The History of Saudi Arabia (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations)

175 Pages·2007·1.09 MB·English

by  Wayne H. Bowen

The History of Saudi
Arabia
Wayne H. Bowen
Greenwood Press
The
hisTory of
saudi arabia

ADVISORY BOARD
John T. Alexander
Professor of History and Russian and European Studies,
University of Kansas
Robert A. Divine
George W. Littlefield Professor in American History Emeritus,
University of Texas at Austin
John V. Lombardi
Professor of History,
University of Florida

The
hisTory of
saudi arabia
Wayne h. bowen
The Greenwood histories of the Modern Nations
Frank W. Thackeray and John E. Findling, Series Editors
Greenwood Press
Westport, Conn • London

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bowen, Wayne H., 1968–
The history of Saudi Arabia / by Wayne H. Bowen.
p. cm. — (The greenwood histories of the modern nations)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–0–313–34012–3 (alk. paper)
1. Saudi Arabia—History. I. Title.
DS204.B685 2008
953.8—dc22 2007037493
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Copyright © 2008 by Wayne H. Bowen
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2007037493
ISBN-13: 978–0-313–34012–3
ISSN: 1096–2905
First published in 2008
Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
www.greenwood.com
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
v
Contents
Series Foreword vii
Timeline of Historical Events ix
1 Introduction: Saudi Arabia Today 1
2 Arabia before Muhammad (to 570 a.d.) 17
3 The Prophet Muhammad and the Arabs (570–700 a.d.) 35
4 Arabia and the Muslim Empires (700–1700) 51
5 The House of Saud (1700–1902) 67
6 The Creation of Saudi Arabia (1902–1932) 83
7 The Kingdom of Ibn Saud (1932–1973) 99
8 Saudi Arabia in the Modern World (1973–2006) 115
Notable People in the History of Saudi Arabia 131
v
v Contents
Glossary 139
Annotated Bibliography 143
Index 149
Seres Foreword
The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations series is intended to provide
students and interested laypeople with up-to-date, concise, and analytical his-
tories of many of the nations of the contemporary world. Not since the 1960s has
there been a systematic attempt to publish a series of national histories, and, as
editors, we believe that this series will prove to be a valuable contribution to our
understanding of other countries in our increasingly interdependent world.
Over thirty years ago, at the end of the 1960s, the ColdWar was an accepted
reality of global politics, the process of decolonization was still in progress,
the idea of a unified Europe with a single currency was unheard of, the United
States was mired in a war in Vietnam, and the economic boom of Asia was
still years in the future. Richard Nixon was president of the United States,
Mao Tse-tung (not yet Mao Zedong) ruled China, Leonid Brezhnev guided
the Soviet Union, and Harold Wilson was prime minister of the United King-
dom. Authoritarian dictators still ruled most of Latin America, the Middle
East was reeling in the wake of the Six-Day War, and Shah Reza Pahlavi was
at the height of his power in Iran. Clearly, the past 30 years have been witness
to a great deal of historical change, and it is to this change that this series is
primarily addressed.
With the help of a distinguished advisory board, we have selected nations
whose political, economic, and social affairs mark them as among the most
v
v Seres Foreword
important in the waning years of the twentieth century, and for each nation
we have found an author who is recognized as a specialist in the history of
that nation. These authors have worked most cooperatively with us and with
Greenwood Press to produce volumes that reflect current research on their
nations and that are interesting and informative to their prospective readers.
The importance of a series such as this cannot be underestimated. As
a superpower whose influence is felt all over the world, the United States
can claim a “special” relationship with almost every other nation. Yet many
Americans know very little about the histories of the nations with which the
United States relates. How did they get to be the way they are? What kind of
political systems have evolved there? What kind of influence do they have
in their own region? What are the dominant political, religious, and cultural
forces that move their leaders? These and many other questions are answered
in the volumes of this series.
The authors who have contributed to this series have written comprehensive
histories of their nations, dating back to prehistoric times in some cases. Each
of them, however, has devoted a significant portion of the book to events
of the last thirty years, because the modern era has contributed the most to
contemporary issues that have an impact on U.S. policy. Authors have made
an effort to be as up-to-date as possible so that readers can benefit from the
most recent scholarship and a narrative that includes very recent events.
In addition to the historical narrative, each volume in this series con-
tains an introductory overview of the country’s geography, political in-
stitutions, economic structure, and cultural attributes. This is designed to
give readers a picture of the nation as it exists in the contemporary world.
Each volume also contains additional chapters that add interesting and
useful detail to the historical narrative. One chapter is a thorough chronol-
ogy of important historical events, making it easy for readers to follow the
flow of a particular nation’s history. Another chapter features biographical
sketches of the nation’s most important figures in order to humanize some
of the individuals who have contributed to the historical development of
their nation. Each volume also contains a comprehensive bibliography,
so that those readers whose interest has been sparked may find out more
about the nation and its history. Finally, there is a carefully prepared topic
and person index.
Readers of these volumes will find them fascinating to read and useful in
understanding the contemporary world and the nations that comprise it. As
series editors, it is our hope that this series will contribute to a heightened
sense of global understanding as we embark on a new century.
Frank W. Thackeray and John E. Findling
Indiana University Southeast
T melne of Hstorcal Events
b.c.
ca. 3000 Dilmun civilization emerges in eastern coastal Arabia
ca. 750 Rise of Saba state in southern Arabia
670 Assyrians march through northern Arabia en route to the
conquest of Syria
350 Founding of Nabataean kingdom in northern Arabia
323 Death of Alexander the Great forestalls planned invasion
of Arabia
312 Unsuccessful campaign by Hellenistic general Antigonus
against Nabataeans
88 Seleucid King Antiochus XII wages unsuccessful war
against Nabataeans
62 Nabataean kingdom becomes Roman client state
40 Nabataeans temporarily ally with Parthians against Ro-
mans
x