Saudi Arabia
History
From the earliest times to the foundation of Saudi Arabia
In pre-Islamic Arabia, apart from a small number of urban trading settlements, such as Mecca and Medina, located in the Hejaz in the west of the Arabian Peninsula, most of what was to become Saudi Arabia was populated by nomadic tribal societies or uninhabitable desert.[13] The Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, was born in Mecca in about 571. In the early 7th century, Muhammad united the various tribes of the peninsula and created a single Islamic religious polity. Following his death in 632, his followers rapidly expanded the territory under Muslim rule beyond Arabia, conquering huge swathes of territory (from the Iberian Peninsula to India) in a matter of decades. In so doing, Arabia soon became a politically peripheral region of the Muslim world as the focus shifted to the more developed conquered lands.[14] From the 10th century to the early 20th century Mecca and Medina were under the control of a local Arab ruler known as the Sharif of Mecca, but at most times the Sharif owed allegiance to the ruler of one of the major Islamic empires based in Baghdad, Cairo or Istanbul. Most of the remainder of what became Saudi Arabia reverted to traditional tribal rule.[15][16]
In the 16th century, the Ottomans added the Red Sea and Persian Gulf coasts (the Hejaz, Asir and Al-Hasa) to their Empire and claimed suzerainty over the interior. The degree of control over these lands varied over the next four centuries with the fluctuating strength or weakness of the Empire’s central authority.[17][18] The emergence of what was to become the Saudi royal family, known as the Al Saud, began in Nejd in central Arabia in 1744, when Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the dynasty, joined forces with the religious leader Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab,[19] the founder of the Wahhabi movement a strict puritannical form of Sunni Islam.[20] This alliance formed in the 18th century provided the ideological impetus to Saudi expansion and remains the basis of Saudi Arabian dynastic rule today.[21] The first ‘Saudi State’ established in 1744 in the area around Riyadh, rapidly expanded and briefly controlled most of the present-day territory of Saudi Arabia, but was destroyed by 1818 by the Ottoman viceroy of Egypt, Mohammed Ali Pasha. A much smaller second ‘Saudi state’, located mainly in Nejd, was established in 1824. Throughout the rest of the 19th century, the Al Saud contested control of the interior of what was to become Saudi Arabia with another Arabian ruling family, the Al Rashid. By 1891, the Al Rashid were victorious and the Al Saud were driven into exile.[22]
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Ottoman Empire continued to control or have suzerainty (albeit nominal) over most of the peninsula. Subject to this suzerainty, Arabia was ruled by a patchwork of tribal rulers[23][24](including the House of Saud who had returned from exile in 1902[22]) with the Sharif of Mecca having pre-eminence and ruling the Hejaz.[25] In 1916, with the encouragement and support of Britain (which was fighting the Ottomans in World War I), the Sharif of Mecca, Hussein bin Ali, led a pan-Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire to create a united Arab state.[26] Although the Arab Revolt of 1916 to 1918 failed in its objective, Arabia was freed from Ottoman suzerainty and control by the latter’s defeat in World War I.[27]
In 1902, Abdul-Aziz bin Saud, leader of the House of Saud, had seized Riyadh in Nejd from the Al Rashid – the first of a series of conquests ultimately leading to the creation of the modern state of Saudi Arabia in 1932.[22] The main weapon for achieving these conquests was the Ikhwan, the Wahhabist-Bedouin tribal army led by Sultan ibn Bijad and Faisal Al-Dawish.[28] From the Saudi core in Nejd, and aided by the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, the Ikhwan had completed the conquest of the territory that was to become Saudi Arabia by the end of 1925.[29]On 10 January 1926 Abdul-Aziz declared himself King of the Hejaz and, then, on 27 January 1927 he took the title of King of Nejd (his previous title having been ‘Sultan’).[22] After the conquest of the Hejaz, the Ikhwan leaders wanted to continue the expansion of the Wahhabist realm into the British protectorates of Transjordan, Iraq and Kuwait, and began raiding those territories. Abdul-Aziz, however, refused to agree to this, recognizing the danger of a direct conflict with the British. The Ikhwan therefore revolted but were defeated in the Battle of Sabilla in 1930, where the Ikhwan leadership were massacred.[30]
In 1932, the two kingdoms of the Hejaz and Nejd were united as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.[22]
From the foundation of the State to the present
The new kingdom was one of the poorest countries in the world, reliant on limited agriculture and pilgrimage revenues.[31] However, in 1938 vast reserves of oil were discovered in the Al-Hasa region along the coast of the Persian Gulf and full-scale development of the oil fields began in 1941. Oil provided Saudi Arabia with economic prosperity and substantial political leverage internationally. Cultural life rapidly developed, primarily in the Hejaz, which was the centre for newspapers and radio. But the large influx of foreigners to work in the oil industry increased the pre-existing propensity for xenophobia. At the same time, the government became increasingly wasteful and extravagant. By the 1950s this had led to large governmental deficits and excessive foreign borrowing.[22]
King Saud succeeded to the throne on his father’s death in 1953. However, an intense rivalry between the King and his half-brother, Prince Faisal emerged, fueled by doubts in the royal family over Saud’s competence. As a consequence, Saud was deposed in favor of Faisal in 1964. The major event of King Faisal’s reign was the 1973 oil crisis, when Saudi Arabia, and the other Arab oil producers, tried to put pressure on the US to withdraw support from Israel through an oil embargo.[22] Faisal was assassinated in 1975 by his nephew, Prince Faisal bin Musaid.[32]
Faisal was succeeded by his half-brother King Khalid during whose reign economic and social development progressed at an extremely rapid rate, transforming the infrastructure and educational system of the country;[22] in foreign policy, close ties with the US were developed.[32] In 1979, two events occurred which profoundly threatened the Al Saud regime,[33] and had a long-term influence on Saudi foreign and domestic policy. The first was the Iranian Islamic Revolution. It was feared that the country’s Shi’ite minority in the Eastern Province (which is also the location of the oil fields) might rebel under the influence of their Iranian co-religionists. In fact, there were several anti-government uprisings in the region in 1979 and 1980. The second event, was the seizure of the Grand Mosque in Mecca by Islamist extremists. The militants involved were in part angered by what they considered to be the corruption and un-Islamic nature of the Saudi regime.[34] Part of the response of the royal family was to enforce a much stricter observance of traditional religious and social norms in the country (for example, the closure of cinemas) and to give the Ulema a greater role in government.[35] Neither entirely succeeded as Islamism continued to grow in strength.[36]
Geography
Saudi Arabia occupies about 80 percent of the Arabian peninsula,[152] lying between latitudes 16° and 33° N, and longitudes 34° and 56° E. Because the country’s southern borders with the United Arab Emirates and Oman are not precisely defined or marked, the exact size of the country remains unknown.[152] The CIA World Factbook’s estimate is 2,149,690 km2 (830,000 sq mi) and lists Saudi Arabia as the world’s 13th largest state.[153]
Saudi Arabia’s geography is dominated by the Arabian Desert and associated semi-desert and shrubland (see satellite image to right).[52] It is, in fact, a number of linked deserts and includes the 250,000 square mile (647,500 square km) Rub’ al Khali (“Empty Quarterâ€) in the southern part of the country, the world’s largest sand desert.[52] There are virtually no permanent rivers or lakes in the country, but wadis are numerous.[52] The few fertile areas are to be found in the alluvial deposits in wadis, basins, and oases.[52] The main topographical feature is the central plateau which rises abruptly from the Red Sea and gradually descends into the Nejd and toward the Persian Gulf.[52] On the Red Sea coast, there is a narrow coastal plain, known as the Tihamah parallel to which runs an imposing escarpment.[52] The southwest province of Asir is mountainous, and contains Mount Sawda, which is generally considered the highest point in the country.[52] Estimates of its elevation range from 10,279 to 10,522 feet (3,133 to 3,207 metres).[52]
Except for the south western province of Asir, Saudi Arabia has a desert climate with extremely high day-time temperatures and a sharp temperature drop at night.[154] Average summer temperatures are around 45°C, but can be as high as 54°C.[154] In the winter the temperature rarely drops below 0°C.[154] In the spring and autumn the heat is temperate, temperatures average around 29°C.[154] Annual rainfall is extremely low.[154] The Asir region differs in that it is influenced by the Indian Ocean monsoons, usually occurring between October and March.[154] An average of 300 millimetres of rainfall occurs during this period, that is about 60 percent of the annual precipitation.[154]
Animal life includes wolves, hyenas, mongooses, baboons, hares, sand rats, and jerboas.[52] Larger animals such as gazelles, oryx, and leopards were relatively numerous until the 1950s, when hunting from motor vehicles reduced these animals almost to extinction.[52] Birds include falcons (which are caught and trained for hunting), eagles, hawks, vultures, sand grouse and bulbuls.[52] There are several species of snakes, many of which are venomous, and numerous types of lizards. There is a wide variety of marine life in the Persian Gulf.[52] Domesticated animals include camels, sheep, goats, donkeys, and chickens.[52] Reflecting the country’s desert conditions, Saudi Arabia’s plant life mostly consists of small herbs and shrubs requiring little water.[52] There are a few small areas of grass and trees in southern Asir. The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is widespread.[52]
Economy
Saudi Arabia’s command economy is petroleum-based; roughly 75% of budget revenues and 90% of export earnings come from the oil industry. The oil industry comprises about 45% of Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product, compared with 40% from the private sector (see below). Saudi Arabia officially has about 260 billion barrels (4.1×1010 m3) of oil reserves, comprising about one-fifth of the world’s proven total petroleum reserves.[156]
The government is attempting to promote growth in the private sector by privatizing industries such as power and telecommunications. Saudi Arabia announced plans to begin privatizing the electricity companies in 1999, which followed the ongoing privatization of the telecommunications company. Shortages of water and rapid population growth may constrain government efforts to increase self-sufficiency in agricultural products.
In the 1990s, Saudi Arabia experienced a significant contraction of oil revenues combined with a high rate of population growth. Per capita income fell from a high of $11,700 at the height of the oil boom in 1981 to $6,300 in 1998.[157] Increases in oil prices since 2000 have helped boost per capita GDP to $17,000 in 2007 dollars, or about $7,400 adjusted for inflation.
June 08 2011 02:15 am | Asia