Abdul Aziz accomplished this by maneuvering among a number of forces. The first was the religious fervor that Wahhabi Islam continued to inspire. His Wahhabi army, the Ikhwan, for instance, represented a powerful tool, but one that was to prove so difficult to control that the he ultimately had to destroy it. (Lacey 219) At the same time, Abdul Aziz had to anticipate how all these actions would be viewed abroad and to handle the great foreign powers, particularly the British.
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Abdul Aziz managed to complete the establishment of the Saudi state in three ways, "by retaking Najd in 1905, defeating the Rashidi clan at Hail in 1921, and conquering the Hijaz in 1924." (CountryReports.org 1) To the first point of retaking the Najd, Abdul did what tribal leaders had been doing for centuries. He raised a small force from the surrounding tribes and began to raid areas under Rashidi control, which was north of his birthright of Riyadh. Then in early 1902, he led a small party in a surprise attack on the Rashidi stronghold in Riyadh in order to oust the tribe. .
The successful attack gave Abdul Aziz a good start in Najd. But first he had to establish himself in Riyadh as the Al Saud leader and the Wahhabi Imam or political and religious leader. Abdul Aziz obtained the support of the religious establishment in Riyadh, and this relatively quick recognition proved the political force of the Wahhabi authority. Despite his relative youth, Abdul Aziz showed he possessed the qualities the tribes valued in a leader by taking Riyadh. Leadership in these countries did not necessarily follow age, but it respected lineage and, particularly, action.
By 1905 the Ottoman governor in Iraq recognized Abdul Aziz as an Ottoman client in Najd. The Al Saud ruler accepted Ottoman suzerainty because it improved his political position. All the while he courted the British for recognition and protection in order to rid Arabia of Ottoman influence.
