The modern history of Saudi Arabia begins in 1932, when the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was officially established as a unified state. Abdul-Aziz Ibn Saud (Ibn Saud) became the new state's first king. The unification of Saudi Arabia was the result of a thirty-year process following the military leadership of Ibn Saud to conquer the Arabian Peninsula. This was in accordance with the ultraconservative Wahhabi ideology, which sought to return the practice of Islam to its purest forms and origins.
This period of time was also marked by the discovery of oil in 1938, after Saudi Arabia signed with the U.S. oil concession, SOCAL (Standard Oil of California), in 1933. It fundamentally altered the Kingdom's world position, transitioning from an agriculture and caravan trade-based economy to a global power, leader of the hydrocarbon industry.
Saudi Arabia officially started oil exports in 1939 with the U.S. and thus opened diplomatic ties with the western country. In 1945, a meeting between Ibn Saud and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt aboard the USS Quincy in the Suez Canal established a strategic partnership focused on oil and security. Saudi Arabia kept a neutral position during most of World War II but ultimately leaned towards the Allied Powers at the end as well as in the Cold War. The Arab country became central in fighting the spread of communism in the East, viewing it as the "atheistical enemy of religion in general and Islam in particular."
Saudi Arabia's modern history is also characterized by its rivalry with Iran and its proxy war, as well as the aftermath of the 2011 Arab Spring, a period often referred to as the Arab Winter due to its cathartic nature. Saudi Arabia played a role as an interventionist political actor, intervening in various neighboring countries to maintain order and counter potential uprisings. From sending 1,200 troops in fear of an uprising in Bahrain in 2011 to "Operation Decisive Storm" in Yemen in 2015 and supporting military intervention in Libya in 2019.
The Kingdom also responded to the rise of extremist groups such as ISIS (Daesh) and viewed the Islamic State as an existential threat to its own religious and political leadership.
Later in 2015, in reaction to low oil prices, the government introduced a series of reforms aiming at diversifying Saudi Arabia's economy, known as Vision 2030.
In 2020, as the COVID-19 crisis grew, it greatly impacted Saudi Arabia as it restricted religious life and international travel. Moreover, on September 15, 2020, the first agreements of the Abraham Accords were signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has been in discussion to join, but since the Israel-Hamas war in 2023, they "insist on first creating a viable path to an independent Palestinian state."
Amidst the pandemic, Saudi Arabia decided on a unilateral ceasefire with Yemen to support the UN effort of finding a diplomatic solution, starting a period of back-and-forth political discussion and a rise of tension. However, in 2025, Saudi Arabia led airstrikes on ships arriving from the UAE following disagreements on Yemen. In 2026, Yemen became central in a "Cold War" between Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Discovery of oil
Abdul Aziz's military and political successes were not mirrored economically until vast reserves of oil were discovered in 1938 in the Al-Hasa region along the Persian Gulf coast. Prior to the discovery of oil, the main source of income for the government depended on the pilgrimage to Mecca, which was around 100,000 people per year in the late 1920s. In addition, agriculture and the caravan trade were also primary sources of income in Saudi Arabia before the country transitioned to a hydrocarbon economy.
In the 1930s, Abdul Aziz granted an economic concession to the Standard Oil Company of California to drill for oil in his kingdom, after oil was found in nearby Bahrain in 1932. Oil wells were constructed in Dhahran in the late 1930s, and by 1939, the kingdom began to export oil.
The discovery of oil arrived at a perfect time of economic turmoil, as the 1930s global economic depression had caused great damage to the Gulf region markets, it would later contribute to the social, political, and financial development of Saudi Arabia.
During and after World War II, production of Saudi oil expanded, with much of the oil being sold to the Allies. Aramco (the Arabian American Oil Company) built an underwater pipeline to Bahrain to help increase oil flow in 1945. Between 1939 and 1953, oil revenues from Saudi Arabia increased from $7 million to over $200 million, and the kingdom began to be entirely dependent on oil income.
Abdul Aziz died in 1953. Only sons of Abdul Aziz have, to date, ascended the Saudi throne. The number of children that he fathered is unknown, but it is believed that he had 22 wives and 37 sons, of whom six have become King. In 1933, he chose his eldest surviving son Saud as his immediate successor.
The reigns of Saud & Faisal: 1953–1975
King Saud succeeded to the throne on his father's death in 1953. Oil provided Saudi Arabia with economic prosperity and a great deal of political leverage in the international community. The sudden wealth from increased production was a mixed blessing. Cultural life rapidly developed, primarily in the Hejaz, which was the center for newspapers and radio, but the large influx of foreigners increased the pre-existing propensity for xenophobia. At the same time, the government became increasingly wasteful and lavish. Despite the new wealth, extravagant spending led to governmental deficits and foreign borrowing in the 1950s.Encyclopædia Britannica Online: "History of Arabia" retrieved 18 January 2011al-Rasheed, Madawi, A History of Saudi Arabia (Cambridge University Press, 2002) Robert Lacey, The Kingdom: Arabia & The House of Sa'ud, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc, 1981 (Hard Cover) and Avon Books, 1981 (Soft Cover). Library of Congress: 81-83741
However, by the early 1960s, an intense rivalry between the King and his half-brother, Faisal of Saudi Arabia emerged, fueled by doubts in the royal family over Saud's competence. This was of special concern given the Arab Cold War between Gamel Abdel Nasser's United Arab Republic and the pro-U.S. Arab monarchies. As a consequence, Saud was deposed in favor of Faisal in 1964.
Between 1962 and 1970, the monarchy in Saudi Arabia faced one of the gravest threats to its survival from Yemen. In fact, the mid-1960s saw great external pressures generated by Saudi-Egyptian differences over Yemen. When civil war broke out in 1962 between Yemeni royalists and republicans, Egyptian forces entered Yemen to support the new republican government, while Saudi Arabia backed the royalists.
At the UN, Ahmad Shukeiri was relieved of his post as representative of Saudi Arabia after praising the fascist far-right organization Tacuara which embarrassed Arab representatives and caused Latin American objections.Israel’s Relations with Non-arab Lands in Middle East Irk Arabs JTA, September 12, 1963“Report of Study of US Foreign Aid In M.E. & African Countries”, US Congress 1963, p.387Israel Urges UN Adopt Direct Peace Talk Move. The Jewish Floridian, December 21, 1962, p.1a One of the principal Arab detractors of Israel was missing today, and the Saudi Arabian position in the committee chamber was vacant. Shukairy left here Saturday, unannounced but not unnoticed. Having been recalled from his post by Saudi Arabia's King Feisal. A number of delegates, including Arabs embarrassed by his volatile speeches stirring anti-Semitism and endorsing the neo-Nazi Tacuara movement of Argentina, had asked King Feisal to take him away from the already highly charged UN scene. Shukeiri named a New York Times piece weeks earlier, whose headline stated "Argentine Youths in Nazi Group Salute and Cry: 'Hail Tacuara!" Days before his dismissal, the Hutchinson News reported that Arab diplomats, who claimed to be in close touch with the Saudi Arabian government became so annoyed at Ambassador Shukeiri for his rash speech that they spoke of urging Saudi Prince Faisal to recall him. And this case was not the first time that they disapproved of his views and rhetoric.Hutchinson News Newspaper Archives. December 12, 1962 Page 1. "Ambassador Under Fire" Arab diplomats, so annoyed at Saudi Aradian Ambassabor Shukairy for his rash speech advocating anti-Israel action that they consider urging Saudi Prince Faisal to recall him, That comes from diplomats who claim to be in close touch with the Saudi Arabian government. Incidentally, this is not the first time that Mr. Shukairy has aired his personal views on the subject. He has delivered similar speeches here and Arabs were just and unappreciative then. For example, in WW2 Shukeiri fought tor Hitler"Ahora", Publicaciones !Ahora!, 1965, p.9 However, when Soviet Russia joined the allies, Shukairy's group split with the Communists and went all out for Hitler. and in 1946, after joining the Arab Higher Committee Shukeiri utilized Nazi propaganda rhetoric.Bernard Lerner, "British Actions in Palestine." The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. July 12, 1946. p.7 In 1961 he questioned the loyalty of a Catholic representative to his country on the basis of his Jewish ancestry. The Forward reported that Shukeiri, "was a close collaborator with the mufti. He continues to spread Nazi-style hatred of Jews, even in the United Nations.""Looking Back: December 14, 2012". The Forward, December 5, 2012 . 50 Years Ago 1962 More and more evidence is coming to light that a number of Arab countries are actively courting former Nazis and bringing them over, a fact that makes Israel quite nervous. Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Michael Camay, spoke to the U.N. Assembly in regard to the growing connections between the Arab world and the neo-Nazi movement. This is apparently a continuation of the activity that took place when the mufti served as Hitler’s propaganda machine and was involved in plans to exterminate the Jews. Ahmed Shukairy, Saudi Arabia’s current representative to the U.N., was a close collaborator with the mufti. He continues to spread Nazi-style hatred of Jews, even in the United Nations. He had different opinions from King Faisal in regards to Yemen."Middle East Forum", Volume 39, Alumni Association of the American University of Beirut., 1963, p.6
Tensions with Yemen subsided only after 1967, when Egypt withdrew its troops. Saudi forces did not participate in the Six-Day (Arab-Israeli) War of June 1967, but the government later provided annual subsidies to Egypt, Jordan, and Syria to support their economies.
In 1965 there was an exchange of territories between Saudi Arabia and Jordan in which Jordan gave up a relatively large area of inland desert in return for a small piece of seashore near Aqaba. The Saudi-Kuwaiti neutral zone was administratively partitioned in 1971, with each state continuing to share the petroleum resources of the former zone equally.
The Saudi economy and infrastructure was developed with help from abroad, particularly from the United States, creating strong links between the two dissimilar countries, and considerable and problematic American presence in the Kingdom. The Saudi petroleum industry under the company of ARAMCO was built by American petroleum companies, U.S. construction companies such as Bechtel built much of the country's infrastructure, Trans World Airlines, built the Saudi passenger air service; the Ford Foundation modernized Saudi government; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the country's television and broadcast facilities and oversaw the development of its defense industry.Wright, Lawrence, Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, by Lawrence Wright, NY, Knopf, 2006, p.152