The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Foreign relations, 1932–53

From the date of its establishment in September 1932, Saudi Arabia enjoyed full international recognition as an independent state, although it did not join the League of Nations.

In 1934 Ibn Saud was involved in war with Yemen over a boundary dispute. An additional cause of the war was Yemen’s support of an uprising by an Asiri prince against Ibn Saud. In a seven-week campaign, the Saudis were generally victorious. Hostilities were terminated by the Treaty of Al-Ṭāʾif, by which the Saudis gained the disputed district. Diplomatic relations with Egypt, severed in 1926 because of an incident on the Meccan pilgrimage, were not renewed until after the death of King Fuʾād of Egypt in 1936.

Fixing the boundaries of the country remained a problem throughout the 1930s. In tribal society, sovereignty was traditionally expressed in the form of suzerainty over certain tribes rather than in fixed territorial boundaries. Hence, Ibn Saud regarded the demarcation of land frontiers with suspicion. Nevertheless, the majority of the frontiers with Iraq, Kuwait, and Jordan had been demarcated by 1930. In the south, no agreement was reached on the exact site of the frontiers with the Trucial States and with the interior of Yemen and Muscat and Oman.

After Saudi Arabia declared its neutrality during World War II (1939–45), Britain and the United States subsidized Saudi Arabia, which declared war on Germany in 1945, and this thus enabled the kingdom to enter the United Nations as a founding member. Ibn Saud also joined the Arab League, but he did not play a leading part in it, since the religious and conservative element in Saudi Arabia opposed cooperation with other Arab states, even when Saudis shared common views, as in opposition to Zionism. In the Arab-Israeli War of 1948, Saudi Arabia contributed only one battalion.

Internal affairs, 1932–53

Although oil had been discovered in Al-Hasa near the shores of the Persian Gulf before World War II, it was not exploited until after 1941. State revenues before the war were derived primarily from the pilgrimage, customs duties, and taxes—which decreased as a result of the world economic depression of the 1930s. After 1944 large numbers of foreign oil workers arrived in the country, and Aramco (the Arabian American Oil Company) was established as a joint venture between a number of American oil companies and the Saudi government. The country was itself unable to supply the oil company with sufficient skilled workers, and oil production was largely managed and undertaken by foreigners. When in 1949 Aramco paid more taxes to the U.S. government than the yield to Saudi Arabia in royalties, the Saudi leadership obtained a new agreement in 1950 that required Aramco to pay an income tax of 50 percent of the net operating income to the Saudis.

The sudden wealth from increased production was a mixed blessing. Cultural life flourished, primarily in the Hejaz, which was the centre for newspapers and radio, but the large influx of outsiders apparently increased xenophobia in a population already noted for its distrust of foreigners. The disturbance of traditional patterns caused by the cultural changes, new wealth from increased production of oil, inflation, and the movement of the population to the major cities was reflected in the government, which had become increasingly wasteful and lavish. Despite the new wealth, extravagant spending led to governmental deficits and foreign borrowing in the 1950s.

Ibn Saud, who had been brought up in the strict puritanical faith of the Wahhābīs, viewed this flood of wealth and the consequent changing mores with distaste and bewilderment. He died on November 9, 1953.

Reigns of Saud ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz and Faisal (1953–75)

Domestic affairs

Ibn Saud was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Saud, with his second son, Faisal (the two had different mothers), declared heir apparent. The two half-brothers were remarkably different. Saud had been heir apparent since 1933 and had many ties among the desert tribes. Faisal, who had lived chiefly in the cities of the Hejaz, had often been abroad in his post as Saudi foreign minister. Saud thus represented what soon would become the ancien régime, while those advocating modernization supported Faisal.

Meanwhile, money continued to pour into the country. There was an enormous increase in the population of the towns, notably of Riyadh and Jeddah. The character of these urban societies was changed beyond all recognition by a large influx of bourgeoisie from neighbouring countries. The freer lifestyle of immigrant wives was tolerated to a certain degree, but such liberalization was not extended to Saudi women. Roads, schools, hospitals, palaces, apartment buildings, and airports replaced the old alleyways and mud-brick houses. Weaving and other crafts continued, but they were modified by the use of new patterns and materials.

At the royal court, there was constant rivalry between Saud and Faisal. In March 1958, as a result of pressure from the royal family, Saud issued a decree transferring all executive power to Faisal. In December 1960, however, Faisal was obliged to resign as prime minister, and the king himself assumed the office. In 1962–63 Faisal was once more given executive powers. Finally, on November 2, 1964, the family collectively deposed Saud and proclaimed Faisal king. The National Guard, the royal princes, and the ʿulamāʾ had supported Faisal in the struggle for power against Saud. Faisal was simply more competent than Saud: it was he who developed the ministries of government and established for the first time an efficient bureaucracy.