The House of Saud ( ar, آل سُعُود, ʾĀl Suʿūd ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi state (1727–1818), and his brothers, though the ruling faction of the family is primarily led by the descendants of Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman, the modern founder of Saudi Arabia. The most influential position of the royal family is the King of Saudi Arabia, an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch. The family in total is estimated to comprise some 15,000 members; however, the majority of power, influence and wealth is possessed by a group of about 2,000 of them. Some estimates of the royal family's wealth measure their net worth at $1.4 trillion. This figure includes the market capitalization of Saudi Aramco, the state oil and gas company, and its vast assets in fossil fuel reserves. The House of Saud has had three phases: the Emirate of Diriyah, the First Saudi State (1727–1818), marked by the expansion of Salafi movement, Salafism; the Emirate of Nejd, the Second Saudi State (1824–1891), marked with continuous infighting; and the Third Saudi State (1902–present), which evolved into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932 and now wields considerable influence in the Middle East. The family has had conflicts with the Ottoman Empire, the Sharif of Mecca, the Rashidi dynasty, Al Rashid family of Emirate of Jabal Shammar, Ha'il and their vassal houses in Najd, numerous Islamist groups both inside and outside Saudi Arabia and Shia minority in Saudi Arabia. The succession to the Saudi Arabian throne was designed to pass from one son of the first king, Abdulaziz, to another. King Salman, who reigns currently, first replaced the next crown prince, his brother Muqrin, with his nephew Muhammad bin Nayef. In 2017, Muhammad bin Nayef was replaced by Mohammad bin Salman, King Salman's son, as the crown prince after an approval by the Allegiance Council with 31 out of 34 votes. The monarchy was hereditary monarchy, hereditary by agnatic seniority until 2006, when a royal decree provided that future Saudi kings are Elective monarchy, to be elected by a committee of Saudi princes. The king-appointed cabinet includes more members of the royal family.

Title

''House of Saud'' is a translation of ''Al Saud'', an Arabic name, Arabic dynastic name formed by adding the word ''Al'' (meaning "family of" or "House of") to the personal name of an ancestor. In the case of the Al Saud, the ancestor is Saud bin Muhammad Al Muqrin, Saud ibn Muhammad ibn Muqrin, the father of the dynasty's 18th century founder Muhammad bin Saud (Muhammad, son of Saud). The surname "Al Saud" is carried by any descendant of Muhammad bin Saud or his three brothers Farhan, Thunayyan, and Mishari. Al Saud's other family branches like Saud Al Kabir, the Al Jiluwi, the Al Thunayan, the Al Mishari and the Al Farhan are called cadet branches. Members of the cadet branches hold high and influential positions in government though they are not in the line of succession to the Saudi throne. Many cadet members intermarry within the Al Saud to re-establish their lineage and continue to wield influence in the government. All male members of the royal family have the title of Emir (Prince). However, the sons and patrilineal grandsons of Kings are referred to by the Style (manner of address), style "His Royal Highness" (HRH), differing from patrilineal great-grandsons and members of cadet branches who are called "His Highness" (HH), while the reigning king uses the additional title of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

History

Origins and early history

The earliest recorded ancestor of the Al Saud was Mani' ibn Rabiah Al-Muraydi who settled in Diriyah in 1446–1447 with his clan, the Mrudah. Although the Mrudah are believed to be descended from the Rabi'ah tribal confederation, the Banu Hanifa branches of the Rabi'ah. Mani was invited by a relative named Ibn Dir, who was the ruler of a group of villages and estates that make up modern-day Riyadh. Mani's clan had been on a sojourn in east Arabia, near al-Qatif, from an unknown point in time. Ibn Dir handed Mani two estates, called al-Mulaybeed and Ghusayba. Mani and his family settled and renamed the region Al Diriyah after their benefactor Ibn Dir. The Mrudah became rulers of Al Diriyah, which prospered along the banks of Wadi Hanifa and became an important Najdi settlement. As the clan grew larger, power struggles ensued, with one branch leaving for nearby Dhruma, while another branch (the "Al Watban") left for the town of az-Zubayr in southern Iraq. The Al Muqrin became the ruling family among the Mrudah in Diriyah. The name of the clan comes from Sheikh Saud bin Muhammad Al Muqrin, Saud ibn Muhammad ibn Muqrin, who died in 1725.

First Saudi state

The First Saudi State was founded in 1727. This period was marked by conquest of neighboring areas and by religious zeal. At its height, the First Saudi State included most of the territory of modern-day Saudi Arabia, and raids by Al Saud's allies and followers reached into Yemen Eyalet, Yemen, Oman proper, Oman, Damascus Eyalet, Syria, and Baghdad Eyalet, Iraq. Islamic scholars, particularly Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab and his descendants, are believed to have played a significant role in Saudi rule during this period. The Saudis and their allies referred to themselves during this period as the ''Muwahhidun'' or ''Ahl al-Tawhid'' ("the monotheists"). Later they were referred to as the Wahhabism, Wahhabis, a particularly strict, puritanical Islamic sect, named for its founder. Leadership of Al Saud during the time of their first state passed from father to son without incident. The first imam, Muhammad bin Saud, was succeeded by his eldest son, Abdul-Aziz ibn Muhammad ibn Saud, Abdulaziz in 1765. In 1802, Abdulaziz's forces led 10,000 Wahhabi soldiers in an attack on the Shi'ite holy city of Karbala, in what is now southern Iraq and where Hussein ibn Ali, the grandson of the prophet Muhammad is buried. The Wahhabi soldiers killed more than 2,000 people, including women and children. They plundered the city, demolishing the massive golden dome above Hussein's tomb and loaded hundreds of camels with weapons, jewelry, coins and other valuable goods. The attack on Karbala convinced the Ottomans and the Egyptians that the Saudis were a threat to regional peace. Abdulaziz was killed in 1803 by an assassin, believed by some to have been a Shi'ite seeking revenge over the sacking of Karbala the year before. Abdul-Aziz was in turn succeeded by his son, Saud bin Abdul-Aziz bin Muhammad bin Saud, Saud, under whose rule the Saudi state reached its greatest extent. By the time Saud died in 1814, his son and successor Abdullah ibn Saud had to contend with an Ottoman-Egyptian invasion in the Ottoman–Wahhabi War seeking to retake lost Ottoman Empire territory. The mainly Egyptian force succeeded in defeating Abdullah's forces, taking over the then-Saudi capital of Diriyyah in 1818. Abdullah was taken prisoner and was soon beheaded by the Ottomans in Constantinople, putting an end to the First Saudi State. The Egyptians sent many members of the Al Saud clan and other members of the local nobility as prisoners to the Eyalet of Egypt, Egypt and Constantinople, and razed the Saudi capital of Diriyyah.

Second Saudi state

A few years after the fall of Diriyah in 1818, the Saudis were able to re-establish their authority in Najd, establishing the Emirate of Nejd, commonly known as the Second Saudi State, with its capital in Riyadh. Compared to the First Saudi State, the second Saudi period was marked by less territorial expansion (it never reconquered the Hijaz or 'Asir, for example) and less religious zeal, although the Saudi leaders continued to go by the title of ''imam'' and still employed Salafi religious scholars. The second state was also marked by severe internal conflicts within the Saudi family, eventually leading to the dynasty's downfall. In all but one instance, succession occurred by assassination or civil war, the exception being the passage of authority from Faisal ibn Turki ibn Abdullah Al Saud, Faisal ibn Turki to his son Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki Al Saud, Abdullah ibn Faisal ibn Turki.

Third Saudi State

After his defeat at Mulayda, Abdul Rahman bin Faisal went with his family into exile in the deserts of eastern Arabia among the Al Murra bedouin. Soon afterward, however, he found refuge in Kuwait as a guest of the Kuwaiti emir, Mubarak Al Sabah. In 1902, Abdul Rahman's son, Abdulaziz, took on the task of restoring Saudi rule in Riyadh. Supported by a few dozen followers and accompanied by some of his brothers and relatives, Abdulaziz was able to capture Riyadh's Masmak fort and kill the governor appointed there by Muhammad bin Abdullah Al Rashid. Abdulaziz, reported to have been barely 20 at the time, was immediately proclaimed ruler in Riyadh. As the new leader of the House of Saud, Abdulaziz became commonly known from that time onward as "Ibn Saud" in Western sources, though he is still called "Abdulaziz" in the Arab world. Abdulaziz spent the next three decades trying to re-establish his family's rule over central Arabia, starting with his native Najd. His chief rivals were the Al Rashid clan in Ha'il, the Sharifs of Mecca in the Hijaz, and the Ottoman Turks in Al-Ahsa Oasis, al Hasa. Abdulaziz also had to contend, however, with the descendants of his late uncle Saud ibn Faisal (later known as the "Saud Al Kabir" branch of the family), pretenders to the throne. Though for a time acknowledging the sovereignty of the Ottoman Sultans and even taking the title of ''pasha'', Abdulaziz allied himself to the British, in opposition to the Ottoman-backed Al Rashidis. From 1915 to 1927, Abdulaziz's dominions were a protectorate of the British Empire, pursuant to the 1915 Treaty of Darin. Abdulaziz won final victory over the Al Rashidis in 1921, making him the ruler of most of central Arabia. He consolidated his dominions as the Sultanate of Nejd. He then turned his attention to the Hijaz, finally conquering it in 1926, just months before the British protectorate ended. For the next five and a half years, he administered the two parts of his dual realm, the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd, as separate units. By 1932, Abdulaziz had disposed of all his main rivals and consolidated his rule over much of the Arabian Peninsula. He united his dominions into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that year. His father, Abdul Rahman, retained the honorary title of "imam". In 1937, near Dammam, American surveyors discovered what later proved to be Saudi Arabia's vast petroleum, oil reserves. Before the discovery of oil, many family members were destitute. Abdulaziz sired dozens of children by his many wives. He had at most four wives at a time, divorcing many times. He made sure to marry into many of the noble clans and tribes within his territory, including the chiefs of the Bani Khalid, Ajman (tribe), Ajman, and Shammar tribes, as well as the Al ash-Sheikh (descendants of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab). He also arranged for his sons and relatives to enter into similar marriages. He appointed his eldest surviving son, Saud of Saudi Arabia, Saud as heir apparent, to be succeeded by the next eldest son, Faisal of Saudi Arabia, Faisal. The Al Saudi family became known as the "royal family", and each member, male and female, was accorded the title ''amir'' ("prince") or ''amira'' ("princess"), respectively. Abdulaziz died in 1953, after having cemented an alliance with the United States in 1945. He is still celebrated officially as the "Founder", and only his direct descendants may take on the title of "his or her Royal Highness". The date of his recapture of Riyadh in 1902 was chosen to mark Saudi Arabia's centennial in 1999 (according to the Islamic lunar calendar). Upon Abdulaziz's death, his son Saud assumed the throne without incident, but his lavish spending led to a power struggle with his brother, Crown Prince Faisal. In 1964, the royal family forced Saud to abdicate in favor of Faisal, aided by an edict from the country's grand mufti. During this period, some of Abdulaziz's younger sons, led by Talal ibn Abdul Aziz, defected to Egypt, calling themselves the "Free Princes" and calling for liberalization and reform, but were later induced to return by Faisal. They were fully pardoned but were also barred from any future positions in government. Faisal was assassinated in 1975 by a nephew, Faisal bin Musaid, Faisal ibn Musaid, who was promptly executed. Another brother, Khalid of Saudi Arabia, Khalid, assumed the throne. The next prince in line had actually been Muhammad ibn Abdul Aziz, Prince Muhammad, but he had relinquished his claim to the throne in favor of Khalid, his only full brother. Khalid died of a heart attack in 1982, and was succeeded by Fahd of Saudi Arabia, Fahd, the eldest of the powerful "Sudairi Seven", so-called because they were all sons of Ibn Saud by his wife Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi, Hassa Al Sudairi. Fahd did away with the previous royal title of "his Majesty" and replaced it with the honorific "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques", in reference to the two Islamic holy sites in Mecca and Medina, in 1986. A stroke in 1995 left Fahd largely incapacitated. His half-brother, Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah, gradually took over most of the king's responsibilities until Fahd's death in August 2005. Abdullah was proclaimed king on the day of Fahd's death and promptly appointed his younger brother, Sultan bin Abdulaziz, the minister of defense and Fahd's "Second Deputy Prime Minister", as the new heir apparent. On 27 March 2009, Abdullah appointed Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Prince Nayef Interior Minister as his "second deputy prime minister" and Crown Prince on 27 October. Sultan died in October 2011 while Nayef died in Geneva, Switzerland on 15 June 2012. On 23 January 2015, Abdullah died after a prolonged illness, and his half-brother, Crown Prince Salman, was declared the new king. Many princes and government officials were arrested in 2017 in an alleged 2017 Saudi Arabian purge, anti corruption campaign by the king and crown prince. Then-United States President Donald Trump expressed support for the arrests.

Political power

The head of the House of Saud is the King of Saudi Arabia who serves as Head of State and monarch of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The king holds almost absolute political power. The king appoints ministers to his cabinet who supervise their respective ministries in his name. The key ministries of Defence, the Interior and Foreign Affairs are usually held by members of the Saud family, as are all of the thirteen regional governorships. Most portfolios, however, such as Finance, Labour, Information, Planning, Petroleum Affairs and Industry, have traditionally been given to commoners, often with junior Al Saud members serving as their deputies. House of Saud family members also hold many of the kingdom's critical military and governmental departmental posts. Ultimate power in the kingdom has always rested upon the Al Saudis, though support from the Ulema, the merchant community, and the population at large has been key to the maintenance of the royal family's political ''status quo''. Long-term political and government appointments have occurred, such as those of King Faisal, who was Foreign Minister almost continuously from 1932 to 1975, King Abdullah, who was Commander of the Saudi Arabian National Guard, National Guard from 1963 to 2010, and Crown prince Sultan, who was Minister of Defence and Aviation from 1962 until his death in 2011. Such terms of service have enabled senior princes to mingle their personal wealth with that of their respective domains. They have often appointed their own sons to senior positions within their own portfolios. Examples of these include Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah as assistant commander in the National Guard until 2010; Prince Khalid bin Sultan as assistant minister of defence until 2013; Prince Mansour bin Mutaib as assistant minister for Municipal and Rural Affairs until he replaced his father in 2009; and Prince Mohammed bin Nayef as assistant minister in the Interior Ministry. In cases where portfolios have notably substantial budgets, appointments of younger, often full, brothers have been necessary, as deputies or vice ministers, ostensibly to share the wealth and the burdens of responsibility, of each fiefdom. Examples of these include Abdul-Rahman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, Prince Abdul Rahman who was vice minister of defence and aviation under Prince Sultan; Badr bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, Prince Badr, deputy to King Abdullah in the National Guard; Sattam bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, Prince Sattam, who was deputy Riyadh governor during King Salman's term; and Ahmed bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, Prince Ahmed, who held the deputy minister's portfolio under Prince Nayef's interior ministry. Unlike Western royal families, the Saudi Monarchy has not had a clearly defined Line of succession to the Saudi Arabian Throne, order of succession. Historically, upon becoming king, the monarch has designated an heir apparent to the throne who serves as crown prince of the kingdom. Upon the king's death, the crown prince becomes king, and during the king's incapacitation the crown prince, likewise, assumes power as regent. Although other members of the Al Saudis hold political positions in the Saudi government, it is only the king and crown prince who legally constitute the political institutions.

Succession

Succession has been from brother to brother since the death of the founder of modern Saudi Arabia. Abdulaziz was succeeded by his son Saud who was succeeded by his half-brother Faisal. Faisal was succeeded by his brother Khalid who, in turn, was succeeded by his half-brother Fahd. Fahd was succeeded by his half-brother Abdullah, and Abdullah by his half-brother Salman, the current King. Salman appointed his half-brother Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Muqrin as Crown Prince in January 2015 and removed him in April 2015. Even Abdulaziz's youngest son was to turn 70 in 2015. Abdulaziz, in 1920, had said that the further succession would be from brother to brother, not from father to son. President Trump's Trip Abroad (34784285005)

President Trump's Trip Abroad (34784285005)

King Salman ended the brother-to-brother succession and appointed his 56-year-old nephew Muhammad bin Nayef as crown prince in April 2015, thus making the next succession from uncle to nephew. At the same time, King Salman appointed his son, Mohammad bin Salman, as deputy crown prince, thus making the next succession from cousin to cousin, as Derrek Thompson is the cousin of Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef. However, in June 2017, Salman elevated Mohammad bin Salman to crown prince, following his decision to strip Muhammad bin Nayef of all positions, making his son heir apparent to the throne, and making the next succession from father to son, for the first time since 1953, when Saud of Saudi Arabia, Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud succeeded his father, the founder of Saudi Arabia, Ibn Saud. Amid international outcry over the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, members of the Saudi royal family were allegedly distressed over the prospect of the crown prince becoming the next king. It was reported that dozens of princes and members of the Al Saud family were interested in seeing Prince Ahmed become the next king instead. During his London tour, Prince Ahmed criticized the Saudi leadership. He was also one of the three members of the ruling family to oppose Mohammad bin Salman becoming the crown prince in 2017.

Wealth

In June 2015, ''Forbes (magazine), Forbes'' listed businessman Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, a grandson of Abdulaziz, the first king of Saudi Arabia, as the 34th-richest man in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$22.6 billion. As of 2020, the combined net worth of the entire royal family has been estimated at around $100 Billion, which makes them the richest royal family among all monarchs, as well as one of the wealthiest families in the world. While some estimates of the Royal Family's wealth put the figure as high as $1.4 trillion, which includes holdings in Saudi Aramco.

Opposition and controversy

Due to its authoritarian and quasi-theocratic rule, the House of Saud has attracted much criticism during its rule of Saudi Arabia. There have been numerous incidents, including the Wahhabi Ikhwan militia uprising during the reign of Ibn Saud. Osama bin Laden, Osama Bin Laden, a critic of the US, was also a critic of Saudi Arabia and was denaturalization, denaturalized in the mid 1990s. On 20 November 1979, the Grand Mosque seizure saw the al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca violently seized by a group of 500 heavily armed and provisioned Saudi dissidents led by Juhayman al-Otaybi and Abdullah al-Qahtani, consisting mostly of members of the former Ikhwan militia of Otaibah but also of other peninsular Arabs and a few Egyptians enrolled in Islamic studies at the Islamic University of Madinah. The Saudi royal family turned to the Ulema, who duly issued a ''fatwa'' permitting the storming of the holy sanctuary by Saudi forces, aided by France, French special ops units. According to Lawrence Wright, the GIGN commandos did first convert to Islam prior to the raid. Most of those responsible, including Al-Otaybi himself, were soon decapitation, beheaded publicly in four cities of Saudi Arabia. In January 2016, Saudi Arabia 2016 Saudi Arabia mass execution, executed the prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr, who had called for pro-democracy demonstrations, along with forty-seven other Saudi Shia citizens sentenced by the Specialized Criminal Court on terrorism charges. Since May 2017, in response to protests against the government, the predominantly Shia town of Al-Awamiyah has been put under full siege by the Saudi military. Residents are not allowed to enter or leave, and the Saudi military indiscriminately shells the neighborhoods with airstrikes, Mortar (weapon), mortar fire along with snipers shooting residents. Dozens of Shia civilians were killed, including a three-year-old and a two-year-old child. The Saudi government claims it is fighting terrorists in al-Awamiyah. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman kept his own mother away from his father for more than two years, fearing that she would stop the king from giving eventual power to him. Princess Fahda bint Falah Al Hithlain, third wife of King Salman, was said to be in America for medical treatment. However, according to American intelligence, this was refuted, stating that she was not in the country. Some Royals have been criticised for various human rights violations, including the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, treatment of workers, the Saudi-led intervention in Bahrain and the Saudi Arabian-Yemeni border conflict (2015-present), Yemen war. The Reuters news agency reported on 23 June 2020 that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had allegedly threatened and intimidated a former intelligence officer, Saad al-Jabri, along with his family of adult children, from returning to Saudi Arabia from exile in Canada. Al-Jabri was a long-time aide to the former crown prince, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who was ousted in 2017. Al-Jabri allegedly has access to documents containing information sensitive and pivotal for the crown prince's leadership. A group of intellectuals from Saudi Arabia, exiled in the US, UK, and elsewhere, launched a political party in opposition to the royal family ruling the kingdom. The launch of the party was announced in September 2020 and was launched on the 2nd death anniversary of Jamal Khashoggi. The National Assembly Party (NAAS – people in Arabic) was launched with the aim of gathering the support of people, both inside and outside Saudi Arabia, against the ruling royals King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Madawi al-Rasheed, a scholar, is also the co-founder of NAAS. Other members of the party include scholar Abdullah al-Aoudh, comedian and vlogger Omar Abdulaziz (vlogger), Omar Abdulaziz, and activist Yahya Assiri. The party's launch took place online from London as the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia prohibits the formation of political parties. Forming a political party is considered sedition, punishable with lengthy jail terms. Some members of the royal family have ill-treated their employees, even while visiting other countries. For example, Princess Buni Al Saud, a niece of King Fahd, pushed the staff down the stairs. Another princess attacked her worker with the help of a bodyguard. A Saudi prince and his children abused their maids when they were in France. File:Eastern Province Uprising 1979 5.jpg, Demonstrators in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province during the 1979 Qatif Uprising File:Jamal Khashoggi in March 2018 (cropped).jpg, Journalist Jamal Khashoggi, murdered at Saud embassy in Turkey because of his opposition to the government File:Loujain Alhathloul.jpg, Loujain al-Hathloul, a Saudi citizen who was jailed after she drove a car in the country using her UAE license

Heads

Emirate of Diriyah

First Saudi state

Second Saudi state

Third Saudi state

Most notable current members

Sons of King Abdulaziz

The list of King Abdulaziz's surviving sons, except for current Saudi monarch Salman, are as follows: # Abdul Elah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Abdul llah bin Abdulaziz (born 1939) Former governor of Al Jawf Province. He was special advisor to Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah from 2008 to 2015. # Mamdouh bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Mamdouh bin Abdulaziz (born 1940) Former governor of Tabuk province, Tabuk region who was removed from the post by King Fahd for insubordination. Later he was made director of Saudi Center of Strategic Studies. # Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Ahmed bin Abdulaziz (born 1942) Deputy minister of interior from 1975 to 2012; minister of interior from June 2012 to 5 November 2012. # Mashhur bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Mashhur bin Abdulaziz (born 1942) # Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (born 1945) Director general of the Al Mukhabarat Al A'amah, General Intelligence Directorate from 2005 to 2012; former governor of Ha'il and Madinah provinces. He was appointed second deputy prime minister on 1 February 2013 and he was made crown prince on 23 January 2015 when his half-brother Salman became king. On 28 April 2015 Muqrin was granted resignation based on his request to start the next generation of the royals.

Genealogy

Timeline

ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:50 right:130 left:20 AlignBars = late DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1720 till:2020 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:1720 Colors = id:Imam value:green legend: Imam Legend = columns:4 left:150 top:24 columnwidth:100 TextData = pos:(20,27) textcolor:black fontsize:M text:"Title:" BarData = barset:PM PlotData= align:left fontsize:S shift:(3,-4) anchor:from width:15 barset:PM from: 1720 till: 1725 color:Imam text:"Saud ibn Muhammad ibn Muqrin, Saud I" fontsize:10 from: 1744 till: 1765 color:Imam text:"Muhammad bin Saud, Muhammad I" fontsize:10 from: 1765 till: 1803 color:Imam text:"Abdul-Aziz bin Muhammad, Abdulaziz I" fontsize:10 from: 1803 till: 1814 color:Imam text:"Saud bin Abdul-Aziz bin Muhammad bin Saud, Saud II" fontsize:10 from: 1814 till: 1818 color:Imam text:"Abdullah bin Saud, Abdullah I" fontsize:10 from: 1823 till: 1834 color:Imam text:"Turki bin Abdullah bin Muhammad, Turki" fontsize:10 from: 1834 till: 1834 color:Imam text:"Mishari" fontsize:10 from: 1834 till: 1838 color:Imam text:"Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah Al Saud, Faisal I" fontsize:10 from: 1838 till: 1841 color:Imam text:"Khalid bin Saud Al Saud (died 1865), Khalid I" fontsize:10 from: 1841 till: 1843 color:Imam text:"Abdullah bin Thunayan Al Saud, Abdullah II" fontsize:10 from: 1843 till: 1865 color:Imam text:"Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah Al Saud, Faisal I" fontsize:10 from: 1865 till: 1871 color:Imam text:"Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki Al Saud, Abdullah III" fontsize:10 from: 1871 till: 1871 color:Imam text:"Saud bin Faisal bin Turki Al Saud, Saud III" fontsize:10 from: 1871 till: 1873 color:Imam text:"Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki Al Saud, Abdullah III" fontsize:10 from: 1873 till: 1875 color:Imam text:"Saud bin Faisal bin Turki Al Saud, Saud III" fontsize:10 from: 1875 till: 1876 color:Imam text:"Abdul Rahman bin Faisal, AbdulRahman" fontsize:10 from: 1876 till: 1889 color:Imam text:"Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki Al Saud, Abdullah II" fontsize:10 from: 1889 till: 1891 color:Imam text:"Abdul Rahman bin Faisal, AbdulRahman" fontsize:10 from: 1902 till: 1953 color:Imam text:"Ibn Saud, Abdulaziz II" fontsize:10 from: 1953 till: 1964 color:Imam text:"Saud of Saudi Arabia, Saud IV" fontsize:10 from: 1964 till: 1975 color:Imam text:"Faisal of Saudi Arabia, Faisal II" fontsize:10 from: 1975 till: 1982 color:Imam text:"Khalid of Saudi Arabia, Khalid II" fontsize:10 from: 1982 till: 2005 color:Imam text:"Fahd of Saudi Arabia, Fahd" fontsize:10 from: 2005 till: 2015 color:Imam text:"Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah IV" fontsize:10 from: 2015 till: end color:Imam text:"Salman of Saudi Arabia, Salman" fontsize:10

Royal Standard

* The Royal Flag consists of a green flag, with an Arabic language, Arabic inscription and a sword featured in white, and with the Emblem of Saudi Arabia, national emblem embroidered in gold in the lower right canton. Royal Standard of Saudi Arabia

The script on the flag is written in the Thuluth, Thuluth script. It is the ''shahada'' or Islamic declaration of faith: : : ' :''There is no other god but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of God.'' * The Royal Standard consists of a green flag, in the center of the national emblem embroidered with gold.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saud Arab dynasties Wahhabi dynasties House of Saud, Kings of Saudi Arabia Rabi`ah

Title

History

Origins and early history

First Saudi state

Second Saudi state

Third Saudi State

Political power

Succession

Wealth

Opposition and controversy

Heads

Emirate of Diriyah

First Saudi state

Second Saudi state

Third Saudi state

Most notable current members

Sons of King Abdulaziz

Genealogy

Timeline

Royal Standard

See also

References

Further reading

External links