Abdulaziz ibn Abdul Rahman Al Saud of Saudi Arabia

Abdulaziz ibn Abdul Rahman Al Saud (15 January 1875– 9 November, 1953) was a founder of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a neutral supporter of the British in World War I. He was the son of Abd-al-Rahman ibn Faisal who was the last ruler of the second Saudi state.

Commonly known as Ibn Saud, he united most of the Arabian Peninsula through decades of astute political maneuvers and military campaigns, resulting in the foundation of the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

When Ibn Saud was small child, his family was forced to flee into the desert to escape the invading Al-Rashid, who conquered Riyadh.

In 1902 with a small party of followers Ibn Saud recovered Riyadh after surprising and killing the Rashidi-appointed governor there. Two years later Ibn Saud rules half of central Arabia. By 1916, Ibn Saud had gained British recognition of his control of the Najd and Al-Hasa as well as a promise of protection if attacked.

In the aftermath of World War I, Ibn Saud took Mecca in 1924, and the next year he proclaimed himself king of Hejaz and Nejd.

In 1932, the formation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was officially declared and recognized internationally. Soon after Ibn Saud began to tap Arabia’s petroleum wealth, and by 1955, Saudi Arabia had overtaken Iraq as the world’s leading oil supplier.
Abdulaziz ibn Abdul Rahman Al Saud of Saudi Arabia