WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.740 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we are taking 00:00:02.740 --> 00:00:07.200 on a truly colossal figure, a man who really 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:09.980 shaped the modern Middle East as we know it. 00:00:10.080 --> 00:00:13.740 We are. We're talking about Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman 00:00:13.740 --> 00:00:17.140 Al Saud. But everyone just knows him as Ibn Saud. 00:00:17.300 --> 00:00:19.739 And his story is just incredible. This isn't 00:00:19.739 --> 00:00:22.500 a man who inherited a kingdom. He didn't inherit 00:00:22.500 --> 00:00:24.899 an oil fortune. No, not at all. He literally 00:00:24.899 --> 00:00:27.399 built a kingdom from scratch, then discovered 00:00:27.399 --> 00:00:31.260 the oil. He goes from being this exiled tribal 00:00:31.260 --> 00:00:34.460 chief, basically living in poverty, to... monarch 00:00:34.460 --> 00:00:37.420 on the global stage so for you the listener our 00:00:37.420 --> 00:00:39.840 mission in this deep dive is to really get into 00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:42.159 the mechanics of that how does that happen exactly 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:44.479 how does one man starting with almost nothing 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:47.119 I mean just his family name and a handful of 00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:49.439 loyal followers managed to take over almost all 00:00:49.439 --> 00:00:52.079 of Central and northern Arabia in what 30 years 00:00:52.079 --> 00:00:54.759 it seems impossible it does and we need to look 00:00:54.759 --> 00:00:56.820 at the unique blend he used it's this combination 00:00:56.820 --> 00:00:59.299 of you know traditional Bedouin warfare this 00:00:59.299 --> 00:01:02.020 incredible religious zealotry he harnesses and 00:01:02.020 --> 00:01:06.049 then This unbelievably pragmatic, almost cynical 00:01:06.049 --> 00:01:08.870 diplomacy he uses with the great powers. That 00:01:08.870 --> 00:01:12.069 pragmatic streak is so important because the 00:01:12.069 --> 00:01:14.090 whole thing is built on sheer audacity. When 00:01:14.090 --> 00:01:16.150 you dig into the sources, you find these stories 00:01:16.150 --> 00:01:18.569 that sound almost like myths, but they're real. 00:01:18.709 --> 00:01:20.709 They are. We're going to cover the famous 40 00:01:20.709 --> 00:01:22.829 -man raid that took back his ancestral home, 00:01:23.129 --> 00:01:27.230 Riyadh. A legendary moment. And we have to talk 00:01:27.230 --> 00:01:29.609 about the Ikhwan, this group of religious purists 00:01:29.609 --> 00:01:32.140 he creates. he empowers. And then has to crush 00:01:32.140 --> 00:01:34.540 when they get in his way. Viciously. Yeah. And 00:01:34.540 --> 00:01:38.260 finally, there's two huge meetings in 1945, one 00:01:38.260 --> 00:01:40.480 with Roosevelt on a warship, the other with Churchill. 00:01:40.879 --> 00:01:43.719 Those meetings basically set the course for global 00:01:43.719 --> 00:01:46.400 energy politics for the next, well, 80 years. 00:01:46.750 --> 00:01:49.510 It's just a phenomenal story. One man's sheer 00:01:49.510 --> 00:01:51.950 will meeting these massive historical forces, 00:01:52.069 --> 00:01:54.909 like the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the West's 00:01:54.909 --> 00:01:57.269 thirst for oil. And the result is a dynasty where 00:01:57.269 --> 00:02:00.349 right up to today in 2025, every single king 00:02:00.349 --> 00:02:02.930 has been one of his sons. Incredible. So let's 00:02:02.930 --> 00:02:04.709 start at the beginning. Not in a palace, but 00:02:04.709 --> 00:02:06.590 in exile. Okay, so let's set the stage for this 00:02:06.590 --> 00:02:10.110 improbable start. Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, he's born 00:02:10.110 --> 00:02:14.229 on January 15th, 1876 in Riyadh. Right. And he's 00:02:14.229 --> 00:02:17.219 the fourth child, the third son. of Abdul Rahman 00:02:17.219 --> 00:02:19.900 bin Faisal. And his father is a key figure here. 00:02:20.060 --> 00:02:22.500 He was the last ruler of what historians call 00:02:22.500 --> 00:02:25.099 the second Saudi state, the Emirate of Nejd. 00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:28.120 And that family history isn't just, you know, 00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:30.620 a bit of background color. It's everything. It's 00:02:30.620 --> 00:02:33.639 his entire motivation. The Al Saud family had 00:02:33.639 --> 00:02:35.740 already been a major power in Central Arabia 00:02:35.740 --> 00:02:38.840 for 130 years. All tied up with the religious 00:02:38.840 --> 00:02:42.480 reform movement, Wahhabism. Absolutely. That 00:02:42.480 --> 00:02:44.719 ideology had already fueled their first attempt 00:02:44.719 --> 00:02:46.919 to control the peninsula, the first Saudi state, 00:02:47.000 --> 00:02:48.479 which was, you know, eventually destroyed by 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:51.259 the Ottomans back in 1818. So when Ibn Saud is 00:02:51.259 --> 00:02:54.639 born, his family is really just hanging on. Living 00:02:54.639 --> 00:02:56.740 on borrowed time. Completely. They're holding 00:02:56.740 --> 00:02:59.360 on to the scraps of a once great religiously 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:01.439 driven empire. And their main rivals, the ones 00:03:01.439 --> 00:03:03.139 right on their doorstep, were the al -Rashid 00:03:03.139 --> 00:03:05.900 family. Always the al -Rashid. Constantly fighting 00:03:05.900 --> 00:03:08.460 for control of that central plateau, the Nejd. 00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:11.840 And the defining moment of Ibn Saud's childhood 00:03:11.840 --> 00:03:14.960 is when the Al -Rashid finally win. This is in 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:19.319 1891. He's just 15 years old. 15. And his family 00:03:19.319 --> 00:03:23.620 loses Riyadh. They're forced into exile. And 00:03:23.620 --> 00:03:26.939 this isn't just a political defeat. It's catastrophic. 00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:29.939 They lose their home, their history, their religious 00:03:29.939 --> 00:03:32.879 heartland. That period of exile must have been 00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:35.639 just... Formative doesn't even begin to cover 00:03:35.639 --> 00:03:38.229 it. It shaped everything about him. And it wasn't 00:03:38.229 --> 00:03:40.210 like they were just waiting things out in a comfortable 00:03:40.210 --> 00:03:43.129 palace somewhere. Their journey shows you how 00:03:43.129 --> 00:03:45.889 completely their power had collapsed. Where did 00:03:45.889 --> 00:03:48.469 they go first? First, they had to seek refuge 00:03:48.469 --> 00:03:52.129 with the Almura, a Bedouin tribe out in the southern 00:03:52.129 --> 00:03:54.930 desert. They were completely dependent on their 00:03:54.930 --> 00:03:57.360 hospitality. Just think about that. The son of 00:03:57.360 --> 00:03:59.599 a ruling house suddenly having to rely on the 00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:02.439 kindness of nomadic tribesmen. The psychological 00:04:02.439 --> 00:04:04.860 impact. It must have been immense. And it was 00:04:04.860 --> 00:04:06.599 a desperate scramble. They were with the Almorra 00:04:06.599 --> 00:04:08.460 for a bit. Then they moved through Qatar for 00:04:08.460 --> 00:04:10.599 a couple of months. A brief stop in Bahrain. 00:04:10.780 --> 00:04:13.199 Before finally ending up in Kuwait. Yes. And 00:04:13.199 --> 00:04:15.800 this is a crucial detail. They were allowed to 00:04:15.800 --> 00:04:17.480 settle in Kuwait by the Ottoman authorities. 00:04:17.680 --> 00:04:19.759 They spent nearly a decade there. So they're 00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:22.240 essentially political refugees. On an Ottoman 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:25.310 leash. The Ottomans were perfectly happy to let 00:04:25.310 --> 00:04:28.829 the al -Rashid control Nejd. But Kuwait is where 00:04:28.829 --> 00:04:31.730 Ibn Saud really starts his political education. 00:04:32.069 --> 00:04:34.129 He's not just waiting. He's watching. He's learning. 00:04:34.269 --> 00:04:36.589 He's building a network. And the key figure for 00:04:36.589 --> 00:04:39.250 him there is the ruler of Kuwait, Mubarak al 00:04:39.250 --> 00:04:41.949 -Sabah. Exactly. And what's so fascinating is 00:04:41.949 --> 00:04:44.449 the tension this creates inside his own family. 00:04:45.019 --> 00:04:48.139 Ibn Saud starts spending time in Mubarak's Majlis, 00:04:48.220 --> 00:04:51.240 his court, learning the ropes of geopolitics. 00:04:51.300 --> 00:04:53.620 But his father didn't approve. Not at all. His 00:04:53.620 --> 00:04:55.699 father, Abdul Rahman, was deeply conservative. 00:04:56.100 --> 00:04:59.120 He saw Mubarak's lifestyle as too worldly, too 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:02.139 modern, not in line with the strict Wahhabi ideals 00:05:02.139 --> 00:05:04.720 the al -Saad were meant to represent. But Ibn 00:05:04.720 --> 00:05:07.420 Saud saw the bigger picture. He had that foresight. 00:05:07.500 --> 00:05:10.079 He saw past the religious dogma and recognized 00:05:10.079 --> 00:05:12.360 that Mubarak al -Saad was a real political player 00:05:12.360 --> 00:05:14.910 with regional power. Building a relationship 00:05:14.910 --> 00:05:16.670 with him was far more valuable than sticking 00:05:16.670 --> 00:05:19.149 to his father's strict social code. That ability 00:05:19.149 --> 00:05:22.209 to put politics before piety, even in small ways. 00:05:22.470 --> 00:05:25.689 It would define his entire career. And that education 00:05:25.689 --> 00:05:28.029 in Kuwait is what leads directly to the moment 00:05:28.029 --> 00:05:30.870 that launches him. The legendary raid on Riyadh. 00:05:31.370 --> 00:05:33.990 1902. This wasn't some grand invasion. It was 00:05:33.990 --> 00:05:37.170 a gamble. A desperate, long -shot gamble. Utter 00:05:37.170 --> 00:05:40.629 desperation, but executed with pure genius. It 00:05:40.629 --> 00:05:44.370 starts small in November 1901. Ibn Saud and a 00:05:44.370 --> 00:05:46.750 small group of relatives, his half -brother Mohammed 00:05:46.750 --> 00:05:49.670 and his cousin, the incredibly important Abdullah 00:05:49.670 --> 00:05:52.610 bin Jaloui, they set out on a raiding trip into 00:05:52.610 --> 00:05:54.990 Nejd. So the initial goal isn't even to take 00:05:54.990 --> 00:05:57.930 Riyadh. No, it's just to survive, to harass the 00:05:57.930 --> 00:06:00.430 tribes allied with the Rashidis. But the further 00:06:00.430 --> 00:06:02.310 they go, the more pressure he's under to stop. 00:06:02.589 --> 00:06:05.250 The Rashidi leader is panicking, asking the Ottomans 00:06:05.250 --> 00:06:07.870 in Baghdad for help, asking Qatar for help. To 00:06:07.870 --> 00:06:10.649 stop these little raids. Exactly. And the pressure 00:06:10.649 --> 00:06:13.050 works. A lot of his men desert. Even his own 00:06:13.050 --> 00:06:14.870 father sends a message telling him to call it 00:06:14.870 --> 00:06:17.370 off that trying to take Riyadh is suicide. But 00:06:17.370 --> 00:06:19.970 he refuses. He refuses. He knows that his entire 00:06:19.970 --> 00:06:22.449 claim to legitimacy rests on one thing, taking 00:06:22.449 --> 00:06:24.990 back the Capitol, not on pity raids. He had to 00:06:24.990 --> 00:06:26.970 recapture the spiritual and political home of 00:06:26.970 --> 00:06:29.410 his family. Which brings us to the night of January 00:06:29.410 --> 00:06:35.209 15th, 1902. The tactic he uses is just. It's 00:06:35.209 --> 00:06:37.089 like something out of a movie. It really is. 00:06:37.189 --> 00:06:42.379 He leads just 40 men. 40. against a walled, fortified 00:06:42.379 --> 00:06:44.879 city. And how do they get in? No siege engines. 00:06:45.139 --> 00:06:47.839 They use tilted palm trees as ladders to scale 00:06:47.839 --> 00:06:50.319 the walls. It's incredible. A quiet infiltration, 00:06:50.360 --> 00:06:52.740 followed by a moment of spectacular, very public 00:06:52.740 --> 00:06:55.259 violence. The Rashidi governor, a man named Ajlan, 00:06:55.379 --> 00:06:58.319 is killed. Killed by Ibn Saud's cousin, Abdullah 00:06:58.319 --> 00:07:00.699 bin Jaloui, right out in the open in front of 00:07:00.699 --> 00:07:03.000 his own fortress. The message couldn't have been 00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:05.379 clearer. The Al Saud are back. Okay, but we have 00:07:05.379 --> 00:07:07.699 to ask. The 40 man story. How much of that is 00:07:07.699 --> 00:07:09.379 hard fact and how much is, you know, political 00:07:09.379 --> 00:07:11.839 myth making? Oh, it's absolutely both. The core 00:07:11.839 --> 00:07:15.319 event is true. A small outnumbered force took 00:07:15.319 --> 00:07:17.920 a fortified city by surprise. But the number 00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:21.319 40, it has this huge symbolic weight in Islamic 00:07:21.319 --> 00:07:23.100 history. Right. It's a number associated with 00:07:23.100 --> 00:07:26.529 quests, with spiritual trials. Precisely. And 00:07:26.529 --> 00:07:29.250 the way the official chronicles focus so heavily 00:07:29.250 --> 00:07:31.569 on that single moment, the death of the governor, 00:07:31.709 --> 00:07:34.329 it shows you they immediately understood its 00:07:34.329 --> 00:07:37.129 power as propaganda. It wasn't just a military 00:07:37.129 --> 00:07:39.930 win. It was framed as a divine validation of 00:07:39.930 --> 00:07:42.250 the Al Saud's right to rule. And the political 00:07:42.250 --> 00:07:44.810 investment he made back in Kuwait pays off immediately. 00:07:45.069 --> 00:07:48.220 Instantly. Mubarak al -Sabah, the ruler his father 00:07:48.220 --> 00:07:51.199 disapproved of, sends 70 more warriors under 00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:53.660 the command of Ibn Saud's younger brother, Sa'd. 00:07:53.779 --> 00:07:55.980 That reinforcement must have been critical. It 00:07:55.980 --> 00:07:57.579 was everything. It let him actually hold the 00:07:57.579 --> 00:08:00.040 city. And he immediately moved back into his 00:08:00.040 --> 00:08:01.879 grandfather's residence. He was sending a message 00:08:01.879 --> 00:08:04.300 at every turn. This isn't a new state. This is 00:08:04.300 --> 00:08:06.939 a restoration. It's the definitive start of what 00:08:06.939 --> 00:08:09.040 becomes the third Saudi state. All from that 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:12.319 one perfectly executed raid. An amazing start. 00:08:12.500 --> 00:08:15.399 So 1902, he's got Riyadh back. But he's still 00:08:15.399 --> 00:08:17.300 just a small -time player in a very dangerous 00:08:17.300 --> 00:08:20.079 neighborhood. The next 30 years are this master 00:08:20.079 --> 00:08:22.939 class in consolidation. It is. He needs a plan. 00:08:23.160 --> 00:08:25.360 And it's a three -pronged strategy. Military 00:08:25.360 --> 00:08:28.800 force, religious ideology, and very, very clever 00:08:28.800 --> 00:08:30.959 diplomacy. Let's start with the military side. 00:08:31.240 --> 00:08:34.200 How does he build his army? Well, the Riyadh 00:08:34.200 --> 00:08:37.159 raid itself was his best recruiting poster. His 00:08:37.159 --> 00:08:40.419 charisma. plus the victory, brought all these 00:08:40.419 --> 00:08:43.120 old supporters of his family out of the woodwork. 00:08:43.259 --> 00:08:45.039 People who'd been laying low under the Rashidis. 00:08:45.299 --> 00:08:48.659 Exactly. And he was smart. He made sure his fighters 00:08:48.659 --> 00:08:51.460 were paid, that they were well -armed, and it 00:08:51.460 --> 00:08:54.480 worked. Within just two years, he'd taken back 00:08:54.480 --> 00:08:57.039 nearly half of the nedge from the Rashidis. But 00:08:57.039 --> 00:08:59.559 that kind of expansion gets you noticed. It does, 00:08:59.740 --> 00:09:02.379 and in 1904, he gets a serious reality check. 00:09:02.899 --> 00:09:05.919 The Ottomans and the Rashidis join forces and 00:09:05.919 --> 00:09:08.519 hand him a major defeat. It was a clear warning 00:09:08.519 --> 00:09:11.039 shot. A message that the great powers would step 00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:13.940 in if he got too ambitious. Right. And that defeat 00:09:13.940 --> 00:09:16.220 was a crucial learning moment for him. Instead 00:09:16.220 --> 00:09:19.240 of giving up, he just changed tactics. He couldn't 00:09:19.240 --> 00:09:21.120 win a straight fight, so he switched to guerrilla 00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:23.799 warfare. Hitting supply lines, harassing their 00:09:23.799 --> 00:09:26.159 movements. Systematically disrupting them. And 00:09:26.159 --> 00:09:27.940 it was so effective that the Ottomans eventually 00:09:27.940 --> 00:09:29.820 had to retreat. They just couldn't sustain their 00:09:29.820 --> 00:09:32.100 presence. And then the Ottomans, unable to beat 00:09:32.100 --> 00:09:35.320 him, try to, what, co -opt him. A classic imperial 00:09:35.320 --> 00:09:38.240 move. In 1905, they officially named him the 00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:41.559 Kwamekwam, or governor, of southern Nejd. They're 00:09:41.559 --> 00:09:43.820 trying to absorb him into their system. Giving 00:09:43.820 --> 00:09:46.340 him a title, recognizing his power, but keeping 00:09:46.340 --> 00:09:48.679 him under their nominal control. And he accepts 00:09:48.679 --> 00:09:51.409 it. He holds that title for years. all while 00:09:51.409 --> 00:09:53.570 continuing to fight the Rashidis. It's just pure 00:09:53.570 --> 00:09:57.610 pragmatism. That all ends in 1906 when the Rashidi 00:09:57.610 --> 00:10:00.169 leader is killed in battle, which basically ends 00:10:00.169 --> 00:10:02.700 the Ottoman presence for good. But the real game 00:10:02.700 --> 00:10:04.799 changer, the most innovative tool he creates, 00:10:04.960 --> 00:10:08.179 is the Ikhwan. We can't talk about the founding 00:10:08.179 --> 00:10:10.419 of Saudi Arabia without understanding the Ikhwan. 00:10:10.539 --> 00:10:13.580 It is absolutely essential. The Ikhwan, the brotherhood, 00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:15.820 started around 1912. And you're right, it's not 00:10:15.820 --> 00:10:17.980 just an army. It was a revolutionary social engineering 00:10:17.980 --> 00:10:20.659 project. So what was it exactly? It had two interconnected 00:10:20.659 --> 00:10:23.039 goals, approved by the local Salafi religious 00:10:23.039 --> 00:10:26.879 scholars. First, and most obviously, it was an 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:29.690 incredibly motivated fighting force. These guys 00:10:29.690 --> 00:10:31.590 were fueled by a belief that they were waging 00:10:31.590 --> 00:10:35.409 a holy war, a jihad, to purify Arabia. And the 00:10:35.409 --> 00:10:37.509 second goal was just as important. Even more 00:10:37.509 --> 00:10:41.049 so, arguably. It was an agrarian policy. The 00:10:41.049 --> 00:10:43.230 idea was to settle the nomadic Bedouin tribes. 00:10:43.470 --> 00:10:46.250 These tribes were the traditional source of all 00:10:46.250 --> 00:10:48.809 the instability and chaos in the region. So he 00:10:48.809 --> 00:10:52.250 gets them to stop wandering and settle down in 00:10:52.250 --> 00:10:55.470 these fixed agricultural colonies. Called Hidra. 00:10:55.879 --> 00:10:58.620 And this is the genius of it. The system completely 00:10:58.620 --> 00:11:02.340 broke down the old tribal loyalties. Your allegiance 00:11:02.340 --> 00:11:04.879 wasn't to your local sheikh anymore. It was to 00:11:04.879 --> 00:11:08.019 the Ikhwan Brotherhood, and by extension, directly 00:11:08.019 --> 00:11:10.460 to Ibn Saud as their supreme leader, their imam. 00:11:10.600 --> 00:11:13.700 He weaponized religious fervor to solve his manpower 00:11:13.700 --> 00:11:15.860 problem and his internal security problem at 00:11:15.860 --> 00:11:18.480 the same time. Perfectly put. He turned the chaotic 00:11:18.480 --> 00:11:21.299 energy of the desert into a disciplined, fanatical, 00:11:21.299 --> 00:11:24.000 and loyal army. And then right as this machine 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:26.539 is getting up to speed, World War I breaks out. 00:11:26.620 --> 00:11:28.679 A whole new game. Suddenly he's caught between 00:11:28.679 --> 00:11:30.899 the dying Ottoman Empire and the rising British 00:11:30.899 --> 00:11:33.759 Empire. And his early moves are so careful. He 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:35.740 actually makes a secret deal with the Ottomans 00:11:35.740 --> 00:11:38.279 in 1914 to become a Wally, high -ranking governor. 00:11:38.659 --> 00:11:40.820 But the war makes that deal worthless. And the 00:11:40.820 --> 00:11:43.320 British get very interested very quickly. They 00:11:43.320 --> 00:11:45.460 can't have him aligned with the Ottomans. So 00:11:45.460 --> 00:11:47.820 they move fast. And that leads to the Treaty 00:11:47.820 --> 00:11:52.320 of Deren in December 1915. This... is a landmark 00:11:52.320 --> 00:11:55.139 moment because it's the first time a major global 00:11:55.139 --> 00:11:59.100 power officially recognizes his state it is the 00:11:59.100 --> 00:12:01.419 treaty makes his lands a british protectorate 00:12:01.419 --> 00:12:05.580 and the british give him money a lot of money 00:12:05.580 --> 00:12:08.759 five thousand pounds a month plus supplies and 00:12:08.759 --> 00:12:11.200 in return in return he has to promise to fight 00:12:11.200 --> 00:12:13.320 the rashidis who are allied with the ottomans 00:12:13.840 --> 00:12:16.460 And crucially, he has to let the British start 00:12:16.460 --> 00:12:18.700 defining his borders. But you mentioned something 00:12:18.700 --> 00:12:20.559 interesting earlier. He got British weapons, 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:22.600 but he didn't always use them right away. No, 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:25.220 he stockpiled them. It was a huge strategic risk. 00:12:25.399 --> 00:12:28.000 He was taking British money and protection, but 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:29.759 he was hoarding the weapons for his own future 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:32.899 plans. He knew the British were allies of convenience. 00:12:33.299 --> 00:12:35.960 He was playing the long game. Always. He wasn't 00:12:35.960 --> 00:12:37.539 going to be a British pawn. He was positioning 00:12:37.539 --> 00:12:39.889 himself to be the main player. after the war 00:12:39.889 --> 00:12:41.970 was over. At the same time, though, the British 00:12:41.970 --> 00:12:44.269 are also backing another major player in Arabia. 00:12:44.610 --> 00:12:46.950 Yes, they were hedging their bets. They were 00:12:46.950 --> 00:12:49.769 famously supporting Hussein bin Ali, the Sharif 00:12:49.769 --> 00:12:51.870 of Mecca in the Hejaz region. T .E. Lawrence, 00:12:52.090 --> 00:12:55.049 Lawrence of Arabia. That whole story. And this 00:12:55.049 --> 00:12:57.850 set up an inevitable collision course. The Hashemite 00:12:57.850 --> 00:13:00.889 family, led by Sharif Hussein, control the ultimate 00:13:00.889 --> 00:13:04.629 prize, the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Which, 00:13:04.690 --> 00:13:07.230 to the Ikhwan, was unacceptable. Completely. 00:13:07.789 --> 00:13:10.070 They saw the Hashemites as religiously corrupt. 00:13:10.289 --> 00:13:12.629 So conflict between them starts brewing as early 00:13:12.629 --> 00:13:15.389 as 1917, even while both sides are technically 00:13:15.389 --> 00:13:17.330 allied with the British against the Ottomans. 00:13:17.389 --> 00:13:20.049 So after World War I ends, Ibn Saud has this 00:13:20.049 --> 00:13:22.809 stockpile of British weapons and a fanatical 00:13:22.809 --> 00:13:25.549 army. And he unleashes them. He launches a final 00:13:25.549 --> 00:13:28.149 campaign against the Rashidis in 1920. And by 00:13:28.149 --> 00:13:30.350 1922, they're completely and utterly destroyed. 00:13:30.590 --> 00:13:32.769 That victory doubles his territory. At least. 00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:35.379 It gives him this huge amount of leverage for 00:13:35.379 --> 00:13:38.500 the next crucial step. The 1922 UQARE conference. 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:41.360 This sounds like a dry diplomatic meeting, but 00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:43.779 it's where the modern map of Arabia really gets 00:13:43.779 --> 00:13:46.399 drawn. It is. He sits down with Sir Percy Cox, 00:13:46.580 --> 00:13:48.919 the British high commissioner for Iraq, and they 00:13:48.919 --> 00:13:51.200 are literally drawing lines on a map. Defining 00:13:51.200 --> 00:13:53.980 the borders for Iraq, Kuwait, and what would 00:13:53.980 --> 00:13:56.240 become Saudi Arabia. And it's classic diplomatic 00:13:56.240 --> 00:13:59.600 horse trade. Cox gets Ibn Saud to recognize the 00:13:59.600 --> 00:14:01.379 new British protectorates and their borders. 00:14:01.559 --> 00:14:04.259 This was vital for Britain. Why so vital? They 00:14:04.259 --> 00:14:06.679 needed stability along the Persian Gulf Coast. 00:14:06.820 --> 00:14:09.200 These were crucial coaling stations for their 00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:11.580 ships going to India through the Suez Canal. 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:14.440 They couldn't have Ikhwan raids disrupting that. 00:14:14.679 --> 00:14:17.039 So Ibn Saud has to give up some land claims on 00:14:17.039 --> 00:14:19.039 the borders. He does. He agrees to the famous 00:14:19.039 --> 00:14:21.580 neutral zones between Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and 00:14:21.580 --> 00:14:24.639 Kuwait. But in exchange, he gets the ultimate 00:14:24.639 --> 00:14:27.759 prize, British recognition of his sovereignty 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:30.480 over the vast central heartland he now controlled. 00:14:30.620 --> 00:14:32.580 As soon as those northern and eastern borders 00:14:32.580 --> 00:14:34.879 are set, he turns his attention west. To the 00:14:34.879 --> 00:14:38.179 Hejaz. To holy cities. And the conquest is swift. 00:14:38.669 --> 00:14:42.529 By 1925, his Ikhwan forces capture Mecca from 00:14:42.529 --> 00:14:45.070 Sharif Hussein. Ending 700 years of Hashemite 00:14:45.070 --> 00:14:47.870 rule. A monumental shift in power. He is then 00:14:47.870 --> 00:14:51.370 proclaimed king of Hejaz in 1926. A year later, 00:14:51.450 --> 00:14:54.309 he makes Nij the kingdom as well. He now rules 00:14:54.309 --> 00:14:57.389 this dual kingdom. And the British make it official 00:14:57.389 --> 00:15:00.730 with the Treaty of Jeddah in 1927. He's now a 00:15:00.730 --> 00:15:04.200 fully independent monarch. He is. But now he 00:15:04.200 --> 00:15:07.220 faces the ultimate political irony. The very 00:15:07.220 --> 00:15:10.419 force he used to build his kingdom, the Ikhwan, 00:15:10.580 --> 00:15:13.000 is about to turn on him. They see him as a sellout. 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:16.039 Because for them, the holy war never ends. They 00:15:16.039 --> 00:15:18.419 wanted to keep raiding into Transjordan and Iraq, 00:15:18.740 --> 00:15:21.480 which were now British protectorates. They didn't 00:15:21.480 --> 00:15:24.480 believe in borders drawn by infidels. And provoking 00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:27.120 the British is the one thing Ibn Saud cannot 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:30.220 afford to do. His whole state is built on that 00:15:30.220 --> 00:15:33.080 pragmatic relationship. He forbids the raids, 00:15:33.220 --> 00:15:35.399 and the Ikhwan see it as a profound religious 00:15:35.399 --> 00:15:38.460 betrayal. The tension just explodes. He tries 00:15:38.460 --> 00:15:40.299 to reconcile with them, doesn't he? He does. 00:15:40.360 --> 00:15:42.720 He calls a big meeting in Riyadh in 1928, but 00:15:42.720 --> 00:15:45.379 the main Ikhwan leaders refuse to show up. And 00:15:45.379 --> 00:15:47.440 that refusal is basically a declaration of rebellion. 00:15:47.679 --> 00:15:50.000 Which leads to a civil war. A short but brutal 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:53.039 one. He crushes the Ikhwan rebellion at the Battle 00:15:53.039 --> 00:15:55.940 of Sibylla in 1929. And this victory is more 00:15:55.940 --> 00:15:57.740 than just military. It's a political statement. 00:15:58.039 --> 00:16:01.090 A definitive one. It establishes that while the 00:16:01.090 --> 00:16:04.009 state is founded on Wahhabi ideology, the ultimate 00:16:04.009 --> 00:16:06.789 political authority, the person who decides on 00:16:06.789 --> 00:16:10.289 war and peace, is the king, not the religious 00:16:10.289 --> 00:16:12.750 fanatics. And with that internal challenge crushed, 00:16:13.009 --> 00:16:15.429 he can finally complete his project. On September 00:16:15.429 --> 00:16:19.210 23, 1932, he formally unites his two kingdoms, 00:16:19.429 --> 00:16:22.429 Nejd and Hejaz, into the single kingdom of Saudi 00:16:22.429 --> 00:16:25.220 Arabia. And it's his kingdom. He sidelined his 00:16:25.220 --> 00:16:27.539 own brothers to centralize power completely in 00:16:27.539 --> 00:16:30.539 himself, from a 40 -man raid to a unified nation 00:16:30.539 --> 00:16:33.840 in 30 years. It's staggering. So the kingdom 00:16:33.840 --> 00:16:35.960 is created, but now he has to run it. And the 00:16:35.960 --> 00:16:37.980 story of his rule is really the story of one 00:16:37.980 --> 00:16:40.600 thing, oil. Everything changes with oil. The 00:16:40.600 --> 00:16:43.340 economic transformation starts almost right after 00:16:43.340 --> 00:16:46.659 unification. In 1933, he grants the oil concession. 00:16:46.720 --> 00:16:49.059 Not to the British, interestingly. No, and that 00:16:49.059 --> 00:16:50.899 was a very deliberate choice. He granted it to 00:16:50.899 --> 00:16:53.429 an American company, Chevron's subsidiary. But 00:16:53.429 --> 00:16:54.769 it's important to remember, for the first five 00:16:54.769 --> 00:16:56.789 years, they found almost nothing. So the kingdom 00:16:56.789 --> 00:16:59.629 was still broke. Absolutely. Still relying on 00:16:59.629 --> 00:17:01.710 money from the Hodge pilgrimage and that British 00:17:01.710 --> 00:17:05.099 tribute. The big world -changing discovery. Doesn't 00:17:05.099 --> 00:17:07.460 actually happen until 1938. And once the oil 00:17:07.460 --> 00:17:09.220 starts flowing, especially after World War II, 00:17:09.380 --> 00:17:12.759 that brings in massive American influence. By 00:17:12.759 --> 00:17:16.039 design. This was a core strategic decision by 00:17:16.039 --> 00:17:18.779 Ibn Saud, guided by his advisors like St. John 00:17:18.779 --> 00:17:21.400 Philby. He actively preferred the Americans to 00:17:21.400 --> 00:17:24.259 the old European colonial powers. Why the U .S.? 00:17:24.259 --> 00:17:27.259 Simple. No colonial baggage. The British and 00:17:27.259 --> 00:17:28.819 French had been carving up the Middle East for 00:17:28.819 --> 00:17:31.779 decades. The U .S. was a powerful partner who 00:17:31.779 --> 00:17:33.940 could provide security, but they were distant. 00:17:34.119 --> 00:17:35.740 They weren't looking to run his country. And 00:17:35.740 --> 00:17:37.819 you see that preference in his financial dealings, 00:17:37.819 --> 00:17:41.079 too. Clearly. When the kingdom needed huge loans 00:17:41.079 --> 00:17:43.039 for development, he went straight to the U .S. 00:17:43.039 --> 00:17:45.519 Export -Import Bank. He deliberately avoided 00:17:45.519 --> 00:17:47.980 the World Bank or European banks. It was a political 00:17:47.980 --> 00:17:50.930 signal. Our future is with America. Precisely. 00:17:50.930 --> 00:17:53.509 Okay, so amidst all this very rational strategic 00:17:53.509 --> 00:17:56.970 economic policy, there's this one wonderful eccentric 00:17:56.970 --> 00:18:01.250 project, the Royal Railway. Ah, yes. What his 00:18:01.250 --> 00:18:03.769 advisors called the old man's folly. He was just 00:18:03.769 --> 00:18:06.009 insistent on it, wasn't he? Despite everyone 00:18:06.009 --> 00:18:08.069 telling him it was a terrible idea. Completely 00:18:08.069 --> 00:18:10.289 insistent. He wandered a railway from the Persian 00:18:10.289 --> 00:18:12.710 Gulf all the way to Riyadh and eventually on 00:18:12.710 --> 00:18:15.380 to Jeddah. And he got it. Aramco built it for 00:18:15.380 --> 00:18:18.079 him. They did. It was finished in 1951. It cost 00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:21.019 $70 million, all paid for from his personal oil 00:18:21.019 --> 00:18:24.059 royalties. So why did he want it so badly if 00:18:24.059 --> 00:18:26.519 it made no economic sense? It was about prestige 00:18:26.519 --> 00:18:30.460 and centralization. A railway was a symbol of 00:18:30.460 --> 00:18:33.059 a modern state, and it physically connected his 00:18:33.059 --> 00:18:36.279 remote capital, Riyadh, to the world. And to 00:18:36.279 --> 00:18:39.019 be fair, it did help Riyadh grow. But his advisors 00:18:39.019 --> 00:18:41.339 were ultimately right. They were. As soon as 00:18:41.339 --> 00:18:44.299 a paved road was built next to it in 1962, the 00:18:44.299 --> 00:18:47.099 railway lost all its traffic. It shows that collision 00:18:47.099 --> 00:18:49.500 between a traditional ruler's vision and the 00:18:49.500 --> 00:18:52.099 sheer pace of modernization. Shifting to foreign 00:18:52.099 --> 00:18:55.059 policy, the new kingdom quickly flexes its military 00:18:55.059 --> 00:18:58.500 muscles. It does. The Saudi -Yemeni War in 1934 00:18:58.500 --> 00:19:00.960 is a really pivotal moment. The first modern 00:19:00.960 --> 00:19:04.059 war between Arab states. Exactly. And the Saudis 00:19:04.059 --> 00:19:06.980 win. Decisively. Yeah. They used modern British 00:19:06.980 --> 00:19:09.940 armored cars and French tanks. It sent a message 00:19:09.940 --> 00:19:12.839 to the whole region that the old days of tribal 00:19:12.839 --> 00:19:15.859 raiding were over. Saudi Arabia was a modern 00:19:15.859 --> 00:19:18.400 military power. Then World War II breaks out. 00:19:18.440 --> 00:19:20.400 He declares neutrality. Formal neutrality, yes, 00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:22.839 but he was generally pro -ally. But there's a 00:19:22.839 --> 00:19:24.779 great story that shows his independent streak. 00:19:25.079 --> 00:19:28.480 The German ambassador, Fritz Graba. Right. In 00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:31.420 1938, after an attack linked to Graba happened 00:19:31.420 --> 00:19:34.420 on a British pipeline in Iraq, Ibn Saud gave 00:19:34.420 --> 00:19:36.599 him refuge in Saudi Arabia. It was a calculated 00:19:36.599 --> 00:19:38.980 move, a little jab at the British, showing them 00:19:38.980 --> 00:19:40.559 he wouldn't be pushed around. Who's keeping his 00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:43.240 options open? Always. But the most important 00:19:43.240 --> 00:19:45.740 diplomatic events of his entire reign happened 00:19:45.740 --> 00:19:48.319 right at the end of the war, in 1945. The two 00:19:48.319 --> 00:19:51.539 big meetings, first with FDR. On the USS Quincy 00:19:51.539 --> 00:19:54.200 and the Suez Canal. They spent three days together. 00:19:54.680 --> 00:19:56.720 And this meeting is the bedrock of the entire 00:19:56.720 --> 00:19:59.759 modern U .S.-Saudi relationship. It's the oil 00:19:59.759 --> 00:20:02.039 for security deal. That's the tacit agreement. 00:20:02.240 --> 00:20:05.319 The U .S. gets access to the oil. And in return, 00:20:05.619 --> 00:20:08.559 America essentially guarantees the security of 00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:11.160 the al -Saud regime. It's a partnership based 00:20:11.160 --> 00:20:14.119 on pure strategic interest. And then shortly 00:20:14.119 --> 00:20:17.779 after, he meets Churchill. In Egypt. And the 00:20:17.779 --> 00:20:20.059 contrast is just stark. According to the Saudi 00:20:20.059 --> 00:20:23.140 reports, it was unproductive. Why? What was the 00:20:23.140 --> 00:20:25.440 difference? Roosevelt talked about the future, 00:20:25.599 --> 00:20:28.640 about commerce, about security. Churchill hammered 00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:30.359 him on the issue of Palestine and Jewish settlement. 00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:34.240 Ibn Saud was completely opposed to Zionism and 00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:36.700 just wouldn't budge. He resisted Churchill's 00:20:36.700 --> 00:20:38.559 pressure in a way he hadn't with Roosevelt. And 00:20:38.559 --> 00:20:40.259 finally, on the conflict front, Saudi Arabia 00:20:40.259 --> 00:20:43.220 does participate in the 1948 Arab -Israeli war. 00:20:43.500 --> 00:20:45.240 They do, but it's really a token contribution. 00:20:45.759 --> 00:20:48.099 They send maybe a thousand troops attached to 00:20:48.099 --> 00:20:50.779 the Egyptian army. Their real focus was on internal 00:20:50.779 --> 00:20:53.619 security and protecting the oil fields, not on 00:20:53.619 --> 00:20:56.180 a major foreign war. So let's go back inside 00:20:56.180 --> 00:20:58.559 the kingdom. With the oil money flowing, how 00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:00.759 does he actually govern this huge new country 00:21:00.759 --> 00:21:03.519 and enforce that strict Wahhabi ideology? The 00:21:03.519 --> 00:21:06.200 oil wealth was the ultimate tool for centralization. 00:21:06.839 --> 00:21:10.059 He could use money stipends, jobs, projects to 00:21:10.059 --> 00:21:12.519 force the nomadic tribes to settle down. Which 00:21:12.519 --> 00:21:14.500 was a massive social change. It was everything. 00:21:14.640 --> 00:21:17.279 It finally ended the centuries -old cycle of 00:21:17.279 --> 00:21:20.720 petty wars and tribal feuds. He shifted allegiance 00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:23.039 away from the tribe and towards the central state, 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:25.619 which was now the source of all prosperity. And 00:21:25.619 --> 00:21:28.099 that came with a requirement for religious conformity. 00:21:28.180 --> 00:21:30.660 A strict one. Yeah. And this is where the ideology 00:21:30.660 --> 00:21:34.960 becomes very visible. Very controversial. Wahhabism 00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:38.200 is obsessed with the idea of Tawhid, the absolute 00:21:38.200 --> 00:21:41.700 oneness of God. Any veneration of saints, tombs, 00:21:41.700 --> 00:21:44.400 or holy sites is seen as a form of polytheism 00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:46.900 or shirk. Which led to the destruction of historical 00:21:46.900 --> 00:21:50.519 sites. Famously, yes. The demolition of shrines 00:21:50.519 --> 00:21:53.119 like the al -Baqi Cemetery in Medina, where many 00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:55.180 of the prophet's family were buried. It was a 00:21:55.180 --> 00:21:57.640 huge political statement disguised as religious 00:21:57.640 --> 00:21:59.859 purification. And it caused diplomatic problems, 00:22:00.099 --> 00:22:04.569 didn't it? Big ones. In 1926, his ikhwan beat 00:22:04.569 --> 00:22:07.089 up a group of Egyptian pilgrims for playing bugles, 00:22:07.170 --> 00:22:09.309 which they considered an un -Islamic innovation. 00:22:10.289 --> 00:22:12.930 Ibn Saud had to issue a formal apology to the 00:22:12.930 --> 00:22:14.990 Egyptian government. It happened several times. 00:22:15.309 --> 00:22:18.890 One last difficult topic from his reign, slavery. 00:22:19.309 --> 00:22:21.930 It's a critical point. He didn't abolish it. 00:22:22.029 --> 00:22:25.279 In 1936, he regulated it. restricting imports, 00:22:25.599 --> 00:22:28.019 setting rules for treatment. But the practice 00:22:28.019 --> 00:22:30.099 itself continued throughout his life. It was 00:22:30.099 --> 00:22:33.039 his son, Faisal, who finally abolished it. Yes, 00:22:33.140 --> 00:22:36.799 not until 1967. It's a stark reminder of how 00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:39.619 slowly some social changes came, despite the 00:22:39.619 --> 00:22:42.240 massive economic transformation. On a more personal 00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:44.660 level, though, how did he see his role as king, 00:22:44.779 --> 00:22:47.000 especially with all this new wealth? He was known 00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:49.259 for his charity. He had a very simple philosophy. 00:22:49.480 --> 00:22:51.859 Two things are essential, religion and the rights 00:22:51.859 --> 00:22:54.500 inherited from our fathers. He saw the oil wealth 00:22:54.500 --> 00:22:56.500 as a gift from God that belonged to all his people. 00:22:56.579 --> 00:22:58.740 And he put that into practice. He did. He would 00:22:58.740 --> 00:23:00.240 literally have money handed out to the poor. 00:23:00.420 --> 00:23:03.299 He set up guest houses to distribute food. It 00:23:03.299 --> 00:23:05.880 was a core part of the social contract. You are 00:23:05.880 --> 00:23:07.839 loyal to the king, and the king provides for 00:23:07.839 --> 00:23:10.140 you. And one surprising detail from the sources 00:23:10.140 --> 00:23:13.660 is his view on women's education. It is surprising. 00:23:13.779 --> 00:23:16.460 For such a conservative society, he was apparently 00:23:16.460 --> 00:23:19.279 quite encouraging. He's quoted as saying, very 00:23:19.279 --> 00:23:22.160 simply, it is permissible for women to read. 00:23:22.700 --> 00:23:25.140 It's a small thing, but it shows a pragmatic 00:23:25.140 --> 00:23:27.680 mind, willing to push the boundaries a little 00:23:27.680 --> 00:23:29.900 for the good of his people. The ultimate legacy 00:23:29.900 --> 00:23:32.819 of Ibn Saud isn't just a country, it's a dynasty. 00:23:32.980 --> 00:23:35.799 His family is the state. They're one and the 00:23:35.799 --> 00:23:38.779 same. The numbers are just staggering. He had 00:23:38.779 --> 00:23:42.579 almost 100 children, including 45 sons, and the 00:23:42.579 --> 00:23:45.059 entire political structure of modern Saudi Arabia 00:23:45.059 --> 00:23:48.099 is based on that fact. The succession moves from 00:23:48.099 --> 00:23:50.839 brother to brother among his sons. Exactly. And 00:23:50.839 --> 00:23:52.880 that's why even today, every king has been a 00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:55.059 direct son of the founder. And he built this 00:23:55.059 --> 00:23:58.079 dynasty through strategic marriage. He had 22 00:23:58.079 --> 00:24:00.279 wives. Right. But most of those weren't love 00:24:00.279 --> 00:24:03.200 matches. They were political alliances. He married 00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:05.319 the daughters of tribal leaders to cement loyalty, 00:24:05.500 --> 00:24:08.299 to end feuds. It was a very sophisticated way 00:24:08.299 --> 00:24:10.140 of knitting the country together at the family 00:24:10.140 --> 00:24:12.759 level. But the women who were actually his closest 00:24:12.759 --> 00:24:15.819 political advisors were his own blood relatives. 00:24:16.160 --> 00:24:19.819 Two women in particular, his aunt, Jawara bin 00:24:19.819 --> 00:24:22.940 Tfaisal, was incredibly influential, especially 00:24:22.940 --> 00:24:25.680 in the early days. She's the one who really drilled 00:24:25.680 --> 00:24:28.559 into him this sense of family destiny, who pushed 00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:31.420 him to retake Riyadh. She was a trusted advisor 00:24:31.420 --> 00:24:34.420 until she died. And his sister, Nora. He was 00:24:34.420 --> 00:24:37.259 so close to his sister, Nora, that he often introduced 00:24:37.259 --> 00:24:39.539 himself with the phrase, I am the brother of 00:24:39.539 --> 00:24:42.839 Nora. In that culture, that is a profound statement 00:24:42.839 --> 00:24:46.160 of respect and affection. She was his moral anchor. 00:24:46.599 --> 00:24:48.980 Let's turn to his more complex political views. 00:24:49.240 --> 00:24:51.180 His relationship with the British, for example. 00:24:51.380 --> 00:24:53.539 It was a very pragmatic but wary relationship. 00:24:53.920 --> 00:24:56.400 He took their money and their protection, but 00:24:56.400 --> 00:24:58.779 he always had a clear line. He famously said, 00:24:58.839 --> 00:25:01.140 the English are my friends, but I will walk with 00:25:01.140 --> 00:25:03.420 them only so far as my religion and honor will 00:25:03.420 --> 00:25:05.500 allow. He was making it clear he was not their 00:25:05.500 --> 00:25:07.680 puppet. Never. He was always asserting his own 00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:10.279 sovereignty. And his views on Zionism and the 00:25:10.279 --> 00:25:11.900 Jewish people are, well, they're very fraught. 00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:14.900 It's essential to separate the two things. He 00:25:14.900 --> 00:25:17.039 was a diehard opponent of the political project 00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:19.759 of Zionism. And his rhetoric about Jews could 00:25:19.759 --> 00:25:22.420 be extremely harsh, drawing on negative religious 00:25:22.420 --> 00:25:26.170 texts. He called them a race accursed by God. 00:25:26.329 --> 00:25:27.890 But at the same time, he made a distinction. 00:25:28.190 --> 00:25:30.269 A very important one. He considered non -Zionist 00:25:30.269 --> 00:25:33.589 Jews to be good friends of the Arabs. And more 00:25:33.589 --> 00:25:35.910 than that, he condemned indiscriminate violence. 00:25:36.150 --> 00:25:39.250 He was furious about the 1929 Hebron massacre 00:25:39.250 --> 00:25:42.369 of Jews, calling it a violation of Islamic principles. 00:25:42.690 --> 00:25:45.029 So his hostility was political and territorial, 00:25:45.089 --> 00:25:47.930 not necessarily racial in the modern sense. It 00:25:47.930 --> 00:25:49.890 was focused very specifically on the Zionist 00:25:49.890 --> 00:25:52.900 project in Palestine. It's a complex and contradictory 00:25:52.900 --> 00:25:55.279 position, but the distinction is there in the 00:25:55.279 --> 00:25:57.380 sources. Which brings us to the end of his life 00:25:57.380 --> 00:25:59.720 and the decision that would shape the kingdom's 00:25:59.720 --> 00:26:02.319 future succession. His final years were tough. 00:26:02.539 --> 00:26:05.059 He had heart disease, severe arthritis. He was 00:26:05.059 --> 00:26:07.599 half blind. He survived multiple assassination 00:26:07.599 --> 00:26:10.559 attempts. Ruling this new kingdom was a dangerous 00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:12.940 business. His succession plan was already complicated 00:26:12.940 --> 00:26:16.380 because his eldest son, Turkey, had died. Right. 00:26:16.759 --> 00:26:19.559 So the line fell to his second son, Prince Saud. 00:26:20.039 --> 00:26:23.180 who was named crown prince back in 1933. But 00:26:23.180 --> 00:26:25.819 everyone knew, including the king himself, that 00:26:25.819 --> 00:26:28.160 Saad was not the most capable choice. He favored 00:26:28.160 --> 00:26:31.500 his other son, Faisal. Overwhelmingly. Faisal 00:26:31.500 --> 00:26:33.500 was the brilliant one, the diplomat, the experienced 00:26:33.500 --> 00:26:36.279 statesman. The king famously said, I only wish 00:26:36.279 --> 00:26:39.220 I had three Faisals. So why didn't he just name 00:26:39.220 --> 00:26:41.740 Faisal as his heir? Because he was terrified 00:26:41.740 --> 00:26:44.619 of starting a civil war. He thought that bypassing 00:26:44.619 --> 00:26:47.059 the established heir, Saud, would rip the family 00:26:47.059 --> 00:26:49.019 apart and destroy the new kingdom before it even 00:26:49.019 --> 00:26:51.720 got on its feet. So he chose stability over competence. 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:54.160 Immediate stability, yes. Yeah. He knew Saud 00:26:54.160 --> 00:26:56.740 and Faisal were already bitter rivals. He basically 00:26:56.740 --> 00:26:58.720 kicked the can down the road, hoping the institution 00:26:58.720 --> 00:27:00.640 was strong enough to survive the conflict he 00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:03.039 knew was coming. A tragic final choice, in a 00:27:03.039 --> 00:27:05.579 way. He dies in his sleep on November 9, 1953. 00:27:05.980 --> 00:27:08.619 With Faisal at his side. As last words to his 00:27:08.619 --> 00:27:12.839 sons were a plea, your brothers unite. He was 00:27:12.839 --> 00:27:15.700 buried simply in an unmarked grave next to his 00:27:15.700 --> 00:27:18.700 sister Nora. So, to sum up this incredible life, 00:27:18.880 --> 00:27:22.299 a man starts as a refugee, leads a tiny raid, 00:27:22.579 --> 00:27:25.640 unifies dozens of tribes, defeats all his rivals, 00:27:25.940 --> 00:27:27.680 and then presides over one of the most sudden 00:27:27.680 --> 00:27:30.119 and massive economic transformations in human 00:27:30.119 --> 00:27:33.259 history. He built a nation on two pillars that 00:27:33.259 --> 00:27:36.119 seemed completely opposite, the most austere 00:27:36.119 --> 00:27:38.700 religious revivalism and the most incredible 00:27:38.700 --> 00:27:41.400 gushing resource wealth. He managed the great 00:27:41.400 --> 00:27:43.579 powers perfectly. He took what he needed from 00:27:43.579 --> 00:27:46.259 Britain, then pivoted to the United States without 00:27:46.259 --> 00:27:48.680 ever letting them take over. A true master of 00:27:48.680 --> 00:27:51.059 statecraft, he accomplished his life's goal. 00:27:51.160 --> 00:27:53.819 As he said, in my youth, I made a nation. Now 00:27:53.819 --> 00:27:55.799 in my declining years, I make men for it. But 00:27:55.799 --> 00:27:57.940 there's that final paradox, the one that still 00:27:57.940 --> 00:28:01.170 defines Saudi Arabia today. The man whose rallying 00:28:01.170 --> 00:28:03.789 cry was, unite, left behind a system succession 00:28:03.789 --> 00:28:07.029 passing between his 45 sons that almost guaranteed 00:28:07.029 --> 00:28:10.369 future conflict. He saw it coming. He said near 00:28:10.369 --> 00:28:12.789 the end of his life that he feared his two greatest 00:28:12.789 --> 00:28:15.369 enemies would be his children and my possessions, 00:28:15.650 --> 00:28:18.529 meaning his sons and his oil wealth. And he was 00:28:18.529 --> 00:28:21.890 right. By choosing Saud over Faisal, he prioritized 00:28:21.890 --> 00:28:24.549 short -term unity, but baked in a perpetual power 00:28:24.549 --> 00:28:26.700 struggle for the next generation. So what's the 00:28:26.700 --> 00:28:29.180 final thought for you, the listener, trying to 00:28:29.180 --> 00:28:31.900 understand the kingdom he built? The final provocative 00:28:31.900 --> 00:28:34.680 thought is this. Ibn Saud's last great decision. 00:28:35.079 --> 00:28:37.279 To favor tradition over competence, combined 00:28:37.279 --> 00:28:39.759 with that sudden tsunami of oil money, created 00:28:39.759 --> 00:28:41.779 the fundamental tension that still exists in 00:28:41.779 --> 00:28:44.440 Saudi Arabia. It's the constant grinding conflict 00:28:44.440 --> 00:28:47.779 between a system of rule based on family, a brotherhood 00:28:47.779 --> 00:28:50.200 of aging princes, and the modern technocratic 00:28:50.200 --> 00:28:52.720 demands of managing unimaginable wealth. That 00:28:52.720 --> 00:28:54.980 tension, that internal struggle, is the DNA he 00:28:54.980 --> 00:28:57.039 encoded into his kingdom at the very moment of 00:28:57.039 --> 00:28:57.480 its creation.