1. The Emergence of the Saudi State
1700-1932
The 2013 Spring Semester
American University of Afghanistan
Dr. Mohamed K. Elowny

2. 1-Who were the founding fathers of the first Saudi state (1744-
1818)?
2-The founding fathers of the first Saudi state were Imam
Muhammad ibn Sa’ud and Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abd Al-
Wahhab.
3-On the one hand, Ibn Sa’ud was the son of Sa’ud ibn
Muhammad, the ruler of Al-Dir’iyah, which served as the capital
of the first Saudi state.
4-On the other hand, ibn Abd Al-Wahhab, was the founding father
of the Wahhabism movement, who sought sanctuary in this
settlement after he fled his hometown of Al-Uyaynah after his
religious activities provoked its ruler.
5-Ibn Abd Al-Wahhab began in 1902 his Islamic campaign for
restoring the authentic form of Islam in the Arab peninsula.

3. 6-The deviation of the Arab tribes from the
teachings of the Holy Quran and Prophetic
Sunnah prompted ibn Abd Al-Wahhab to
initiate this campaign which was welcomed by
ibn Sa’ud.
7-Why did ibn Sa’ud embrace and support the
Wahhabist campaign in the Arab peninsula in
1744?
8-In general, ibn Sa’ud found in ibn Abd Al-
Wahhab a religious opportunity for
legitimizing his rule over the province of

4. 9-central Najd through his alliance with the
eloquent preacher, ibn Abd Al-Wahhab.
10-Through this alliance, ibn Sa’ud saw the
possibility of extending his political rule over
the neighboring towns.
11-The alliance with this growing Islamic force
provided ibn Sa’ud with the necessary
religious cover for legitimizing his political
aspirations for unifying the scattered tribes in
the Arab peninsula.

5. 12-ibn Sa’ud was in desperate need of ibn Abd
Al-Wahhab’s moral, political, and religious
support to confront the Ottoman Empire and
its allies in the Arab peninsula who acted as
the supreme Islamic authority.
13-What were the different steps which Imam
Abed Al-Aziz, the son of ibn Sa’ud, took to
expand his domain in the Arab peninsula?

6. 14-Under Abed Al-Aziz’s political leadership,
the territorial expansion escalated. For
example, in 1773, three years before the
American Declaration of Independence, he
captured Najd.
15-Within twelve years, Abed Al-Aziz managed
to control all of Najd (please see map 1).
16-The first Saudi state was a remarkable
example of the unification of the Arab royal

7. 17-traditions of the ancient kingdoms and the
authentic Islamic traditions (e. g. , visiting
“sacred caves”).
18-The first Saudi state was founded on the
principle of equal partnership between the
ruler and religious advisors.
19-With the death of Shaykh ibn Abd Al-
Wahhab, the religious advisor’s position was
passed to his four sons.

8. 20-By 1785, Abed Al-Aziz consolidated his
hold over all of Najd and by 1795, he
succeeded in expanding his control over Al-
Hasa after his victory over its tribal
leaders, Bani Khalid.
21-Which steps did the Ottoman Empire take
in the nineteenth century to halt the territorial
expansion of Abed Al-Aziz’s raids?

9. 22-With the Abed Al-Aziz’s and Wahhabbists’
success in 1801 in striking Iraq and controlling
Tayif in the Hijaz and the city of Holy
Makkah, the Ottoman Sultan grew worried and
order first his representative in the Arab
peninsula, Sharif Ghalib, who failed in stopping
Abed Al-Aziz’s military campaign in the western
provinces.
23-With the assassination of Abed Al-Aziz in 1803
and the rise of his son, Sa’ud, a new but critical
era began shaping the fate of the first Saudi state
(1744-1818).