven into exile in Kuwait. The Egyptians continued to occupy the Hejaz until 1840. Samuel Zwemer was an American missionary in several Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, from 1891 to 1905. Until WW1, Saudi Arabia was ruled by various tribal rulers, including the Al Saud who returned from exile in 1902. The Ottoman Empire still had nominal control over most of the peninsula, and in 1916, the sharif of Mecca, Hussein bin Ali, led a pan-Arab rebellion against the Ottoman Empire to secure Arab independence and create a single unified …show more content…
He was able to achieve these conquests with the help of the Wahhabist-Bedouin tribal army led by Sultan bin Bajad Al-Otaibi and Faisal al-Duwaish. In 1921, Abdul-Aziz finally defeated the Al Rashid and annexed all of northern Arabia. Khalid bin Lu'ayy and Sultan bin Bajad then advanced on Mecca and plundered it, demolishing all symbols of heathen practices. On January 10, 1926, Abdul-Aziz declared himself King of the Hejaz and then, on January 27, 1927, he took the title King of Najd (his previous title was Sultan). The old cosmopolitan society in the Hejaz was destroyed, and a radical Wahhabi culture was imposed. The UK recognized the independence of Abdul-Aziz's kingdom in May 20, 1927. The Ikhwan revolted against Abdul-Aziz but were defeated in 1930, and the Ikhwan leaders were massacred. In 1932, Hejaz and Najd were united as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In 1938, vast reserves of oil were discovered along the Persian Gulf coast. Development began in 1941 and production advanced rapidly. The Hejaz has never fully accepted Wahhabi rule, but the oil wealth makes up for that, since all the oil comes from the other side of the country. Abdul-Aziz died in 1953. King Saud succeded the throne after his father's death. Oil wealth provided Saudi Arabia with economic
Livingston, John W., and Al-Jabarti. "The Rise of Shaykh al-Balad 'Ali Bey al-Kabir: A Study in
After the Second World War, the world was more interesting in oil than ever before. The conflict itself made the countries of the world realize that oil was a serious factor in the quest for power. From this point in history, oil was considered the driving force behind a successful economy and therefore attaining power. Therefore the quest for oil heightened during and after World War II. In the effort to acquire more oil, many countries began to seek out additional locations to drill and this drove the United States to the Middle East. In late 1943 a man named DeGolyer who was a geologist went on a mission to Saudi Arabia to survey the possibility for oil. His mission there concluded that “the oil in this region is the greatest single prize in all history”. With such a conclusion it is not surprising that the United States began extremely concerned with the oil concessions there.
The Persian Gulf War started on 17 January 1991 in response to Iraq’s invasion and annexation
After the fall of the Roman Empire, no one imagined that the next great world power would emerge from Saudi Arabia. Especially, because ancient empires thought that the land was worthless, but they didn’t know that it had great trade routes. Trade brought them in connection with other civilizations and that’s how the city of Mecca, located in Saudi Arabia, became known. The city of Mecca was a mix of religious beliefs, they used to worship many gods and had their own rituals. The world of Islam took place in Mecca, where Muhammad was born in 570 CE.
Oil has always been a coveted natural resource. Oil was discovered in the United States in 1859; since it was a young industry, it was without any structure. That is where John Davison Rockefeller stepped in. John Rockefeller was at one point one of the richest men in the world, monopolizing the oil industry which played a major role in shaping the economy.
Hilāl, ʻAlī Al-Dīn. Islamic Resurgence in the Arab World. New York, NY: Praeger, 1982. Print.
Reza Shah Pahlavi’s rise to power ended the 131-year reign of the Kajar dynasty and established the Pahlavi dynasty in 1925. Much to the chagrin of not only Muslim clerics, but also the general population, Reza Shah Pahlavi leaned heavily towards secular ...
Although the United Sates and Saudi Arabia present the United States and Saudi Arabia’s relationship as excellent, there are actually two nations who have bitter disagreements but who allies through oil. The only thing that has held this alliance together is the US dependence on Saudi oil. The United States has felt and still fells that it is a necessity to have bases present in the Middle East to protect oil, and silently to protect Israel. The relationship began in 1933 when Standard Oil of California signed an agreement with the Saudi government. In 1943 FDR affirmed that the defense of Saudi Arabia was a vital interest to the United States and moved troops into the region. Future presidents would emulate this declaration and mobilization of troops to Saudi Arabia. Again in 1945 Abd al Aziz, the Saudi king, and FDR would cement this alliance, on a US warship in the Suez Canal. Soon after, airfields were constructed at Dhahran and other spots over Saudi Arabia; beginning a long tradition of US military facilities in Saudi Arabia. Abd al Aziz was the first of his line of successors to meet with US presidents. The relationship was only strengthened with the onset on the Cold war, as the US used the bases in Saudi Arabia as potential air force launch sites to the USSR and constructed more military facilities. In 1941 Harry S. Truman made another assertion of Americas protection and alliance with Saudi Arabia to Abd Al Aziz. Truman stated that “support for Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity and political independence was a primary objective of the United States.” (Countrystudies.com) Another stipulation of this pact was that the US established a permanent military training mission in the Saudi Arabia. That mission lasted until 1992. Soon after the pact between Truman and Aziz was agreed upon the US-Saudi relationship would endure its first major disagreement. On May 14th, 1948 Israel was declared an independent state in the former Arab dominated Palestine. Israel’s independence was backed the United States. Saudi Arabia refused to acknowledge the country of Israel and to engage in any relations with them. The Saudis concerns of the Israel-US relationship were reinforced in the 1970’s and 1980’s when the US sold arms to Israel, but refused to sell arms to Saudi Arabia. In some cases congressional leaders refused to sell arms to Saudi Arabia on the grounds that Saudi Arabia might use them against Israel.
It is bordered by Iraq and Jordan on the north, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman and Yemen on the south. The Arabian Gulf Sea surrounded from the east and the Red Sea from the west. Saudi Arabia is a traditional monarchy. Al Saud dynasty is a royal family of the kingdom. The population of the kingdom was estimated to be 29,369,428 in 2014 - the 43rd largest in the world (Worldpopulationreview.com, 2014). In the technology side, Saudi Arabia is becoming focused on technology. They increase the spending on connectivity and human resources (Saudi Arabia Emergence of Innovation Kingdom,
The decline of the Abbasids was not a steady of rapid series of events. There were numerous revivals of the Caliphate in which certain strong Caliphs gained more control and influence over the Islamic world than their predecessors had had. However at no point after the death of Harun al-Rahid (reigned 786-809) was the Caliphate ever as powerful. This period is regarded as the Golden Age of the Abbasid Caliphate and was followed immediately by civil war between his sons. Harun’s two sons were called Al-Amin and Al-Mamun. Al-Amin was the elder and was nominated as the heir to the Caliphate. However Al-Mamun, who was the effective governor of the eastern provinces was ambitious. He was spurred towards seizing the Caliphate for himself by his prominent advisor Al-Fadl. In 810 he declared himself an Iman causing his brother to disinherit and dispatch a great army to snuff out his ever increasing dominance of the Caliphate east of Baghdad. It seemed likely that Al-Mamun would be defeated, his army numbered around 4,000 men but faced 40,000. However he was fortunate in his commander, called Tahir bin Husain, who won him a spectacular victory at Rayy in 811. Tahir proceeded to siege Baghdad in 812. In that year Al-Amin was captured and forced to hand over the office of Caliph to al-Mamun. Al-Amin was executed after trying to escape Baghdad after it had been captured.
In fact, occasional protests occurred particularly in the Shiite east of the country. But the regime successfully used its rich resources to keep the country stable. The revenues from the oil sector allowed Saudi Arabia to offer concessions that helped to depoliticize strategic sectors of society, and to finance and increase security and intelligence forces. When protests occurred in other Arab states, the government immediately imposed a nationwide ban on demonstrations. King Abdullah also announced a vast subsidy program. Furthermore, the royal family received a valuable support from the influential Council of Senior Islamic Scholars which said that demonstrations are not compatible with Islam and therefore declared a ban on protests.
...gely by religious values: Conservative dress, conservative literature, and conservative behavior. Freedom of political and religious expression is not allowed, and diversions like dancing, or movies, activities are almost nonexistence in Saudi Arabia. As it has been for centuries, the cultural and political life of Saudi Arabia continues to be expressed in terms of Islamic principles.
Mecca is also known as Makkah and its full name is Makkah al-Mukkaramah. Mecca is a city in the Hijaz region of western Saudi Arabia. It is known as the holiest site in the Islamic religion. The history of Mecca goes back as early as the fifth century. It was an independent and powerful city in pre-Islamic times. It is the religious center for Islamic people and it houses the Kaaba and the Great Mosque. It is also the birthplace of Muhammad, the first capital of caliphate, and the center of present day mosques. In 630 Muhammad and some of his followers went into the city of Mecca and captured it. Mecca is said to have started one of the most important religions in the world and it brings together the Islamic religion.
This is also made possible because to Muslims, Islam legitimizes everything and because the Saudi monarchy is supportive of anything that will challenge the Shia or other moderate forms of Islam. Of note, al Qaeda, ISIS, Boko Haram, Al Shabab and others are all Sunni Salafi groups. For fifty years, Saudi Arabia has been the official sponsor of Sunni Salafism, which just happens to be another term for Wahhabism. These terror groups have been generously backed by the Saudi government, which has assigned delegates to its consulates in Muslim countries that promote Salafism.
However, you need to understand the situation in Saudi Arabia first. The way people drive in Saudi Arabia is insane. I mean, imagine that all cars are not following the traffic laws. You can go as fast as the car goes and you wouldn't be stopped at all. Leading to the deaths of nineteen people every day on the country’s roads.