Saud Dynasty Research Paper

As far back as 1500, the Saud dynasty established its hegemony over a small area surrounding the settlement of Diriyah close to what is now Riyadh. By the mid-sixteenth century, almost all Arab lands had come under the rule of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, which reached its zenith under the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-66). Arab countries formed a principal part of the empire, and many prominent Ottoman administrators were themselves Arab. But the interior (though not the coasts) of Arabia escaped Ottoman attention and they didn’t care who ruled it. The Saud dynasty was somewhat inconsequential till the mid-eighteenth century when Muhammad ibn Saud established a mutually beneficial relationship with a religious activist named Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul-Wahhab. Ibn ‘Abdul-Wahhab was a towering religious thinker who held that Muslims ought to adhere to a puritanical interpretation of Islamic law as derived from the Qur’an and Hadith; he also believed that people ought to be religiously instructed so that they could grasp what God expected from them. Both men formed a partnership dedicated to refining the Islam of their day, and with this goal in mind they transformed Diriyah into an epicenter of religious learning. Teachers based there taught missionaries whom the Saudi rulers then sent to persuade others to accept Wahhabism. The Saudi army shadowed …show more content…
It was largely due to his efforts in creating a resurgence of Wahhabism. The armies he employed were called the Ikhwan (Brothers). These men were ex-Bedouins who had accepted Wahhabism and gave up nomadism; they worked the land in agricultural and religious settlements known as hujar. In the subjugated areas and in the hujar the Ikhwan endeavored to implement puritanical interpretations of Islam. Ibn Saud ultimately ended the influence of the Ikhwan, but their fervor as Wahhabis left an impact on the temperament of Saudi society that persists; therein lies a