Author: Nelson RobertsonPublisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 220
Book Description
Origins of the Saudi Arabian Oil Empire
Author: Nelson RobertsonPublisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 220
Book Description
Origins of the Saudi Arabian Oil Empire
Author: Nelson RobertsonEmpires and Anarchies
Author: Michael Quentin MortonPublisher: Reaktion Books
ISBN: 1780238614
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
Oil lies at the heart of the modern history of the Middle East. For decades, the world’s largest oil reserves have enriched the region’s nations. But oil wealth has not brought with it universal prosperity. It has, though, transformed the Middle Eastern people and societies—enriching empires and engendering anarchies. Empires and Anarchies is an unconventional history of oil in the Middle East. In Michael Quentin Morton’s account the burnt-out remains of Saddam Hussein’s armaments and the human tragedy of the Arab Spring are as much of the story as the shimmering skylines of oil-rich nations. From the first explorers trudging through the desert to the excesses of the Peacock Throne and the high stakes of OPEC, Morton lays out the history of oil in compelling detail, arguing that oil simultaneously enriched and fractured the Middle East, eroding traditional ways of life, and eventually contributing to the rise of Islamic radicalism. The book is essential reading for anyone interested in the promises and peril of the world’s oil boom.
The History of Saudi Arabia
Author: Alexei VassilievPublisher: Saqi
ISBN: 0863567797
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 439
Book Description
How has Saudi Arabia managed to maintain its Arab and Islamic values while at the same time adopting Western technology and a market economy? How have its hereditary leaders, who govern with a mixture of political pragmatism and religious zeal, managed to maintain their power? This comprehensive history of Saudi Arabia from 1745 to the present provides insight into its culture and politi, its powerful oil industry, its relations with its neighbours, and the ongoing influence of the Wahhabi movement. Based on a wealth of Arab, American, British, Western and Eastern European sources, this book will stand as the definitive account of the largest state on the Arabian peninsula. A Choice Outstanding Academic Book 'If you read or own just one book on Saudi Arabia, make sure it is this one' -- Middle East Quarterly 'Combines a wealth of fascinating detail with rigorous and penetrating analysis.' -- Bernard Lewis 'An outstanding book: a study of the Saudi state rich in historical documentation. Comprehensive and measured.' -- Fred Halliday 'It will become required reading for all those interested in the country's shaping and development over the past two centuries.' -- Tim Niblock
The Formation of Saudi Arabia
Author: Charles River Charles River EditorsPublisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781985352865
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 88
Book Description
*Includes pictures *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading At the conclusion of World War I, a once promised unified Arab state, which was to include the modern Hejaz, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine/Israel, Jordan and Iraq, did not materialize. Instead, the territories were divided between the French and British, but the British did reward the Hashemites by putting local leaders on the thrones of Iraq and Jordan. In 1924, when the revolutionary government of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk declared Turkey a secular state and abolished the Caliphate, the Sharif (now King) declared himself Caliph, and it appeared that a new Arab-based Caliphate centered on Mecca would emerge. However, this was also not to be, because the Saudis had reformed their power base in central Arabia. While the First Saudi state had been shattered in 1818 by Muhammad Ali Pasha, in 1824 another branch of the Saudi Clan had captured Riyadh, making it the capital of their more cautious Second Saudi State. Their growth had been slow for some time, but they took advantage of the crumbling Ottoman Empire to consolidate power and in 1925 attacked the Hejaz. With that, the Saudis stormed Mecca and drove out the Hashemite Clan. Like the Hashemites, the Saudi family consisted of Arabs, but the family came from the Nejd, an area of the Arabian Peninsula to the east closer to the Persian Gulf. In the late 18th century, the ambitious Muhammed bin Saud, the head of the family and the Sultan of Nejd, allied himself with a theologian named Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1703-1792). Wahhab taught that Islam's weakened position (compared to the rising Christian powers of his era) was due to an internal weakness within the Islamic community. He taught that increasing numbers of Muslims had turned their backs on the teachings of the Prophet and had corrupted Islam with pagan influences. He was particularly scornful of Shi'a Islam or any practices that he did not see directly referenced within the Qur'an, and he sought to "purify" the religion and return it to its "fundamentals." Thus, Wahhabism is a form of fundamentalism that desires a return to the imagined purity of the past and a willingness to undertake dramatic steps to achieve it. As the process of consolidating the new Saudi state was still in progress, the course of Saudi Arabia's history changed with the discovery of oil, and today it is almost impossible to imagine Saudi Arabia without the vital resource. Not only does the country have 18 percent of the world's proven oil reserves and lead the world in exports, but in mid-2016, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that Saudi Arabia had overtaken the U.S. to become the world's largest oil producer. There was, however, a time when the country's finances were anything but stable and when three ministries were the extent of the government's formal institutions. This was not, in fact, so long ago either, as the modern state of Saudi Arabia is still a relatively young country, formally announced only in 1932. At that time, finances were precarious; its major sources of income were Muslim pilgrimage, including the hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina; customs and taxes; and international aid and loans. These were also all dependent on the current international situation and the interests of foreign parties. An economic downturn, for example, depressed the number of pilgrims, while shifting interests of international parties could cause support to dry up with little notice. The Formation of Saudi Arabia: The History of the Arabian Peninsula's Unification and the Discovery of Oil traces the formation of the modern Saudi state, beginning with its 18th and 19th century predecessors, as well as the various efforts undertaken by its founders to nation build and secure the Saudi family's position of power.
A History of Saudi Arabia
Author: Madawi al-RasheedPublisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521644129
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 278
Book Description
Saudi Arabia is a wealthy and powerful country which wields influence in the West and across the Islamic world. Yet it remains a closed society. Its history in the twentieth century is dominated by the story of state formation. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Ibn Sa'ud fought a long campaign to bring together a disparate people from across the Arabian peninsula. In 1932 the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was born. Madawi al-Rasheed traces its extraordinary history from the age of emirates in the nineteenth century, through the 1990 Gulf War, to the present day. She fuses chronology with analysis, personal experience with oral histories, and draws on local and foreign documents to illuminate the social and cultural life of the Saudis. This is a rich and rewarding book which will be invaluable to students, and to all those trying to understand the enigma of Saudi Arabia.
America's Kingdom
Author: Robert VitalisPublisher: Verso Books
ISBN: 1789604451
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 562
Book Description
Now newly updated, America's Kingdom debunks the many myths that now surround the United States's special relationship with Saudi Arabia, also known as "the deal": oil for security. Exploding the long-established myth that the Arabian American Oil Company, Aramco, made miracles happen in the desert, Robert Vitalis shows how oil led the US government to follow the company to the kingdom, and how oil and Aramco quickly became America's largest single overseas private enterprise. From the establishment in the 1930s of a Jim Crow system in the Dhahran oil camps, to the consolidation of America's Kingdom under the House of Fahd, the royal faction that still rules today, this is a meticulously researched account of Aramco as a microcosm of the colonial order.
A Brief History of Saudi Arabia
Author: James WynbrandtPublisher: Infobase Publishing
ISBN: 1438108303
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 353
Book Description
An important U.S. ally in the Middle East
A Brief History of Saudi Arabia, Third Edition
Author: James WynbrandtPublisher: Infobase Holdings, Inc
ISBN: 1438199546
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 404
Book Description
A Brief History of Saudi Arabia, Third Edition provides a clear, lively, and comprehensive account of the history of Saudi Arabia from ancient times to the present day. It relates the central events that have shaped the country and details their significance in historical context, touching on all aspects of the history of the country, from political, international, and economic affairs to cultural and social developments. Illustrated with full-color maps and photographs, and accompanied by a chronology, bibliography, and suggested reading, this accessible overview is ideal for the general reader. Coverage includes: Arabia: The Land and Its Pre-Islamic History The Birth of Islam The Islamic Empire and Arabia The Golden Age of Islam The Mamluks, the Ottomans, and the Wahhabi–Al Saud Alliance The First Saudi State Roots of Modern Arabia Unity and Independence Birth of a Kingdom A Path to World Power Oil and Arms The Gulf Crisis and Its Aftermath Challenges and Cautious Reforms At the Center of a Regional Realignment
Arabs, Oil, and History
Author: Kermit RooseveltPublisher:
ISBN:
Category : Arabs
Languages : en
Pages : 290
Book Description