introduction
Whenever they talk about the Middle East, the first thing that comes to mind is Saudi Arabia, the well-deserved "big brother" of the Middle East.
What is less well known is that Saudi Arabia is a country that has experienced three state demises and was even a small tribe at the beginning of the 18th century.
So, what is the secret of Saudi Arabia's three statehoods? And as the rulers of Saudi Arabia, the House of Saud.
How did it rise to the Arabian Peninsula in a short period of time and eventually lead Saudi Arabia to become the "big brother" in the Middle East?
The history of the Saud family: the first Saudi kingdom
By the beginning of the 18th century, the influence of Islam had faded in the Arabian Peninsula, and the faith in many parts of the peninsula had returned to the state it was before the birth of Islam.
It was against this religious background that a man emerged in the Arabian Peninsula who changed the influence of Islam on the peninsula.
This man was Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, and the Wahhabi sect led by him led a religious reform movement throughout the Arabian Peninsula.
This allowed Islam, whose influence had tended to fade, to restore the influence of its founding in the 7th century AD
Under pressure from the Ottoman Empire, he fled the Aina region in 1744 to a region called Driyah.
At that time, the Draiyah was nothing more than a small settlement, with a population of less than 70 households, and the civilization was still in the era of slave society.
The leader of the Diriyyah was called Muhammad ibn Saud. After coming to the Driyia region.
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and Muhammad ibn Saud entered into an alliance, thus opening the chapter of the establishment of the First Saudi Kingdom.
And this leader, Muhammad ibn Saud, was the first king of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the first person to lead the rise of the House of Saud.
Muhammad ibn Saud seized the opportunity to expand and quickly gained a foothold on the peninsula, and his successors inherited his warlike character.
Relying on their Wahhabi identity, they constantly waged wars under the slogan of "holy war", and even captured the holy Islamic cities of Mecca and Medina.
First, the continuous expansion of the Saudi kingdom put a lot of pressure on the Ottoman Turkish Empire.
Faced with the fall of Mecca, the Ottoman Turks sent troops from Egypt, a province under their command, to stop the expansion of the First Saudi Kingdom.
The route of the march of the first Saudi kingdom
The then Governor of Egypt, Mohammed Ali, seized the opportunity to take advantage of the Kingdom's attack elsewhere, and directly came to a wave of "stealing" tactics, capturing many cities in the Kingdom one after another, forcing the Kingdom to choose to defend itself.
But the once "invincible" Saudi army was eventually defeated by the Egyptians.
In 1819, the last king of the First Saudi Kingdom was executed in Istanbul by the Sultan of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, thus ending the history of the First Saudi Kingdom.
"Resurgence", the establishment of the Second Saudi Kingdom
Although the First Saudi Kingdom fell, the Wahhabi sect was still active in the Arabian Peninsula, and as a Saudi family closely related to the Wahhabi sect, it still had considerable influence in the peninsula.
Although the members of the Saud family were resettled in Egypt by the Egyptian army with the fall of the First Saudi Kingdom, many of them resolutely embarked on the journey back to their homeland with the determination and perseverance to restore their ancestral heritage.
Turki, the cousin of the King of the First Saudi Kingdom, was among the members of the Saudi family who returned to his homeland, and after returning to his hometown, Turki soon began his plan to restore his ancestral business.
The confrontation between the Second Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Rashid family
With the support of the surrounding tribes, he led his army to defeat the Ottoman commanders who remained there, and the Second Saudi Kingdom was soon established.
Although the territory of the Second Saudi Kingdom was not as large as that of the First Saudi Kingdom, it was recognized by the surrounding powers of the peninsula, and the Saud family had greater influence in the peninsula as a result.
As the saying goes, "If there is no external trouble, there must be internal troubles". The Ottomans relinquished their rule over the peninsula, and the Second Saudi Kingdom took the opportunity to develop itself.
But the good times did not last long, and there were contradictions within the Saudi family, and many members did not hesitate to fight for the king's throne, and the throne changed several times, and the country was also crumbling.
This made the Rashid family, who had long coveted the Saudi family, see an opportunity to interfere in the internal affairs of the Saudi kingdom, and at the same time not forget to strengthen themselves, so as to achieve the goal of annexing the kingdom in one go.
The Saud family was no longer able to fight after the infighting, and the second Saudi kingdom was destroyed by the devastating offensive of the Rashids.
The third state of Saudi Arabia and the rise of the House of Saud
After so many years of war, the Saudi family has always upheld the indomitable spirit. Even if it fails, in the hearts of many members of the Saudi family, it is still their responsibility to restore their ancestral business.
Ibn Saud was one such young man, who followed his father into exile in his early years, and vowed in his heart that he would re-establish the kingdom.
Fate did not disappoint the young man, and Ibn Saud, with the support of the British, succeeded in defeating the Rashid family and establishing the Third Saudi Kingdom, which is now Saudi Arabia.
Ibn Saud in his youth
In the process of establishing the Third Saudi Kingdom, Ibn Saud's legendary battle of 60 men to assassinate the head of the Rashid family attracted many people and brought more influence to the House of Saud.
But the British did not just support Ibn Saud, they also helped the Hashemite family, the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, to establish a kingdom. Since then, two countries have emerged on the peninsula to balance each other.
Over time, the two kingdoms gradually shifted from a state of mutual support and mutual restraint to a state of mutual hostility.
The Hashemite family cut ties with the British because they believed that what the British were doing was in conflict with Islamic teachings, while the House of Saud grew stronger with the help of the British.
The Hashemite family
Finally, in 1925, Ibn Saud defeated the Hejaz kingdom established by the Hashemite family and soon proclaimed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
After all, Ibn Saud lived up to the indomitable will of the Saud family and the expectations of his ancestors, and led the Saud family to rise again.
In the face of the invasion of Saudi Arabia by British colonialism, Ibn Saud bravely resisted, defeated the British colonists, and forced the British colonists to sign a treaty with them to recognize the independent status of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
With the development of science and technology, petroleum has become an important raw material for industry. And in the context of scarce global oil reserves, perhaps fate favors the Saudi family.
Saudi Arabia has unexpectedly explored a large number of oil reserves, which has made it an extremely wealthy country, and the Saudi family has also enriched itself and become a world-famous "rich family".
Figure 9 Photograph of the Saudi royal family
The secret to the rise of the House of Saud: the meritocracy
So, after many failures, what did the Saudi family rely on to move towards glory step by step? The secret of their current glory is the continuous exploration and improvement of the family elite system.
The procreation capacity of the Saudi royal family is extremely strong, and since Ibn Saud, the descendants of the Saudi family have shown a massive increase.
And so many descendants are operating under the elite system of the Saudi family, and they are driving Saudi Arabia into a better development model.
Despite the "deviance" of several members of the Saudi royal family, in general, the functioning of the Saudi Arabian elite system has been extremely successful.
The elite system of the Saudi royal family
Under the leadership of the royal elite, the elite ruling group is divided into four main categories: the religious elite, the tribal elite, the bureaucratic elite, and the business elite.
They are interdependent and have established a tight system of rule, which is one of the reasons why the House of Saud has always been able to stand.
Non-royal elites can only exert limited political influence in some areas and institutions related to themselves, which also ensures that the Saudi royal elite rules the kingdom and avoids a repeat of the history of the second Saudi kingdom.
In the process of continuous reform, the elite system of the Saudi family has become more and more perfect, and they not only affect the entire Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but also have a greater influence on the Arabian Peninsula.
epilogue
The Saud family, a backward family that was only a slave tribe 200 years ago, has an indomitable will, a resolute character, and a unique vision to seize opportunities.
Rising from the depths of an oasis in the Arabian Peninsula, persevering through one defeat after another, Saudi Arabia eventually developed into the largest country in the Arabian Peninsula.
Saudi Arabia has survived three statehoods and many failures before finally rising. This also reveals a truth to us:
At any time, in the face of setbacks, we must have an unwavering heart, not afraid of hardships and dangers, and strive to improve ourselves, perhaps it is "to see the blue sky through the clouds".
Bibliography:
An Analysis of the Elite Ruling Layer in Saudi Arabia, International Research Reference, No. 11, 2017
An Analysis of Ibn Saud and the Formation of the Modern Saudi Kingdom. Northwestern University, 2017-03-01