Alumni of Aligarh Muslim University (India) 
                                       History of Arab and Saudi Arabia  

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Arabia was probably the original home of the Semites. Semitic peoples have been credited with inventing the alphabet first. In the 4th millennium BC, they moved into Mesopotamia and Palestine, later to be identified as Assyro-Babylonians, Canaanites, and Amorites.

In the 1st millennium BC the Minaean kingdom was well established in Asir and the south of Al Hijaz (Hejaz) along the Red Sea coast; its capital was at Karna, or Qarnah (present-day Sadah, Yemen). The Minaeans were nomads and herders, who eventually became the chief traders of incense through northern Al Hijaz. After the Minaeans withdrew from their trading post at Dedan (now Al ’Ula) in the 1st century BC, the Nabataeans founded a commercial centre at Mada’in Salih, just to the north.

Central and Northern Arabia seem to have been the original home of the Arabs. The important Arabian tribes of the pre-Islamic period were the Thamud, located in the northern Hejaz (al-Hijaz region) near the Red Sea, and the Lihyanites, located in and around Dedan. 

Arabic peoples outside the peninsula influenced and controlled much of Arabia in antiquity. The Lakhmid, located in the area known as Transjordan, was the first kingdom to use Arabic as its official language. Its influence extended to the borders of South Arabia. The Kindah of western Central Arabia wrested control of much of Central Arabia from the Lakhmids in the 4th and 5th centuries AD but were forced back in 528.

In the eastern part of the country was Dilmun, apparently a politico-cultural federation centred on the Persian Gulf shore. It has sometimes been identified with the island of Bahrain, although it certainly included parts of the mainland and traded with the inland sections of what is now Saudi Arabia.

Alexander the Great of Macedonia had plans to conquer Arabia before his untimely death in 323 BC, and the Ptolemies of Egypt later gained a toehold at Yenbo but were thwarted by the Nabataeans. The country was later subject to Ethiopian and Persian struggles for hegemony. By the 5th century AD Mecca had superseded the Nabataean city of Petra in importance.

Around the year 400 CE Mecca had come under the control of a group of Arabs who were in the
process of becoming sedentary; they were known as Quraysh and were led by a man
remembered as Qusayy

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In 570 AD, the ruler of Yemen Abyssinian sent an expedition to destroy the Kaaba at Mecca. The expedition was a disastrous failure. This year is known as “the year of the Elephant”. In this same year Muhammad (PBUH), the prophet of Islam, was born in Mecca. His teachings angered local residents. In 622 Muhammad (PBUH) was forced to leave from Mecca to Yathrib (Medina), this is the start of Islamic Hijri Calendar. The Medina became the center of Islam. In 624 the historic battle of Bader and in 625 the battle of Uhad were fought. In 628 the peace treaty of al-Hudaybiyya was signed with the Meccans.  In 630 he returned with his followers and conquered Mecca without fight. In 632 Muhammad (PBUH) came to Mecca from Medina for the last time to perform the pilgrimage (hajj) ceremonies. 

The rise of  Islam has profoundly not only change the history of Arab but the whole world. His successors went on to preach Islam and  very soon the entire Middle East embraced Islam. After his death, Abu Bakr (reigned 632-634) became the first caliphate of Islamic State. By AD 633 He had crushed the rebels and taken full control of central Arabia. After undertaking central Arabia, he dispatched three detachments of about 3,000 (later increased to about 7,500) men each to start operations in southern and southeastern Syria. He died, however, before he could witness the results of these undertakings.

After the death of Abu Baker in 634, Umar Ibn AL-Khattab (reigned 634-644) became the second caliph of Islamic State. Under his rule Islamic State extended to Mesopotamia, Syria, Iran and Egypt was taken from Byzantine control and frequent conquest were launched into North Africa and Armenia. It was Umar who marched on foot at the end of the Muslim army into Jerusalem and ordered the protection of Christian sites. Umar also established the first public treasury and a sophisticated financial administration. He established many of the basic practices of Islamic government He organize the governmental work and laid down the principles for administering expanding Islamic State which is followed even in the modern time.  He  introduce the legal practice, police system and several other system which are even followed in the today's world.

After the death of  Umar Ibn AL-Khattab, in 644 Uthman ibn Affan (reigned 644-656) became the third Khalifa of Islamic State. He promulgated an official version of the Quran. He continued the conquests that had steadily increased the size of the Islamic State. 

In 656, Ali ibn Abu Talib became the fourth Khalifa of Islamic Sate. He shifted the capital of Islamic Sate from Medina to Kufa.

Umayyad Caliphate

The Umayyad Caliphate (reigned 661-750) capital in Damascus, Syria was established by Mu'awiyah (then governor of Syria)  in 661. The dynasty organized a massive expansion of the territories under Arab Muslim rule. The best-known Umayyad Calipha was Abd al-Malik (685-705) who built the 'Dome of the Rock' in Jerusalem, issued the first Muslim coinage, and inaugurated the use of the Arabic language for administration and the financial administration of the empire was reorganized. The Great Mosque of Damascus  and the Aqsa mosque of Jerusalem are Umayyad foundations, and the ruins of several of their palaces and hunting lodges survive in the Syrian desert. Although they were unsuccessful in attempts to conquer Constantinople (modern Istanbul), capital of the Byzantine Empire. By 750 they ruled an area extending from Morocco and much of Spain to the borders of China and northern India. During this period, Islam, as a religion and culture, underwent a number of important developments. Under 'Abd al-Malik (reigned 685-705), the Umayyad caliphate reached its peak. Muslim armies overran most of Spain in the west and invaded Mukran and Sind in India, while in Central Asia, the Khorasanian garrisons conquered Bukhara, Samarkand, Khwarezm, Fergana, and Tashkent. For the first time introduction of a regular post service from Damascus to the provincial capitals was introduce.

During this period, Islam, as a religion and culture, underwent a number of important developments in the field of science, mathematics, astrology, medicine, geography and architecture flourished. The invention of printing books and making public library was one the grate work in this period. Even after the fall of Umayyed Khalifat in Damascus, they manage to rule over Spain. By the 10th century Spain has the world finest library and world largest book markets  in Cَrdoba, Toledo, and Granada. Christian monks and scholars were often sent to Cَrdoba to acquire new works. In 1085 when the city of Toledo (Spain), with one of the finest libraries of Muslim, fell to the Christians, the scientific knowledge passed to Europe.

Abbasid Caliph

In in 749 the first Abbasid caliph, as-Saffah, was proclaimed in the mosque at Al-Kufah and made Al-Kufah as their capital. In 762 al-Mansur, the second caliph of Abbasid founded a new capital Baghdad near to Al-Kufah. Baghdad was well planned and soon became the most modern and largest city than any in Europe or western Asia. The Baghdad became the center of learning and scientific research center. The first conference on science was organized here. The Abbasid dynasty and the Baghdad reach to its zenith at period of fifth Abbasid Caliph, Harun ar-Rashid (786-809). The famous 'Arabian Night', Thousand and One Nights stories wrote in this period. During this period Baghdad flourished in field of science, astrology, mathematics, medicine, arts, culture, philosophy and religion. 

In the period of Al-Ma`mun (819-833), Baghdad  saw Iraq become the centre of remarkable cultural activity, notably the translation of science and philosophy work from other language into Arabic. It was then considered the richest city in the world. The caliph himself collected texts, employed translators like the Hunayn ibn Ishaq, and established an academy in Baghdad, the Bayt al-Hikmah ("House of Wisdom"), with a grand library and an observatory lab and research center. Private patrons such as the Banu Musa brothers followed his example. This activity had a profound effect not only on Muslim intellectual life but also on the intellectual life of western Europe, for much of the science and philosophy taught in universities in the Middle Ages was derived from these Arabic translations, rendered into Latin in Spain in the 12th century. 

When Abbaids rule get weaker, while the Abbasids ruled in Baghdad, a number of powerful dynasties such as the Fatimids, Ayyubids and Mamluks held power in Egypt, Syria and Palestine. The most important event in this area as far as the relation between Islam and the Western world was concerned was the series of Crusades declared by the Pope and espoused by various European kings. The purpose, although political, was outwardly to recapture the Holy Land and especially Jerusalem for Christianity. Although there was at the beginning some success and local European rule was set up in parts of Syria and Palestine, Muslims finally prevailed and in 1187 Saladin, the great Muslim leader, recaptured Jerusalem and defeated the Crusaders

They ruled for over 500 years but gradually their power waned and they remained only symbolic rulers bestowing legitimacy upon various sultans and princes who wielded actual military power. The Abbasid caliphate was finally abolished when Hulagu, the Mongol ruler, captured Baghdad in 1258, destroying much of the city including its incomparable libraries. 

Mongols

The Mongols devastated the eastern lands of Islam and ruled from the Sinai Desert to India for a century. But they soon converted to Islam and became known as the Il-Khanids. They were in turn succeeded by Timur and his descendents who made Samarqand their capital and ruled from 1369 to 1500. The sudden rise of Timur delayed the formation and expansion of the Ottoman empire but soon the Ottomans became the dominant power in the Islamic world.

Ottomans Empire 

From humble origins the Turks rose to dominate over the whole of Anatolia and even parts of Europe. In 1453 Mehmet the Conqueror captured Constantinople and put an end to the Byzantine empire. The Ottomans conquered much of eastern Europe and nearly the whole of the Arab world, only Morocco and Mauritania in the West and Yemen, Hadramaut and parts of the Arabian peninsula remaining beyond their control. They reached their zenith of power with Suleyman the Magnificent whose armies reached Hungary and Austria. From the 17th century onward with the rise of Westem European powers and later Russia, the power of the Ottomans began to wane. But they nevertheless remained a force to be reckoned with until the First World War when they were defeated by the Westem nations. Soon thereafter Kamal Ataturk gained power in Turkey and abolished the six centuries of rule of the Ottomans in 1924.

Persia

While the Ottomans were concerned mostly with the western front of their empire, to the east in Persia a new dynasty called the Safavids came to power in 1502. The Safavids established a powerful state of their own which flourished for over two centuries and became known for the flowering of the arts. Their capital, Isfahan, became one of the most beautiful cities with its blue tiled mosques and exquisite houses. The Afghan invasion of 1736 put an end to Safavid rule and prepared the independence of Afghanistan which occurred formally in the 19th century. Persia itself fell into tumuli until Nader Shah, the last Oriental conqueror, reunited the country and even conquered India. But the rule of the dynasty established by him was short-lived. The Zand dynasty soon took over to be overthrown by the Qajars in 1779 who made Tehran their capital and ruled until 1921 when they were in turn replaced by the Pahlavis.

Malaysia and Indonesia

Farther east in the Malay world, Islam began to spread in the 12th century in northern Sumatra and soon Muslim kingdoms were established in Java, Sumatra and mainland Malaysia. Despite the colonization of the Malay world, Islam spread in that area covering present day Indonesia, Malaysia, the southern Phililppines and southern Thailand, and is still continuing in islands farther east.

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After 1269 most of Al Hijaz was under the nominal suzerainty of the Egyptian Mamelukes. The Ottoman Empire gained control of it when they conquered Egypt in 1517, but they were unable to extend their authority into the interior. During the 15th century the Saud dynasty was founded near modern-day Riyadh by Muhammad ibn Saud. There were many unislamic traditions got popular among Muslims at that time. In 1703, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab influenced by Hanbali scholar Ibn Taymiyah, started social and religious reform. The ruler of 'Uyaynah, 'Uthman ibn Mu'ammar, gladly welcomed the 'Abd al-Wahhab's but when received deadly threats from from the Banu Khalid chief of Al-Hasa, he forced to expelled him from his  territory. Abd al-Wahhab went to Ad-Dir'iyah, some 40 miles away, which had been the seat of the local prince Muhammad ibn Sa'ud since 1726. 

The prince Muhammad ibn Saud welcom Abd al-Wahhab and shown willingness to work jointly. The joint effort soon began to prosper in terms of military success and expansion. The earliest wars brought 'Uyaynah and portions of Al-Hasa under Saud control, but Riyadh remain  a stubborn. By 1765, when Muhammad ibn Sa'ud died, only a few parts of central and eastern Arabia had fallen under his rule

Muhammad ibn Sa'ud's son and successor, 'Abd al-'Aziz I' (reigned 1765-1803) continued to work in complete harmony with Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab. In 1792, Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab died at the age of 89. Saudis attacks had begun to attract the attention of the Ottoman government, and in 1798 an Ottoman force invaded Al-Hasa but was unsuccessful. Qatar fell to the Saudis in 1797, and latter with the help of local allies they also gained control over Bahrain and parts of Oman. 

In 1801 the Saudis captured Karbala`  from the Ottoman, and in the following year they captured  Mecca which was also under Ottoman. In 1804 they captured Medina, and the Saudi empire embraced the whole of Arabia down to Yemen and Oman. 

The sultan of the Ottoman Empire, preoccupied in other directions, consigned to Muhammad Ali Pasha (Mehmet), the virtually independent viceroy of Egypt, the task of crushing the "heretics." An Egyptian force landed on the Hejaz coast under the command of Tusun, the youthful son of Muhammad Ali Pasha. In 1812 Sa'ud inflicted a severe defeat on the invaders, but reinforcements enabled Tusun to occupy Mecca and Medina. The following year Muhammad Ali assumed command of the expeditionary force in person. In 1809, Britain severely curbed the naval allies of the Saudis in the east.

Sa'ud died at Ad-Dir'iyah in 1814. His son Abd Allah ibn Sa'ud succeeded, but he was not of  his father's caliber. In 1815 the Egyptians capture the Ar-Ra`s in Al-Qasim and  forced him to sue for peace. This was duly arranged, but the truce was short-lived. Ibrahim Pasha, another of Muhammad Ali's sons took the command of the Egyptian forces and attacked Ad-Dir'iyah in April 1818. The Sa'udi family had suffered heavy losses during the fighting. Fighting ended in September with the surrender of  Abd Allah, who was sent to Istanbul and beheaded. Local Saudi leaders were executed, Ad-Dir'iyah was razed to the ground, and Egyptian garrisons were posted to the principal towns. A few had managed to escape before the surrender; the rest were sent to Egypt for detention along with descendants of Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab. 

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In 1818 the Saudi family regain control under the leadership of Sa'ud Al-Faisal I. But again destroyed at the end of the 19th century by the Rashidiyah of northern Arabia. The defeated Saudi family fled into exile in Kuwait. In 1902 Abdul Aziz ibn Saud retook Riyadh and by 1906 his forces controlled the Najd region. He captured the Hasa region in 1913, the Jebel Shammar in 1921, Mecca in 1924, Medina in 1925, and Asir in 1926. He then proclaimed himself King of Al Hijaz. In 1932 after unifying the conquered territories, he renamed his vast realm as Saudi Arabia.

King Abdul Aziz died on November 9, 1953. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Saud. In March 1958 King Saud transferred legislative and executive powers, formerly included among his own absolute powers to the prime minister, his brother Crown Prince Faisal, while retaining the right of veto. On December 21 Saud reassumed control of the government from Faisal. On November 2, 1964 Prince Faisal became the King. He designated his half-brother, Prince Khalid ibn Abdul, as his successor. 

In March 1975 King Faisal was assassinated. Prince Khalid became the King and Prince Fahad, his half-brother took as Crown Prince. King Khalid died in June 1982 and was succeeded by Crown Prince Fahd.