History of Saudi Arabia

Overview

The history of Saudi Arabia spans the ancient civilisations of the Arabian Peninsula, the rise of Islam in the seventh century, the formation of the first and second Saudi states, and the unification of the modern Kingdom in 1932.

Ancient Arabia

The Arabian Peninsula was home to a succession of ancient civilisations, including the kingdoms of Dilmun, Magan, Sheba and the Nabataeans, whose rock-cut tombs at Hegra survive in the north-west. The incense trade routes crossed the peninsula, linking the civilisations of the Mediterranean with those of South Asia.

The rise of Islam

In the seventh century the Prophet Muhammad unified the tribes of Arabia under Islam, and Makkah and Madinah became the holiest cities of the new faith. After his death the Islamic state expanded rapidly beyond the peninsula.

The Saudi states

The first Saudi state was founded in 1744 in Diriyah, near present-day Riyadh, in alliance with the reformer Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was destroyed by Ottoman forces in 1818. A second Saudi state followed in the nineteenth century, and in 1902 Abdulaziz ibn Saud recaptured Riyadh, beginning the campaigns that would unify the peninsula.

The modern Kingdom

Ibn Saud took Al-Ahsa in 1913, defeated the Rashidi at Hail in 1921, and conquered the Hejaz in 1924–25. On 23 September 1932 he proclaimed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The discovery of oil in 1938 transformed the economy and funded the rapid modernisation of the state.