The Western Influence on the Formation of Saudi Arabia from 1902 - 1926.
The area that is currently Saudi Arabia was originally part of the Turkish Ottoman Empire during the 16th century, after the capture of Mecca by the Turks in 1517, but local rulers were allowed a great deal of autonomy and ruled their relative territories unhindered. (CountryReports.org 3) Under Turkish supervision, different Sherifs of Mecca governed the territory of Hejaz. Furthermore, this covered the western part of the peninsula including the Red Sea coast, including the holy places of Mecca and Medina, until the onset of World War I.
Saudi Arabia was one of the Arab states that emerged from the wreckage of the Ottoman Empire after World War I. Between the years 1919 to 1926, Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud defeated a series of rivals to unify about 80 percent of the Arabian Peninsula under his rule in what was called the "Kingdom of the Hejaz and Nejd." (Kort 194) The last unsuccessful challenger was the leader of the Hashemite family, Hussein Ibn Ali who was the great-grandfather of Jordan's King Hussein. (Kort 194) .
Several important factors distinguish Saudi Arabia from its neighbors. Unlike other states in the area, Saudi Arabia has never been under the direct control of a European power. (CountryReports.org 2) It is during the period just prior to and following World War I that the West imparts the greatest impact on the formation of the current Saudi state. Tribal loyalties also play an important role in these countries and one of the leading tribal leaders in this period, Abdul Aziz, proved to be quite adept at playing the great powers of Britain and the Turkish Ottoman Empire against one another to suit the needs of his cause. .
The founder of the modern state of Saudi Arabia lived much of his early life in exile. In the end, however, he not only recovered the territory of the first Al Saud empire, but also made a state out of it.
