A history of Saudi Arabia. / Madawi Al-Rasheed.

Contents List of illustrations List of tables Chronology Glossary Map 1 Saudi Arabia, main regions and cities Map 2 Saudi Arabia, main tribes Introduction 1 1 Society and politics, 1744-1818 and 1824-1891 14 The origins of Al Saud (1744-1818) 15 A fragile Saudi revival (1824-1891) 23 The Rashidi emirate in Ha'il (1836-1921) 26 The Sharifian emirate in Hijaz 30 Hasa in the nineteenth century 34 Emirate formation in Arabia 37 2 The emerging state, 1902-1932 39 The capture of Riyadh (1902) 39 The First World War and Ibn Saud (1914-1918) 41 The capture of Ha'il (1921) 43 The capture of Hijaz (1925) 44 The mutawwaa of Najd 49 The ikhwan 59 An alliance not so holy: Ibn Saud, the mutawwaa and the ikhwan 62 The collapse of the ikhwan rebellion 69 3 Control and loyalty, 1932-1953 72 Marginalising Saudi collateral branches 72 Consolidating Ibn Saud's line of descent 75 Power and pomp in the pre-oil era: the majlis 80 State affairs 86 The oil concession (1933) 91 Oil in commercial quantities 93 Oil and society in the 1940s and 1950s 95 Saudi Arabia and Britain 100 The end of an era 105 4 The politics of dissent, 1953-1973 106 The reign of King Saud (1953-1964) 106 Saudi Arabia and the Arab world in the 1950s 114 Saudi Arabia and the United States in the 1950s and early 1960s 117 The reign of King Faysal (1964-1975) 120 Faysal and the Arab world 128 5 From affluence to austerity, 1973-1990 135 Affluence: the oil embargo (1973) 136 Vulnerabilities: Saudi-American relations in the 1970s 140 The reign of King Khalid (1975-1982) 143 Austerity: the reign of King Fahd (1982- ) 149 Saudi Arabia and the Gulf context in the 1980s 155 Saudi-American relations in the 1980s 160 6 The Gulf War and its aftermath, 1990-2000 163 Saudi responses to the Gulf War 168 State responses: the reforms of March 1992 172 The Islamist opposition 176 Succession 186 7 Narratives of the state, narratives of the people 188 Official historiography

Saudi Arabia is a wealthy and powerful country which exerts influence in the West and across the Islamic world. Yet it remains a closed society. The author traces its history from the age of emirates in the nineteenth century to the present day. Fusing chronology with analysis, personal experience with oral histories, she illuminates the social and cultural life of the Saudis. This rich and rewarding book will be invaluable to students as well as others trying to understand the enigma of Saudi Arabia.