Empire · since 1727 · Middle East & South Asia

Saudi State (Diriyah, Nejd, Saudi Arabia)

Also known as Saudi Arabia, Nejd, Arabia (Nejd)

In 1744 the emir of the oasis town of Diriyah, Muhammad bin Saud, allied with the reforming preacher Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, joining political power to a strict form of Sunni Islam. This First Saudi State conquered most of Arabia, including Mecca and Medina, until an Egyptian army sent on behalf of the Ottomans destroyed Diriyah in 1818.

A smaller Second Saudi State ruled from Riyadh from 1824 until its rivals, the Rashidis, took over in 1891. In 1902 the young Abdulaziz ibn Saud recaptured Riyadh, then conquered Nejd, the Hasa coast, the Rashidi lands and, in 1924–25, the Hejaz with the holy cities. In 1932 he renamed his realm the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Oil, found in 1938, made it one of the world's richest states, an absolute monarchy ruled by his sons.

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Years

since 1727

Capital

Diriyah; Riyadh from 1824

Greatest extent

1934, about 2.15 million km²

Region

Middle East & South Asia

c. 2.15M km²; about four-fifths of the Arabian Peninsula