Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- List of tables
- Preface
- Chronology
- Glossary
- Map 1 Saudi Arabia, main regions and cities
- Map 2 Saudi Arabia, main tribes
- Introduction
- 1 Society and politics, 1744–1818 and 1824–1891
- 2 The emerging state, 1902–1932
- 3 Control and loyalty, 1932–1953
- 4 The politics of dissent, 1953–1973
- 5 From affluence to austerity, 1973–1990
- 6 The Gulf War and its aftermath, 1990–2000
- 7 Narratives of the state, narratives of the people
- 8 The challenges of a new era
- 9 Modernising authoritarian rule
- Conclusion
- Appendix I Al Saʿud rulers in Dirʿiyyah (1744–1818)
- Appendix II Al Saʿud rulers in Riyadh (1824–1891)
- Appendix III Ibn Saʿud's sons (1900–1953)
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
3 - Control and loyalty, 1932–1953
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- List of tables
- Preface
- Chronology
- Glossary
- Map 1 Saudi Arabia, main regions and cities
- Map 2 Saudi Arabia, main tribes
- Introduction
- 1 Society and politics, 1744–1818 and 1824–1891
- 2 The emerging state, 1902–1932
- 3 Control and loyalty, 1932–1953
- 4 The politics of dissent, 1953–1973
- 5 From affluence to austerity, 1973–1990
- 6 The Gulf War and its aftermath, 1990–2000
- 7 Narratives of the state, narratives of the people
- 8 The challenges of a new era
- 9 Modernising authoritarian rule
- Conclusion
- Appendix I Al Saʿud rulers in Dirʿiyyah (1744–1818)
- Appendix II Al Saʿud rulers in Riyadh (1824–1891)
- Appendix III Ibn Saʿud's sons (1900–1953)
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
As the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was declared in 1932, Ibn Saʿud endeavoured to consolidate a royal lineage to provide continuity at the level of leadership. The consolidation of a Saʿudi royal lineage was achieved as a result of two parallel processes. First, Ibn Saʿud marginalised members of his own generation (his brothers and nephews). Second, he consolidated his own line of descent (his sons), which eventually developed into a distinct royal group. This chapter investigates processes of control and explores the mechanisms underlying loyalty to the state in the pre-oil period. It then moves on to introduce an important landmark event in the history of Saudi Arabia in the twentieth century, namely the oil concession of 1933, which resulted in the discovery of oil in commercial quantities.
MARGINALISING SAʿUDI COLLATERAL BRANCHES
The strategy of marginalisation involved the containment of potential claims to the throne from within the Al Saʿud group. Immediately after the capture of Riyadh, Ibn Saʿud endeavoured to resolve the threat of his own paternal uncles and their descendants.
During the period of early expansion in Arabia, Ibn Saʿud faced the challenge of the so-called ʿAraʾif, his paternal cousins, under the leadership of ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn Saʿud ibn Faysal ibn Turki (al-Dakhil 1982: 103–4; Rihani 1928: 182).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- A History of Saudi Arabia , pp. 69 - 101Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010