Abdul-Aziz Ibn Saud II: Founder and first king of Saudi Arabia. Ibn Saud and the formation of Saudi Arabia March on Riyadh

Abdulaziz ibn Saud or Abdul Aziz II(Arab. عبدالعزيز آل سعود ‎‎) (November 26 - November 9) - founder and first king of Saudi Arabia. He fought wars for the unification of Arabia. In 1902-1927 Emir of the state of Najd, in 1927-32. king of the state of Hejaz, Najd and annexed regions.

early years

Abdel-Aziz or Ibn Saud was born on November 26 in Riyadh to the Emir of Najd Abd al-Rahman and Sarah, daughter of Ahmad Aal Sudairi, in the Islamic State of the Saudis, whose territory was actually limited to the outskirts of Riyadh. The boy was more interested in games with a saber and rifle than in religious exercises. He was able to read the Koran only at the age of 11. The future king dreamed of restoring family honor and returning the glory and wealth of the House of Saudi Arabia.

Hike to Riyadh

The Rashidi family, which seized power in the city, expelled the Saudis to Kuwait, where young Abdel Aziz spent his childhood. He began to assemble his own detachment for a campaign against Riyadh. On the night of January 16, Abdel Aziz with a detachment of 60 people captured Riyadh, dealing with the governor of Rashidi. The Rashidis asked the Ottoman Empire to help them overthrow Saud. The Turks sent their troops into Arabia, but were defeated and left.

Great War in Arabia

Ikhwans

Beginning of the war for the unification of Arabia

At the outbreak of the First World War, he secured a protectorate from the British Empire. In , using the material support of the British, Abdel Aziz finally defeated Rashidi. By the time of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, five independent states had formed on the peninsula: Hijaz, Najd, Jebel Shammar, Asir and Yemen. Abdel-Aziz attempted to annex Jebel Shammar in April-May 1921, but it was only in August that the Alrashidid capital Hail was taken by the Muslims. On November 1 of the same year, Jebel Shammar ceased to exist.

Confrontation with the Sheriff of Mecca

After this victory, Hussein, the sheriff of Mecca and the king of Hijaz, became Ibn Saud's main opponent. In 1922, Abdel-Aziz captured Northern Asir without a fight, and in July 1924 he called for jihad against the heretics of the Hijaz. In early September, Ikhwan troops burst into the resort town of Taifa and killed mostly civilians here. The nobility of Hijaz, frightened by the events in Taif, opposed Hussein. He was forced to abdicate the throne in favor of his son Ali. The new king did not have the strength to defend Mecca and took refuge with his supporters in Jeddah. In mid-October the Ikhwan entered the holy city, and in January 1925 the siege of Jeddah began. On December 6, Medina fell, and on December 22, Ali evacuated Jeddah, after which Najd’s troops entered the city. That same year, Saud captured Mecca, ending 700 years of Hashemite rule. On January 10, Abdel Aziz al-Saud was declared King of the Hejaz. A few years later, Abdel Aziz captured almost the entire Arabian Peninsula. On September 23, Najd and Hejaz were united into one state, called Saudi Arabia. Abdulaziz himself became the king of Saudi Arabia.

Completion of the unification of Arabia

King of Saudi Arabia

On September 22, 1932, Ibn Saud changed the name of his state to a new one - the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This was intended not only to strengthen the unity of the kingdom and put an end to Hejaz separatism, but also to emphasize the central role of the royal house in the creation of an Arabian centralized state. Throughout the subsequent period of Ibn Saud's reign, internal problems did not present any particular difficulties for him.

Rise of the Ikhwan

Ibn Saud treated European civilization with great understanding. He appreciated the importance of the telephone, radio, car and airplane and began to implement them in life. He also began to gradually limit the influence of the Ikhwans. Feeling changes on the part of the king, the Ikhwans rebelled in 1929. And at the Battle of Sibil, Ibn Saud defeated his former supporters. But the vanquished switched to guerrilla warfare. Then the king unleashed all his power on them. He adopted some European methods of fighting. At the end of the year, the Ikhwan were driven to Kuwait, where they were disarmed by the British. Ikhwan leaders Dawish and Ibn Hitlane's cousin Neyif were subsequently handed over by the British to Ibn Saud and imprisoned in Riyadh. The movement, which played an important role in strengthening the power of Abdel-Aziz and his conquests, was completely defeated and soon faded away. Ibn Saud took the title of King of Hejaz, Najd and its annexed territories.

Foreign policy

The excesses of the Ikhwan led to the alienation of Saudi Arabia from the majority Muslim government, which considered the Saudi regime hostile and resented the complete control established by Muslims of pure Islam over the holy cities and the hajj. There was mutual hostility between Ibn Saud and the Hashemite rulers of Iraq and Transjordan - the sons of Hussein, whom he overthrew. Ibn Saud’s relationship with the king of Egypt, whom he suspected of wanting to revive the caliphate and declare himself caliph, could hardly be called warm. In February 1934, Ibn Saud began a war with the Imam of Yemen over the demarcation of the Yemeni-Saudi border. Hostilities ceased after the signing of an agreement in May 1934. Two years later, the border was de facto defined. Border problems also occurred in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula after Ibn Saud granted an oil concession to Standard Oil of California in 1933. Negotiations with Great Britain over the demarcation of borders with neighboring British protectorates and possessions - Qatar, Trucial Oman, Muscat and Oman and the Eastern Protectorate of Aden - ended in failure.

During World War II it remained neutral. He led the Arab struggle against the creation of a Jewish state and was one of the leaders of the Arab League.

The Second World War

The outbreak of World War II prevented full-scale development of the Al Hasa oil fields, but part of Ibn Saud's loss of income was compensated by British and then American aid. During the war, Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic relations with Nazi Germany (1941) and Italy (1942), but remained neutral almost until its end.

Ibn Saud speaks with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt (right) aboard the cruiser Quincy. February 14, 1945

(officially declared war on Germany and Japan on February 28, 1945). At the end of the war and especially after it, American influence increased in Saudi Arabia. In 1943, the United States established diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia and extended the Lend-Lease law to it. In early February 1944, American oil companies began construction of a trans-Arabian oil pipeline from Dhahran to the Lebanese port of Saida. At the same time, the Saudi Arabian government authorized the construction of a large American air base in Dhahran, which was necessary for the United States for the war against Japan.

After the Yalta Conference, the American delegation led by US President Franklin Roosevelt flew to Egypt, where the heavy cruiser Quincy was waiting for it. On board this ship on February 14, President Roosevelt received Ibn Saud. In his memoirs, the son of the American president, Elliot Roosevelt, left a description of his father’s negotiations with this Arab monarch, who for the first time traveled outside his kingdom specifically to meet with Roosevelt. He arrived in a tent pitched right on the deck of an American destroyer. On board the cruiser, US President Franklin Roosevelt and King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia signed an agreement known as Quincy Pact, about the US monopoly on the development of Saudi fields. According to the pact, the United States received exclusive rights to explore, develop fields and purchase Saudi oil, in turn guaranteeing the Saudis protection from any external threat.

Abdul Aziz ibn Abdu Rahman ibn Faisal Al Saud, also called simply Ibn Saud or Abdul Aziz II (November 26, 1880 – November 9, 1953) was the founder and first king of Saudi Arabia (1932–1953). He fought wars for the unification of Arabia. In 1902-1927 - Emir of the state of Najd, later - until 1932 - King of the state of Hejaz, Najd and annexed regions.

Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud was born on November 26, 1880 in Riyadh in the Islamic State of Saudi Arabia, whose territory was actually limited to the outskirts of Riyadh. Son of the Emir of Najd Abd al-Rahman and Sarah, daughter of Ahmad al-Sudairi. The boy was more interested in games with a saber and rifle than in religious exercises. He was able to read the Koran only at the age of 11. The future king dreamed of restoring family honor and returning the glory and wealth of the House of Saudi Arabia.

Hike to Riyadh

The Rashidi family, which seized power in the city, expelled the Saudis to Kuwait, where young Abdul-Aziz spent his childhood. In 1901, he began to assemble his own detachment for a campaign against Riyadh. On the night of January 15-16, 1902, Abdul-Aziz with a detachment of 60 people captured Riyadh, dealing with the governor from Rashidi.

Ikhwans (Brothers)

In 1912, Abdul Aziz captured the entire Najd region, turning to "pure Islam" that same year. In an effort to achieve the loyalty of the largest tribes, Ibn Saud, on the advice of religious teachers, began to transfer them to settled life. For this purpose, the military-religious brotherhood of the Ikhwans (Arabic for “brothers”) was founded in 1912. All Bedouin tribes and oases that refused to join the Ikhwan movement and recognize Ibn Saud as their emir and imam began to be viewed as enemies of Najd. The Ikhwan were ordered to move to agricultural colonies (“hijras”), whose members were called upon to love their homeland, unquestioningly obey the imam-emir and not enter into any contact with Europeans and residents of the countries they ruled (including Muslims). In each Ikhwan community, a mosque was erected, which also served as a military garrison, and the Ikhwan themselves became not only farmers, but also warriors of the Saudi state. By 1915, more than 200 similar settlements were organized throughout the country, including at least 60,000 people, ready at the first call of Ibn Saud to go to war with the “infidels.”

Beginning of the war for the unification of Arabia

With the outbreak of the First World War, he enlisted the support of the British Empire. In 1920, using the material support of the British, Abdul-Aziz finally defeated Rashidi. By the time of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, five independent states had formed on the peninsula: Hijaz, Najd, Jebel Shammar, Asir and Yemen. Abdul-Aziz attempted to annex Jebel Shammar in April-May 1921, but only in August the Wahhabis took the capital of the al-Rashidids, Hail. On November 1 of the same year, Jebel Shammar ceased to exist.

Confrontation with the Sheriff of Mecca

After this victory, Hussein ben Ali, the sheriff of Mecca and the king of Hejaz, became the main opponent of Ibn Saud. In 1922, Abdul Aziz captured northern Asir without a fight, and in July 1924 he called for jihad against the heretics of the Hijaz. In early September, Ikhwan troops burst into the resort town of Taif and killed mostly civilians here. The Hijaz nobles, frightened by the events in Taif, opposed Hussein. He was forced to abdicate the throne in favor of his son Ali. The new king did not have the strength to defend Mecca and took refuge with his supporters in Jeddah. In mid-October, the Ikhwans entered the Holy City, and in January 1925 the siege of Jeddah began. On December 6, Medina fell, and on December 22, Ali evacuated Jeddah, after which Najd’s troops entered the city. That same year, Ibn Saud captured Mecca, ending 700 years of Hashemite rule. On January 10, 1926, Abdul-Aziz al-Saud was proclaimed king of the Hejaz, and the kingdom of Najd and Hejaz was formed. A few years later, Abdul-Aziz captured almost the entire Arabian Peninsula.

Rise of the Ikhwan

Ibn Saud treated European civilization with great understanding. He appreciated the importance of the telephone, radio, car and airplane and began to implement them in life. At the same time, he began to gradually limit the influence of the Ikhwans. Sensing changes on the part of the king, the Ikhwan rebelled in 1929, and at the Battle of Sibil, Ibn Saud defeated his former supporters. But the vanquished switched to guerrilla warfare. Then the king unleashed all his power on them. He adopted some European methods of fighting. At the end of the year, the Ikhwan were driven to Kuwait, where they were disarmed by the British. The Ikhwan leaders, Dawish and Ibn Hitlane's cousin Neyif, were subsequently handed over to Ibn Saud by the British and imprisoned in Riyadh. The movement, which played an important role in strengthening the power of Abdul-Aziz and his conquests, was completely defeated and soon came to naught. Ibn Saud took the title of King of Hejaz, Najd and its annexed territories.

King of Saudi Arabia

On September 23, 1932, Najd and Hejaz were united into one state, called Saudi Arabia. Abdul Aziz himself became the king of Saudi Arabia. This was intended not only to strengthen the unity of the kingdom and put an end to Hejaz separatism, but also to emphasize the central role of the royal house in the creation of an Arabian centralized state. Throughout the subsequent period of Ibn Saud's reign, internal problems did not present any particular difficulties for him.

Foreign policy

The excesses of the Ikhwan led to the alienation of Saudi Arabia from most Muslim governments, which considered the Saudi regime hostile and resented the complete control established by Muslims of pure Islam over the holy cities and the hajj. There was mutual hostility between Ibn Saud and the Hashemite rulers of Iraq and Transjordan - the sons of Hussein, whom he overthrew. Ibn Saud’s relationship with the king of Egypt, whom he suspected of wanting to revive the caliphate and declare himself caliph, could hardly be called warm. In February 1934, Ibn Saud went to war with the Imam of Yemen over the demarcation of the Yemeni-Saudi border. Hostilities ceased after the signing of an agreement in May of that year. Two years later, the border was de facto defined. Border problems also occurred in the eastern Arabian Peninsula after Ibn Saud awarded the oil concession to Standard Oil of California in 1933. Negotiations with Great Britain over the demarcation of borders with neighboring British protectorates and possessions - Qatar, Trucial Oman, Muscat and Oman and the Eastern Protectorate of Aden - ended in failure.

Saudi-Yemen war

In 1932, former emir Asir al-Idrisi declared the emirate's independence from Saudi Arabia. After the suppression of the Asir revolt, al-Idrisi fled to Yemen. In March 1933, envoys from King Yahya of Yemen and King Abdul Aziz met and discussed the possibility of restoring al-Idrisi's power. Abdul-Aziz's envoys insisted on the transfer of northern Asir and the extradition of al-Idrisi's family members. Bilateral negotiations were interrupted, and in May 1933, Yemen captured Nejran, which was considered by Yemenis to be part of Yemen, blocking transport routes from Asir to Nejd. Members of the Saudi delegation were also captured in Sanaa. During the fighting in February 1934, the Saudis occupied southern Asir and part of Tihama. The Saudi troops had more modern weapons and vehicles. On the second front, Saudi forces occupied Nejran and advanced towards the major center of Saada. Western powers were forced to send warships to Hodeidah and the Saudi shores. The Arab League in Cairo offered negotiation services. Yemen, finding itself in a difficult situation, accepted the offer of negotiations. In May 1934, a Saudi-Yemeni peace treaty was signed in Taif, according to which part of Nejran and Asir remained part of Arabia, and its forces were withdrawn outside Yemen. Successful military operations significantly increased the authority of Saudi Arabia in the international arena.

Discovery of oil fields

In 1933, King Ibn Saud granted oil exploration and production concessions to American oil companies. It turned out that in the depths of Arabia there are huge reserves of “black gold”. In 1938, colossal oil fields were discovered in Saudi Arabia. The king transferred the main rights to develop deposits to Aramco. Most of the oil produced went to the United States, and almost all of the income from it went directly to the royal family. However, profits were constantly growing, and the money went into the state treasury. Saudi Arabia has quickly become the richest state in the Middle East. The sale of oil enabled Abdul-Aziz to make a huge fortune, which in 1952 was estimated at 200 million US dollars. During the Second World War, he remained neutral. He led the Arab struggle against the creation of a Jewish state and was one of the leaders of the Arab League.

The Second World War

The outbreak of World War II prevented full-scale development of the Al Hasa oil fields, but part of Ibn Saud's loss of income was compensated by British and then American aid. During the war, Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic relations with Germany (1941) and Italy (1942), but remained neutral almost until its end (officially declared war on Germany and Japan on February 28, 1945). At the end of the war and especially after it, American influence increased in Saudi Arabia. On May 1, 1942, an American diplomatic mission was opened in Jeddah (from 1943 Jeddah became known as the diplomatic capital), headed by James S. Moose, Jr. In 1943, an American envoy arrived in Riyadh, thereby raising the level of diplomatic relations with the United States (established in 1933). The United States extended the Lend-Lease law to Saudi Arabia. In early February 1944, American oil companies began construction of a trans-Arabian oil pipeline from Dhahran to the Lebanese port of Saida. At the same time, the Saudi Arabian government authorized the construction of a large American air base in Dhahran, which was necessary for the United States for the war against Japan.

After the Yalta Conference, the American delegation led by US President Franklin Roosevelt flew to Egypt, where the heavy cruiser Quincy was waiting for it. On board this ship on February 14, President Roosevelt received Ibn Saud. In his memoirs, the son of the American president, Elliot Roosevelt, left a description of his father’s negotiations with this Arab monarch, who for the first time traveled outside his kingdom specifically to meet with Roosevelt. He arrived in a tent pitched right on the deck of an American destroyer. On board the cruiser, US President Franklin Roosevelt and King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia signed an agreement known as the Quincy Pact, establishing a US monopoly on the development of Saudi oil fields. According to the pact, the United States received exclusive rights to explore, develop fields and purchase Saudi oil, in turn guaranteeing the Saudis protection from any external threat.

Reformer

Armed forces

Until Ibn Saud's death in 1953, the armed forces retained a patriarchal, tribal character. Created in 1944, the Ministry of Defense did not function until 1947 and did not change anything in the tribal structure of the armed forces, creating only a modern façade. Petrodollars allowed Ibn Saud to allocate significant sums to military and security needs, which in 1952-1953 amounted to 53% of all revenues.

Family

Abdul Aziz became the founder of the Saudi royal dynasty. He left behind 45 legitimate sons from his numerous wives, among them all the kings of Saudi Arabia who reigned after him (the throne usually passes from brother to brother). After the death of Abdel Aziz, his son Saud became king. Currently, the Saudi family, the descendants of Ibn Saud, is so numerous (from 5 to 7 thousand prince-emirs) that its representatives permeated the entire state and economic life of the country. The Saudi ruling group exercises power, determines the direction and solves emerging problems in domestic and foreign policy, in economic development, manages the public sector of the national economy, the basis of which is the oil and gas industry. Several of King Abdulaziz's sons have become billionaires.

The polity of the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has its roots in the religious reform movement of the mid-18th century called Wahhabism. It was founded by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1703-1792) and supported by Muhammad ibn Saud, the leader of the Anaiza tribe, who inhabited the Diriyyah region in Central Najd. Ibn Saud and Ibn Abd al-Wahhab managed to unite the tribes of Najd into a religious and political confederation, the purpose of which was to spread the Wahhabi teachings and the power of the Saudis throughout the entire Arabian Peninsula. Son of Muhammad ibn Saud, Abd al-Aziz (reigned 1765-1803) H. Dzutsev, A. Pershits. Wahhabis in the North Caucasus - religion, politics, social practice. Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 1998. T.68, No. 12. P.1113.

He accepted the title of imam, which meant the unification in his hands of both secular and spiritual power. Under his leadership and that of his son Saud (ruled 1803-14), the Wahhabis conquered Central and Eastern Arabia, invaded Iraq, Syria and Oman, and devastated the Hijaz. In the second decade of the 19th century. they were defeated by the Pasha of Egypt Muhammad Ali, and in 1818 Ibrahim Pasha, the son of Muhammad Ali, destroyed Ed-Diriya. However, over the next few years, the Wahhabis, under the leadership of Imam Turki (ruled 1824-1834), managed to recover from defeat, found a new capital, Riyadh, near Diriyah, and restore Saudi rule over Najd and Al-Hasa. In 1837-1840, the Wahhabis were again defeated by Muhammad Ali, but they managed to regain their position under the leadership of Turki's son, Faisal (ruled 1834-1838, 1843-1865). Over the next three decades they played a leading role in the political life of Central and Eastern Arabia. The power struggle between the Saudis allowed the Turks to capture Al-Hasa in 1871, and over the next few years the Saudis were overshadowed by the rival Rashidid dynasty from the independent emirate of Shammar. In 1890, the Rashidids captured Riyadh and forced the Saudis to flee to remote areas and leave the country. The power of the Saudi dynasty was restored by Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud (reigned 1902-1953), later known as Ibn Saud, who returned from exile in 1901-1902 and restored his power in Riyadh. Later he managed to expel the Rashidids from Najd. In 1913 he drove the Turks out of Al-Hasa. During the First World War, he managed to further strengthen his position by concluding an agreement with the government of British India in December 1915, according to which he was recognized as the ruler of Najd, Al-Hasa and the annexed territories. After the war, Ibn Saud defeated the Rashidids and annexed Shammar in 1921. A year later, he concluded a series of agreements with Great Britain that established borders with Kuwait and Iraq.

Ibn Saud consolidated his power over Najd, al-Hasa and Shammar mainly because he was able to enlist the support of the leaders of the largest tribes, such as the Mutayr and Utayba, and also because he was able to bring the Bedouins under his control by settling them in paramilitary settlements called hijras. Acting together with the ulema of Najd, he rekindled the old Wahhabi fanaticism in the minds and hearts of his relatives and united them into a military-religious organization of “brothers” (Ikhwan), the goal of which was the forcible imposition of Wahhabism, the destruction of the enemies of the Saudis and the strengthening of their power.

Towards the end of the First World War, the activity of the Ikhwan movement on the borders of Najd led to clashes with Ibn Saud's main rival in the Arabian Peninsula, Hussein ibn Ali, the recently proclaimed king of the Hijaz (Hussein was a representative of the Hashemite family, which had ruled Mecca since the 11th century). Then a full-scale war was avoided, but in 1924, after the liquidation of the Ottoman Empire and the proclamation of the Turkish Republic, Hussein accepted the title of Caliph of all Muslims. Accusing him of unbelief, the Ikhwan invaded the Hijaz in August of the same year and captured Mecca in October, and Hussein was forced to abdicate in favor of his son Ali. A year later, after the surrender of Medina and Jeddah to Ibn Saud, Ali also abdicated the throne. With the help of the Ikhwans, Asir, a territory located between the Hejaz and Northern Yemen, was brought under the control of Ibn Saud. The history of Najd, called the garden of thoughts and concepts. Part 2, p.6.

In 1927, under a new treaty with Great Britain, in which, unlike the previous treaty of 1915, provisions limiting the independence of the state of Ibn Saud were omitted, he was recognized as the king of the Hejaz and the Sultan of Najd. Five years later in 1932, Ibn Saud changed the name of his state to a new one - the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which was recognized by world powers as an independent state

After the conquest of the Hijaz, some Ikhwan leaders became aggressive towards Riyadh, refusing to stop raiding Iraq and Transjordan (the borders with which were established by Britain in 1925) and attempting to dictate policy to Ibn Saud. In 1928 they launched an open rebellion, which was suppressed by Ibn Saud. Ibn Saud's actions were approved by the Council of Ulema, which believed that only the king has the right to declare war (jihad) and rule the state.

Throughout the subsequent period of Ibn Saud's reign, internal problems did not present any particular difficulties for him. At the same time, the kingdom's external relations developed ambiguously. The excesses of the Ikhwan led to the alienation of Saudi Arabia from the majority Muslim government, which considered the Saudi regime hostile and resented the complete control the Wahhabis established over the holy cities and the hajj. There was mutual hostility between Ibn Saud and the Hashemite rulers of Iraq and Transjordan - the sons of Hussein, whom he overthrew. Ibn Saud’s relationship with the king of Egypt, whom he suspected of wanting to revive the caliphate and declare himself caliph, could hardly be called warm. In February 1934, Ibn Saud began a war with the Imam of Yemen over the demarcation of the Yemeni-Saudi border. Hostilities ceased after the signing of an agreement in May 1934. Two years later, the border was de facto defined. Border problems also occurred in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula after Ibn Saud granted an oil concession to Standard Oil of California in 1933. Negotiations with Great Britain over the demarcation of borders with neighboring British protectorates and possessions - Qatar, Trucial Oman, Muscat and Oman and the Eastern Protectorate of Aden - ended in failure. Meanwhile, the California Arabian Standard Oil Company, a subsidiary of Standard Oil of California, discovered oil in Al-Hasa.

The outbreak of World War II prevented full-scale development of the Al Hasa oil fields, but part of Ibn Saud's loss of income was compensated by British and then American aid. During the war, Saudi Arabia remained neutral. Subsequently, the United States received the right to build a military air base in Dhahran, in Al-Has, where the headquarters of the ARAMCO company, the former KASOC, was located. At the end of the war, oil production increased significantly and exploration continued. Relying on greatly increased resources, Ibn Saud again turned his attention to part of the territory of Trucial Oman and Oman. In 1949, a new round of negotiations with Great Britain began, but it also turned out to be inconclusive. Ibn Saud died in November 1953. All subsequent rulers of Saudi Arabia were the sons of Ibn Saud.

The full scale of the changes caused by the huge revenues from oil exports appeared already during the reign of Ibn Saud's successor, his second son Saud (b. 1902). Mismanagement of the kingdom's finances and inconsistent domestic and foreign policies led to a crisis of governance in 1958, as a result of which Saud was forced to transfer full executive power to his brother Faisal. Faisal was appointed prime minister. Under him, a permanent cabinet was formed, which was the most important innovation in the structure of power. In 1960-1962, Saud regained direct control of the government, once again taking the post of prime minister. But already in October 1964 he was removed by members of the royal family, whose decision was confirmed by a fatwa, a decree of the Council of Ulema. Faisal was proclaimed king. The new king retained the post of prime minister. This practice continued under his successors. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: history, civilization. and development. Arabic Book Agency. Riyadh 1989 P.145..

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Saudi Arabia's relations with its Arab neighbors improved somewhat, which was a consequence of the creation of the state of Israel and the growing hostility towards it from Arab countries. The determination of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser to remove from power any government that stood in the way of the unification of Arab countries made Saudi Arabia after 1960 his main target of attacks. Beginning in 1962, for five years, Saudi Arabia provided assistance to the deposed imam of North Yemen, while Egypt sent troops there and provided assistance to the republicans. Although the threat from Abdel Nasser diminished after the withdrawal of Egyptian troops from South Yemen in 1967 as a consequence of Egypt's defeat in the Arab-Israeli War, Saudi Arabia faced another challenge, the revolutionary regime in the People's Republic of South Yemen. Saudi Arabia's relations with Egypt improved after Faisal began providing aid to compensate for losses caused by the closure of the Suez Canal. Relations with Iraq, which had always been tense, practically broke down after the proclamation of a republic here in 1958. Relations with Syria also worsened after the radical Arab Socialist Renaissance Party (Baath) came to power in March 1963. Any sympathies that Faisal might have felt for King Hussein of Jordan as a fellow monarch and an opponent of all revolutions, Marxism and republicanism, were overshadowed by the traditional rivalry between the Saudis and the Hashemites. However, in August 1965, the 40-year dispute between Saudi Arabia and Jordan over the border was resolved: Saudi Arabia recognized Jordan's claims to the port city of Aqaba. In the Arabian Peninsula, Faisal faced a threat from subversive organizations supported by the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (formerly South Yemen). Saudi Arabia's problems worsened after the end of British protectorate over the Gulf principalities in 1971. Before leaving the area, the British government tried to persuade the local rulers to unite into a federation and reach an agreement with Saudi Arabia on the issue of a common border.

The Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation concluded between the Soviet Union and Iraq in 1972 increased Faisal's fears and pushed him to try to unite neighboring countries into an anti-revolutionary coalition. Like the government of North Yemen (Yemen Arab Republic, YAR), where moderate Republicans came to power after 1967, Faisal supported thousands of southern Yemenis who fled after 1967 to YAR and Saudi Arabia. After the Arab-Israeli war in October 1973, Faisal initiated the Arab oil embargo against Western countries, incl. The United States, in order to force them to pursue a more balanced policy regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict. Arab solidarity contributed to a fourfold increase in oil prices and an increase in the prosperity of Arab oil-producing states. On March 25, 1975, King Faisal was assassinated by one of his nephews during a reception. His brother Khaled (1913-1982) ascended the throne. Due to Khaled's poor health, much of the power was transferred to Crown Prince Fahd (b. 1922).

The new government continued Faisal's conservative policies, increasing spending on the development of transport, industry and education. After 1974, Saudi Arabia made efforts to reduce the rise in world oil prices. The Saudi government opposed the Egyptian-Israeli peace accords concluded in 1978-1979, adhering to the common Arab position that they represented a separate peace that destroyed hope for a comprehensive resolution of the Arab-Israeli differences. Saudi Arabia could not stay away from the rising tide of Islamic fundamentalism that followed the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1978-1979 Calvoressi Peter. World politics after 1945. M., International relations. 2000. Volume 2., p. 215.. Tension in Saudi society was openly revealed in November 1979, when armed Muslim oppositionists seized the main mosque of Mecca. The mosque was liberated by Saudi troops after two weeks of fighting in which more than 200 people were killed. The armed rebellion led by Juhayman al-Otaiba represented the first open rebellion against the monarchy in the country since the founding of the third Saudi state in 1932. Unrest also occurred among Shiites living in the eastern regions (Al-Hasa). In response to these speeches, Crown Prince Fahd announced plans in early 1980 to create an Advisory Council, which, however, was not formed until 1993. King Khaled died in 1982 and was succeeded by his brother Fahd. In August 1990, shortly after Iraq's occupation of neighboring Kuwait, Fahd authorized the deployment of significant US military forces to Saudi Arabia to defend the country against the increased military threat from Iraq. A multinational force consisting of Saudi Arabia, the United States, and other Western, Arab and Muslim countries managed to oust Iraqi troops from Kuwait in early 1991 and thereby eliminate the immediate threat to Saudi Arabia. After the Gulf War, the Saudi Arabian government came under intense pressure from fundamentalists who demanded political reforms, strict adherence to Sharia law, and the withdrawal of Western, especially American, troops from the sacred land of Arabia. Petitions were sent to King Fahd calling for greater government powers, greater public participation in political life, and greater economic justice. These actions were followed by the creation in May 1993 of the Committee for the Protection of Legal Rights. However, the government soon banned this organization, and King Fahd demanded that the fundamentalists stop anti-government agitation.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the most developed countries in the region with powerful financial and economic potential. The basis of the country's economy is the oil industry. The Kingdom is the largest exporter of oil, which accounts for 90% of its exports. In recent years, steps have been taken to diversify the economy. An important role in this is given to the private sector, which is not allowed into the oil business. Joint ventures are encouraged. The country, three-quarters of which is desert, has implemented large-scale agricultural projects. Huge funds were allocated by the state for the purchase of agricultural machinery and equipment, for irrigation, and road construction. As a result, the country has become a major exporter of wheat and other agricultural products.

Despite certain economic difficulties, partly caused by the consequences of the war with Iraq (damage amounted to more than 50 billion dollars), growing arms costs and falling prices on the world oil market, Saudi Arabia remains one of the most stable and prosperous countries in the world with high standard of living and enormous financial and investment opportunities. In 1996, GDP per capita was $11,176, with a decline of 2%.

The significantly increased role of the kingdom in the international arena is largely due to the financial assistance provided to developing countries (primarily members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, to which $28 billion were allocated from 1974 to 1991). The address of King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah to pilgrims in 1994 said: “By the will of Allah, our country, which has an eternal Islamic mission, has enormous natural resources. The fruits of these riches are enjoyed not only by the citizens of the Kingdom. Based on Based on our historical responsibility to other Muslim peoples, we are implementing a program of assistance in all parts of the world... The total volume of assistance these days has reached about 15% of the Kingdom's income from oil sales." Tokaev K.K. Foreign policy of Kazakhstan in the context of globalization. - Almaty, 2000. - p. 351.

On the other hand, the authority of Saudi Arabia in the Muslim world is growing as a country that has made a huge contribution to the preservation and revival of the main shrines of Islam, consistently defends the rights of the Palestinian people, is known for its active position in protecting the interests of Islamic states, and has close partnerships with the USA and other leading Western powers. After the Gulf War, Saudi Arabia, which became the generally recognized leader in the Muslim world, became a real factor of stability not only in the Middle East region, but also in the Islamic world as a whole. The Kingdom today acts as the most important link in the relationship between the West and the Islamic world and has taken a central place in the development of a new policy of Arab consolidation. All this taken together largely determines its important role in the global political, economic and financial system.

The main principles of Saudi Arabia's foreign policy are support for Islam throughout the world, assistance and support to Muslim states in protecting their national interests, and non-interference in the internal affairs of these states.

In the early thirties, a British political agent in Kuwait spoke of the ruler of neighboring Saudi Arabia as “the cunning Ibn Saud, who is always prudent.” In fact, Ibn Saud during these years could not afford to look far ahead. He was tormented by a problem: the treasury needed money, and as soon as possible. That's what made him think about oil. Of course, he was very skeptical about its presence in the country. And he didn't particularly like the possible consequences of its development - in the unlikely event that it was actually discovered. Foreign capital and technical personnel could undermine or even destroy traditional values ​​and relationships. It is a completely different matter to issue a concession to search for oil, especially if it is confirmed by appropriate financial measures. Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman bin Faisal al-Saud was then a little over fifty and had an impressive appearance. Six feet three inches tall, with a barrel chest, he towered over the heads of most of his subjects. This is how one British official described the sheikh during a visit to Basra a decade earlier: “Although he is more massively built than the typical nomadic sheikh, he has the features of a well-mannered Arab, with a sharply defined aquiline profile, fleshy nostrils, thick lips and a long, narrow chin, accentuated by a pointed beard. His skills as a soldier help him govern the state, which is highly valued by his fellow tribesmen.” Ibn Saud used his talents both in the military field and in government. He achieved much in nation building and the creation of modern Saudi Arabia. The enormous wealth he subsequently accumulated was unique for a ruler, in whose youth the entire national treasury would have fit in the saddle bag of a camel.

The Saudi dynasty was founded at the beginning of the 18th century by Muhammad ibn Saud, the emir of the town of Dariya on Najd (a plateau in central Arabia). He took into his own hands the cause of the spiritual leader, Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab, who professed a harsh “puritan” version of Islam, which became the religious instrument of the new dynasty and state. The Saudi family, in alliance with the Wahhabis, embarked on a program of rapid conquest that brought them power over most of the Arabian Peninsula in less than half a century. However, the expansion of the Saudi state alarmed the Turks, and they inflicted a crushing defeat on the Arabs in 1818. Muhammad's grandson, Abdullah, was taken to Constantinople, where he was beheaded. Subsequently, Abdullah's son Turki restored the Saudi kingdom centered in Riyadh, but this first Saudi restoration failed due to a power struggle between Turki's two grandsons. For a time, the third grandson, Abdul Rahman, nominally ruled Riyadh under the hateful gaze of the rival al-Rashid family. But in 1891, Abdul Rahman was expelled from the country along with his entire family, including his son Abdul Aziz, the future Ibn Saud, who spent part of the journey in the saddle bag of a camel. Abdul Rahman and his family wandered for two years, spending several months with a tribe of nomads deep in the desert. Eventually, the family of Sabah, who ruled Kuwait, invited them to settle in this small city-state on the shores of the Persian Gulf.

Abdul Rahman had two goals in life: to restore the Saudi dynasty and to make the Wahhabi branch of Sunni Islam universal. His son, Ibn Saul, was to make these dreams come true. Mubarak, the Emir of Kuwait, took the young Prince Saud under his wing and gave him excellent knowledge. Mubarak helped him learn, Ibn Saud recalled, how to “use our superiority and our shortcomings.” The boy received a harsh religious upbringing, lived a Spartan life, mastering in his youth the art of fighting and surviving in the desert. Soon he had the opportunity to use these skills - the Turks incited the Rashids, the traditional enemies of the Saudis, to attack Kuwait, which was then under British protection. As a sabotage measure, the Emir of Kuwait sent twenty-year-old Ibn Saud to try to take Riyadh from the Rashids. Ibn Saud led a small force through the desert sands only to have his first onslaught repulsed. On the second attempt, combining surprise and force, Ibn Saud burst into the city at night and killed the Rashid ruler by morning. In January 1902, his father declared him, a young man of twenty-one years old, the ruler of Najd and the imam of the Wahhabis. Thus began the second restoration of the Saudi dynasty.

Over the next few years, through one military campaign after another, Ibn Saud became the recognized ruler of Central Arabia. At the same time, he became the leader of the Ikhwan, or “brotherhood,” a new movement of extremely religious warriors, whose rapid spread in Arabia provided Ibn Saud with many loyal soldiers. During 1913–1914 he took control of Eastern Arabia, including the large and populous oasis of Al-Haza. Since the population was mainly Shia Muslims - while the Saudis were Sunnis, and not just Sunnis, but members of the harsh Wahhabi sect, Ibn Saud paid special attention to the governance and education in Al-Haza, maintaining their status and preventing discontent. Despite the dogmas of Wahhabism, Ibn Saud was a reasonable politician and knew that it was in his interests not to infringe on the feelings of the Shiites. “We have thirty thousand Shiites living in peace and security,” he once said. - Nobody ever bothers them. All we ask is that they don’t show their feelings too much in public on their holidays.”

The last territories important to the Saudi Empire were annexed almost immediately after the First World War. Ibn Saud captured northwestern Arabia. Then, in 1922, a member of the British High Commission, exasperated by the dispute between Ibn Saud and the Emir of Kuwait, took a red pencil and drew the borders between their countries himself. He also identified two “neutral zones” along Ibn Saud’s borders – one with Kuwait, the other with Iraq. They were called “neutral” because the Bedouins could cross them back and forth and graze their herds there, and because they had to be governed together. By December 1925, Ibn Saud's troops captured the Hijaz, the holy land of Islam in the west of the peninsula, washed by the Red Sea. Here were the port of Jeddah and two holy cities - Mecca and Medina. In January 1926, after congregational prayers in the Great Mosque of Mecca, Ibn Saud was proclaimed King of Hijaza. The Saudi dynasty became the guardian of the shrines of Islam. So, at the age of forty-five, Ibn Saud found himself master of Arabia. Within a quarter of a century, a skilled warrior and wise politician established Saudi rule over nine-tenths of the Arabian Peninsula. The restoration has actually been completed.

However, here the soldiers began to criticize Ibn Saud for retreating from Wahhabism. They declared that the civilization that had begun to penetrate the kingdom - the telephone, the telegraph, the radio, the automobile - was the product of the devil, and they condemned Saud for having anything to do with the infidel English and other foreigners. Increasingly out of control, they rebelled against him in 1927. However, Saud won again, and in 1930 he destroyed the Ikhwan movement. Ibn Saud's control over Arabia was now assured. From this point on, his tasks shifted from conquest to conservation. He had to protect the nation created in thirty years. To perpetuate the unification, the name of the state was changed in 1932 from the “Kingdom of Hejaz, Najd and the annexed areas” to what still exists today – “Saudi Arabia”10.

But just when Ibn Saud's efforts seemed to be crowned with complete success, a new threat arose. Simply put, Ibn Saud began to run out of money. With the onset of the Great Depression, the flow of pilgrims to Mecca (and all Muslims should try to make at least one pilgrimage in their lives) became a trickle. Meanwhile, pilgrims were the king's main source of income. The royal finances were in dire straits, bills were not paid, and civil servants' salaries were delayed by six to eight months. Ibn Saud's ability to distribute subsidies to the tribes was one of the most important factors that united the fragmented kingdom. Fermentation began in the state. To make matters worse, the king was embarking on an expensive and multifaceted program that seemed to involve everything from the creation of a local radio network to the reconstruction of Jeddah's water supply. Where to find new sources of money? Ibn Saud tried to collect taxes for the year in advance. He then sent his son Faisal to Europe to seek help or investment, but without success. His financial problems continued to multiply, and the king did not know where to turn for help.