Ibn Saud: The First King of Saudi Arabia

Abdulaziz ibn Saud was a member of the Saudi family that took refuge in Kuwait. In this video you’ll learn how Ibn Saud rose to power and unified Arabia into a single country.

The Saudi family were rulers of the city of Riyadh before it was captured by their rivals the Rashidis. The Saudis were forced to go into exile and after changing locations, they found themselves in Kuwait. Ibn Saud was 26 when he started his journey to power.
He started raiding with his cousins in the Rashidi territory and recaptured his home city of Riyadh. It took him three decades to take control of central Arabia and become the king of Saudi Arabia in 1932.

During this time, he developed a diplomatic relationship with the Great Britain who gave him weaponry and money to defeat the Rashidis. In his unification of Arabia, Ibn Saud was also helped by the Ikhwan, a military organization that were fighting for him.

In between two world wars, oil was found and Saudi Arabia went from one of the poorest to one of the richest countries in the world almost instantly.

Ibn Saud died at the age of 78, leaving behind almost 100 children and a unified Arabic state.