• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • 1
    CommentGo Back
Download
 
History of Saudi Arabia
The rise of Islamin the 620sAD, the subsequent religious importance of the Arabian cities of  Makkah(Makkah al-Mukarramah,or Mecca), andMedina(the two holiest places in Islam), and the discovery of largeoilreserves in the early twentieth century, have given the rulers of this territory significant influence beyond the peninsula.
Contents
1 Early history 
2 Islamic conquest 
3 First Saudi State (1744-1818) 
4 Second Saudi State (1824-1891) 
5 1900s to 1940s 
6 1950s to 1960s 
7 1970s 
8 1980s 
9 1990s 
10 2000s 
11 See also 
12 References 
Early history
People of various cultures have lived in the peninsula over a span of more than 5,000 years.TheDilmunculture, along thePersian Gulf coast, was contemporaneous with theSumerians  and ancientEgyptians, and most of the empires of the ancient world traded with the states of the peninsula. Except for a few major cities andoases, the harsh climate historically prevented much settlement of theArabian Peninsula.The earliest known events in Arabianhistory are migrations from the peninsula into neighbouring areas.
[1]
About 3500 BC,semitic-speakingpeoples of Arabian origin migrated into the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates riversinMesopotamiaand became the Assyro-Babylonians (seeBabyloniaandAssyria). Some archeologists argue that another group of Semites left Arabia about 2500 BC and settledalong theLevant, mixing in with the local populations there some of these migrants becametheAmoritesandCanaanitesof later times. Some archeologists argue that the migration instead came from the northern Levant.
Islamic conquest
The religion of Islam began with Muhammad began preaching atMeccabeforemigratingto Medina, from where he united thetribes of Arabiainto a singular Arab Muslim religious  polity. With Muhammad's death in 632, disagreement broke out over who would succeed himas leader of the Muslim community.Umar ibn al-Khattab, a prominentcompanionof 
 
Muhammad, nominatedAbu Bakr , who was Muhammad's intimate friend and collaborator.Others added their support and Abu Bakr was made the firstcaliph.This choice was disputed by some of Muhammad's companions, who held thatAli ibn Abi Talib, his cousin and son-in-law, had been designated his successor. Abu Bakr's immediate task was to avenge a recentdefeat byByzantine(or Eastern Roman Empire) forces, although he first had to put down a rebellion by Arab tribes in an episode known as theRidda wars, or "Wars of Apostasy".
[2]
The territory of theCaliphatein 750His death in 634 resulted in the succession of Umar as the caliph, followed byUthman ibn al-Affanand Ali ibn Abi Talib. These four are known as
al-khulaf 
ā' ar-rāshidūn
("RightlyGuided Caliphs"). Under them, the territory under Muslim rule expanded deeply intoPersian  andByzantineterritories.
[3][4]
When Umar was assassinated in 644,the election of Uthmanas successor was met withincreasing opposition. In 656, Uthman was also killed, and Ali assumed the position of caliph. After fighting off opposition in thefirst civil war (the "First Fitna"), Ali wasassassinated byKharijitesin 661. Following this,Mu'awiyah, who was governor of Levant, seized power and began theUmayyad dynasty.
[5]
These disputes over religious and political leadership would give rise to schism in the Muslimcommunity. The majority accepted the legitimacy of the three rulers prior to Ali, and becameknown asSunnis. A minority disagreed, and believed that Ali was the only rightful successor;they became known as theShi'a.
[6]
 After Mu'awiyah's death in 680, conflict over succession broke out again in a civil war known as the "Second Fitna". Afterward, the Umayyad dynasty prevailed for seventy years, and was able to conquer theMaghribandAl-Andalus(the Iberian Peninsula, former VisigothicHispania) and the Narbonnese Gaul} as well as expand Muslim territory into theIndian subcontinent.
[7]
While the Muslim-Arab elite engaged inconquest, some devout Muslims, Zahid, began to question the piety of indulgence in aworldly life, emphasizing rather poverty, humility and avoidance of sin based on renunciationof bodily desires. Devout Muslim ascetic exemplars such asHasan al-Basriwould inspire amovement that would evolve intoSufism.
[8][9]
For the Umayyad aristocracy, Islam was viewed as a religion for Arabs only;
[10]
the economyof the Umayyad empire was based on the assumption that a majority of non-Muslims(Dhimmis) would pay taxes to the minority of Muslim Arabs. A non-Arab who wanted toconvert to Islam was supposed to first become a client of an Arab tribe. Even after conversion, these new Muslims (
mawali
) did not achieve social and economic equality withthe Arabs. The descendants of Muhammad's uncleAbbas ibn Abd al-Muttalibrallieddiscontented
mawali
, poor Arabs, and some Shi'a against the Umayyads and overthrew themwith the help of their propagandist and generalAbu Muslim,inaugurating theAbbasid dynastyin 750.
[11]
Under the Abbasids, Islamic civilization flourished in the "Islamic GoldenAge", with its capital at the cosmopolitan city of Baghdad.
[12][13]
First Saudi State (1744-1818)
 
First Saudi StateThe
 First Saudi State
was established in 1744 whenMuhammad ibn Abd-al-WahhabsettledinDiriyahand PrinceMuhammed Ibn Saudagreed to support and espouse his cause in the hope of cleansing Islamic practices of heresy. TheHouse of Saudand its allies rose to become the dominant state in Arabia controlling most of the Nejd, but neither coast. ThisSaudi state lasted for about seventy-five years.Concerned at the growing power of the Saudis, theOttomanSultan instructedMohammed Ali Pashato reconquer the area. Ali sent his sonsTusun PashaandIbrahim Pashawho were successful in routing the Saudi forces in 1818. It would only be a few years before the Saudswould return to power, forming theSecond Saudi State.
Second Saudi State (1824-1891)
Second Saudi StateAfter a rebuilding period following the ending of theFirst Saudi State, theHouse of Saud  returned to power in the
Second Saudi State
in 1824. The state lasted until 1891 when itsuccumbed to theAl Rashiddynasty of Ha'il. In 1902Ibn SaudreconqueredRiyadh, the first of a series of conquests leading to the creation of the modernnation stateof Saudi Arabiain 1932.
1900s to 1940s
Third Saudi State (present day) (Saudi Arabia)The Third Saudi state was founded by the late KingIbn Saud of Saudi Arabia. In 1902 IbnSaud capturedRiyadh, the Al-Saud dynasty's ancestral capital, from the rivalAl-Rashid  family. Continuing his conquests, Abdul Aziz subduedAl-Hasa,the rest of  Nejd, and the Hejazbetween 1913 and 1926.Boundaries withJordan,Iraq, andKuwaitwere established by a series of treaties negotiated in the 1920s, with two "neutral zones" created, one withIraqand the other withKuwait. On January 8, 1926 Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud became the King of Hejaz. On January 29, 1927 he
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
06 / 30 / 2010This doucment made it onto the Rising List!
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...