by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Arabic Naming Conventions

• Al – family/clan of…
• bin or ibn – son of…
• bint – daughter of…

Abdulaziz ibn Abdul Rahman Al Saud was the first King of Saudi Arabia. Sometimes known as Ibn Saud, he was born on January 15, 1876, in Riyadh, Emirate of Nejd, now in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. His parents were Abdul Rahman bin Faisal Al Saud, Emir of Nejd (1845 – 1928), and Princess Sarah bint Ahmed Al-Sudairy (died 1910), one of his father’s nine wives.

Abdulaziz had five full siblings and 18 half-siblings. His full siblings were:

• Prince Faisal (1870 – 1890)
• Princess Noura (1875 – 1950)
• Princess Haya
• Prince Saad (1890 – 1916)
• Princess Munira

The current royal family of Saudi Arabia, known as the Al Saud, has its roots in Nejd, the geographical central region of today’s Saudi Arabia. In 1744, the founder of the dynasty, Muhammad bin Saud, joined forces with the religious leader Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, founder of Wahhabism, a strict puritanical form of Sunni Islam that is the official, state-sponsored form of Islam still practiced in Saudi Arabia today. This alliance formed the ideology for Saudi expansion and has remained the foundation of the Saudi Arabian dynasty

The first Saudi state was established in 1744 in the area around Riyadh, and it expanded until it controlled most of present-day Saudi Arabia. In 1818, Mohammed Ali Pasha, the Ottoman Empire Viceroy of Egypt, won a victory against the Saudi state, greatly reducing its territory. A much smaller second Saudi state, located mainly in Nejd, was established in 1824. The Al Saud battled for control of the interior of what was to become Saudi Arabia with another Arabian ruling family, the Al Rashid. In 1891, the Al Rashid were victorious and the Al Saud were driven into exile in Kuwait.

A family member who had a profound effect on Abdulaziz was his paternal aunt Jawhara bint Faisal. Starting when he was a young boy, she instilled in him a strong sense of family. During the years when the Al Saud were living in exile in Kuwait, Jawhara bint Faisal told Abdulaziz stories of his ancestors and encouraged him not to be satisfied with the family’s current situation. She was instrumental in Abdulaziz’s decision to return to Nejd from Kuwait and regain the family’s territories. Jawhara bint Faisal remained one of Abdulaziz’s most trusted and influential advisors all her life and was deeply respected by all of his children. Abdulaziz visited his aunt every day until she died around 1930.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Ottoman Empire still controlled most of the Arabian peninsula with tribal leaders having local control. In 1902, Abdulaziz recaptured control of Riyadh, bringing the city under the control of the Al Saud. In 1913, with the support of the Ikhwan, a tribal army inspired by Wahhabism and led by Faisal Al-Dawish, Abdulaziz captured more territory from the Ottomans.

In 1916, with the encouragement and support of the British, who were fighting the Ottomans in World War I, Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, led a pan-Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire to create a united Arab state. Although the Arab Revolt of 1916 – 1918 failed in its objective, the Allied victory in World War I resulted in the end of Ottoman Empire and its control in Arabia and Hussein bin Ali became King of Hejaz, the western portion of the Arabian peninsula.

Abdulaziz did not become involved in the Arab Revolt but instead continued his battles with the Al Rashid. In 1921, he finally defeated the Al Rashid in Nejd and took the title Sultan of Nejd. From 1924 – 1925, Abdulaziz, again with the help of the Ikhwan, the tribal army inspired by Wahhabism, fought Hussein bin Ali for the Kingdom of Hejaz and ultimately declared himself King of Hejaz. In 1926, Abdulaziz upgraded his title in Nejd to King of Nejd. For the next five years, he administered the two parts of his dual kingdom as separate units.

After the conquest of Hejaz, the leadership of the Ikhwan sought to expand its brand of Islam into the British protectorates of Transjordan, Iraq, and Kuwait and began raiding those territories. Abdulaziz opposed this because he believed it was dangerous to come into direct conflict with the British. Eventually, the Ikhwan became disenchanted with Abdulaziz’s policies which favored modernization and the increase in the number of non-Muslim foreigners in the dual kingdom. As a result, the Ikhwan turned against Abdulaziz and, after a two-year struggle, they were defeated and their leaders were killed at the Battle of Sabilla in 1929. On September 23, 1932, the two kingdoms of the Hejaz and Nejd were united as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and that date is now a national holiday called Saudi National Day. Before he declared himself King of Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz had to distance and contain the ambitions of his five brothers, particularly his elder half-brother Muhammad bin Abdul Rahman.

In 1933, Abdulaziz appointed his second but eldest surviving son Saud as Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. Abdulaziz’s eldest son Turki bin Abdulaziz had been the Crown Prince of the Kingdoms of Nejd and Hejaz but Turki died at age 18 during the 1918-1920 influenza pandemic and his younger full-brother Saud had been appointed Crown Prince of Nejd and Hejaz. Abdulaziz had many quarrels with his elder half-brother Muhammad bin Abdul Rahman as to who should be appointed Crown Prince. Muhammad had wanted his son Khalid to be appointed Crown Prince.

Embed from Getty Images 
Abdulaziz (center) with five of his sons and a group of palace servants in Riyadh, circa 1930

Abdulaziz had a polygamous household comprising of several wives at a time and numerous concubines. It is thought he had a total of 22-24 wives. He was the father of almost a hundred children, including 45 sons of whom 36 survived to adulthood. His children are too numerous to list here. See Wikipedia: Descendants of Ibn Saud (Abdulaziz).

The six Kings of Saudi Arabia who followed King Abdulaziz were all his sons.

• King Saud of Saudi Arabia (1902 – 1969, reigned 1953 – 1964, deposed)
• King Faisal of Saudi Arabia (1906 – 1975, reigned 1964 – 1975, assassinated)
• King Khalid of Saudi Arabia (1913 – 1982, reigned 1975 – 1982)
• King Fahd of Saudi Arabia (1921 – 2005, reigned 1982 – 2005)
• King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (1924 – 2015, reigned 2005 – 2015)
• King Salman of Saudi Arabia (born 1935, reigned 2015 – present)

Eventually, Abdulaziz left most of his duties to his son Crown Prince Saud and spent most of his time in the city of Ta’if, located on the slopes of the Hejaz Mountains and known as the unofficial summer capital of Saudi Arabia. In the final years of his life, Abdulaziz suffered from heart disease, arthritis, and partial blindness. On November 9, 1953, Abdulaziz died in his sleep from a heart attack at his palace in Ta’if with his son Prince Faisal, a future King of Saudi Arabia, at his bedside. He was buried in Al Oud cemetery in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia next to his beloved sister Noura who died in 1950. Abdulaziz was very close to Noura and often identified himself with “I am the brother of Noura.”

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Works Cited

• Ar.wikipedia.org. 2020. عبد الرحمن بن فيصل بن تركي آل سعود. [online] Available at: <https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%AF_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%AD%D9%85%D9%86_%D8%A8%D9%86_%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%B5%D9%84_%D8%A8%D9%86_%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%83%D9%8A_%D8%A2%D9%84_%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF> [Accessed 31 August 2020].
• Ar.wikipedia.org. 2020. عبد العزيز آل سعود. [online] Available at: <https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%AF_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%B2_%D8%A2%D9%84_%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF> [Accessed 31 August 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Abdul Rahman Bin Faisal. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdul_Rahman_bin_Faisal> [Accessed 31 August 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Ibn Saud. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Saud> [Accessed 31 August 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Saudi Arabia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia> [Accessed 31 August 2020].