Mark Meek's Ideas: January 2025

Stories of royalty are always popular. When we think of a kingdom, the first country that comes to mind is Saudi Arabia.

In 1744, an alliance between Muhammad Ibn Wahhab and Muhammad Ibn Saud led to what became known as the First Saudi State, in the Arabian Peninsula. But it was defeated and ended by the Pasha Dynasty that was ruling Egypt. The First Saudi State is also known as the Emirate of Diriyah.

There was a Second Saudi State, also known as the Emirate of Nejd, after the Pashas had broken free of Ottoman control, but this state was ended by conflict with a rival tribe, who were allied with the Ottomans.

A leader of the House of Saud, Abdulaziz who is sometimes known as Ibn Saud, brought back the state once more, by unifying two small states, and this time gained control of most of the Arabian Peninsula. This state is today known as Saudi Arabia.

The capital of Saudi Arabia is Riyadh. In the late Nineteenth Century, Abdulaziz (Ibn Saud) spent time in exile, in nearby Persian Gulf countries, because the Rashidis, the rival tribe who had brought the Second Saudi State to an end, had conquered Riyadh. The reconquest of Riyadh, in 1902, by Abdulaziz (Ibn Saud) is considered as a great event in Saudi history. A militia was formed of bedouin, known as the Ikhwan, which eventually became the Saudi National Guard.

Abdulaziz (Ibn Saud) was thus the founder and first king of the country that became known as Saudi Arabia. He had 45 sons, by multiple wives, and reigned until his death in 1953.

Abdulaziz (Ibn Saud) was succeeded as king by his son, Saud. Saud reigned as king from 1953-64, but had a great rivalry with his brother, Faisal, and was finally forced to abdicate the throne due to wasteful spending.

The key to understanding Saudi royalty is that the succession of Saud as king, following his father's death in 1953, is the only time that a father-to-son succession has taken place. From the abdication of King Saud, in 1964, to the time of this writing, every succession following the death of a Saudi king, there has been no more abdications, has been brother-to-brother. Every king since the death of Abdulaziz (Ibn Saud), in 1953, has been one of his sons. The third generation of Saudi royalty, the grandsons, have not yet succeeded to the throne.

Faisal took over from his brother, Saud, upon Saud's forced abdication in 1964, and reigned until his murder by his nephew in 1975. The coronation of Faisal ended the father-to-son succession, and was the first brother-to-brother succession. King Faisal was fiscally responsible, and balanced the kingdom's finances.

He was the one who initiated the Arab Oil Embargo against several countries, including the U.S., Canada and, Britain, who had supported Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Egypt named a suburb of Cairo for the day it began, October 6 City. I remember going to 8th grade in the dark because the clocks had been changed in an effort to save energy.

One place where King Faisal was very popular was Pakistan. Besides a highway and an air force base, Pakistan renamed a major city as Faisalabad, in his honor, as it remains named today.

King Faisal was murdered by his nephew, Faisal bin Musaid, in 1975. Conspiracy theories ran wild. The nephew had attended college in the U.S., and had just returned to Saudi Arabia, but had also visited Communist East Germany. Did the U.S. put him up to it in revenge for the oil embargo, or was it a Communist plot to destabilize the kingdom? The nephew had been engaged to the daughter of King Saud, who Faisal had forced to abdicate, could it have been in revenge for that?

Khalid, a half-brother of Faisal, all were sons of Abdulaziz but with different mothers among his many wives, succeeded him. King Khalid ruled until his death in 1982. He brought much development to Saudi Arabia, and made it an important player on the international scene. He was the king when militants seized the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Khalid initially hoped for good relations with Iran after it's revolution. The Saudi rulers were Sunni Moslems, and the Iranians Shiites, but they seemed to have quite a bit in common. But the good relations didn't last long.

(Note-My theory of the reason for the poor relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran goes back to the French Revolution, which opened the modern political era. The Saudi leaders are kings, while the Iranian leaders are the ones who had overthrown the king. This put them on opposite sides of the French Revolution).

King Fahd was the half-brother who succeeded Khalid, and was king during the First Gulf War (Desert Storm). He was popular internationally but his invitation of foreign non-Moslem armies onto Saudi soil outraged many, and set in motion the founding of Al Qaeda. Ironically, at the time of the seizure of the Grand Mosque by militants, in 1979, the mosque was being renovated by a Saudi construction conglomerate, known as the Bin Laden Group. A son of the founder of the conglomerate was named Osama bin Laden.

King Fahd had a stroke in 1995, but continued as king until his death ten years later. During his days as a prince, long before he became king, he had been the Saudi representative who attended Queen Elizabeth's 1953 coronation.

King Abdullah was a half-brother of Fahd, and succeeded him as king upon his death in 2005. Abdullah had probably been the real power in the country during the ten years between Fahd's debilitating stroke and his death. King Abdullah reigned until his death in 2015. He had to deal with declining oil prices squeezing the kingdom's finances.

After the death of Abdullah in 2015, his half-brother Salman succeeded to the throne. King Salman is the present king. Remember that all of these kings, since the death of Abdulaziz (Ibn Saud) in 1953, have been his sons. Abdulaziz was the founder of Saudi Arabia, and all of the kings since have been second-generation royalty. But King Salman has elevated his son, MBS, to a very important role and, at the time of this writing, it appears certain that he would be the first third-generation, grandson of Abdulaziz, king.

One thing that is often heard of in dealing with Saudi royalty is the name "Sudairi" or "The Sudairi Seven". Sudairi is the name of one of the wives of the founder of Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz (or Ibn Saud). She had seven sons who have been especially powerful in running the kingdom. Two of these sons have been kings, Fahd and the present King Salman. Most of the many Saudi princes and princesses are in business, or other preoccupations, and have little interest in being involved in governing the country. My calculation is that about one in every four hundred Saudis is a prince or princess.

That is the story of Saudi Arabia in words. Now, lets have a look at the same story in pictures.

These five images, from Google Street View, are of the At-Turaif Historical District of Diriyah. This was the original home of the Saudi Royal Family, before the present Third Saudi State, before the capital was moved to nearby Riyadh.

The following scenes begin in the Masmak Fortress, in Riyadh. This is what Abdulaziz (known in the west as Ibn Saud) reconquered from the rival Rashidis, in 1902. The first five images of the Masmak Fortress are from Google Street View.

There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >. After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.

https://www.google.com/maps/@24.6310657,46.713512,3a,75y,117.05h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipMaheOMZVa7GgMgsGT9M-uTrw9IDb-RotAll98!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipMaheOMZVa7GgMgsGT9M-uTrw9IDb-RotAll98%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-1.3010265-ya74.33167-ro-2.02662-fo100!7i5376!8i2688

The following scenes are of the Murabba Palace, built in 1936 and where Abdulaziz (Ibn Saud) reigned from, until his death in 1953. The surrounding area is known as the King Abdulaziz Historical Center. The first two images of the palace are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@24.6465265,46.7092511,3a,75y,116.01h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipOc_40VTS-RXKGCtfrznqwHwscY4f2pD_4BI5U!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipOc_40VTS-RXKGCtfrznqwHwscY4f2pD_4BI5U%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya134.23174-ro0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352

King Saud was the first son of Abdulaziz (Ibn Saud) to reign after his death. He was the king who was forced to abdicate, by his successor Faisal, due to extravagant spending. But yet he did found the famous King Saud University, in Riyadh. This vast university is like a city unto itself. The first five images are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@24.7195617,46.6191667,3a,75y,259h,76t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipM62hUpZNLNPFy9rikCPYrGyjg-PFo9mZeokrJW!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipM62hUpZNLNPFy9rikCPYrGyjg-PFo9mZeokrJW%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-14.999992-ya259.5-ro0-fo100!7i5660!8i2830

The following scenes of modern Riyadh begin in the Royal Mall. The first seven images of modern Riyadh are from Google Street View. The building with the "handle" is Kingdom Centre, and there are two views from the top.

https://www.google.com/maps/@24.723695,46.6647867,3a,75y,93.93h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNJvoNdcbEnLG9JZCm2tQyh7mBiQnXVw_ADwI0-!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNJvoNdcbEnLG9JZCm2tQyh7mBiQnXVw_ADwI0-%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya94.32468-ro-0-fo100!7i5376!8i2688

Finally the second major city of Saudi Arabia is Jeddah, on the Red Sea coast. Jeddah is a very old city that, in common with the other very old cities in this area, has been through the long parade of conquerors, empires and, caliphates that have come through in the course of time. It's primary function was as the port for pilgrims to Mecca. The following scenes are around the old part of Jeddah. Notice how the older buildings have their own unique architecture.

I have always been interested in Jeddah. The following ten images are of mostly the old part of the city.

https://www.google.com/maps/@21.4851776,39.1846344,3a,75y,103.4h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipM6hA32qgE_X5zr_u8kosTzbVMdBiZyt04VgqFQ!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipM6hA32qgE_X5zr_u8kosTzbVMdBiZyt04VgqFQ%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya126.363-ro0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352

The two cities may also be spelled as Makkah and Madinah.

Mecca and Medina, both in the western part of Saudi Arabia, are the first and second holiest cities in the Islamic religion. Every Moslem who can afford it is supposed to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, known as the Hajj, once in their lifetime.

When I was in school I remember that one in six people were Moslems. Years later I read that one in five people were Moslems. The latest information that is online is that one in four people is a Moslem. "Muhammad" is by far the most common given name in the world. So it would be a good idea to understand this religion.

What Islam is all about is that the Bible had it right, there is certainly only one God, but the scriptures had been corrupted and mistranslated over time. God revealed the Qur'an to Muhammad, in Mecca, in order to restore the original true religion. The God of Moslems, usually called Allah, is the same God as Jews and Christians. Abraham, Moses, Mary and, Jesus are part of Islam. Jesus is considered as a prophet, but not the Son of God, and Abraham's promised line goes through his son Ishmael, rather than Isaac.

Islam is the youngest of the world's major religions, it's calendar begins in 622 of the Christian calendar. Years on the Islamic calendar are lunar, rather than solar, so a year on the Islamic calendar has fewer days.

The basic theology of Islam is simple. God is so all-powerful that mere humans like us cannot even begin to fathom Him. All that we can do is completely submit to God, which is what Islam means, and hope for His mercy. Muhammad is considered as the messenger who restored the true religion, but not as a messiah or savior.

Islam is as divided as Christianity is. There are numerous sects. The most important division is between Sunni and Shiite. The leader of the religion was called a Caliph. There is no Caliph accepted by all Moslems today. After the death of Muhammad there was disagreement over who the next Caliph should be. Some said that he should be hereditary, from Muhammad, but others said that he should be chosen by consensus. The consensus side got their way and Abu Bakr, who had been Muhammad's father-in-law, was chosen as the next Caliph.

But the hereditary side thought that Ali, Muhammad's son-in-law who was the husband of his daughter Fatima, should have been Caliph. Ali eventually did become the fourth Caliph. But by then the split had become permanent. The hereditary side continued with Caliphs from Ali, and are known as Shia or Shiites. Up to 15% of Moslems today are Shiites but the vast majority are Sunni, from the consensus side. Aside from Mecca and Medina, Shiites have their own holy cities. These are Najaf and Karbala in Iraq, and Qom and Mashad in Iran.

ALL IMAGES ARE FROM GOOGLE EARTH OR STREET VIEW

There is a panoramic view of the city of Mecca from Jabal Al-Nour, and a line of people to look inside the cave where Muhammad first recited the Qur'an, although this is not a required part of the pilgrimage.

The focal point of Islam is the Grand Mosque, also called the Sacred Mosque, in Mecca.

At the center of the courtyard of the Grand Mosque is the Kaaba. This is a cubic stone structure that is covered with a black shroud that is made anew every year. For one out of every four people on earth this is the center of everything. On the pilgrimage the Kaaba is circled seven times, walking counter-clockwise, both at the beginning and the end of the pilgrimage. Pilgrims wear the same simple white garments. No celebrities or billionaires are special here.

In the following image of the Grand Mosque, from above, you can see the Kaaba at the center. The two copper domes on the right are over two hills, called Safaa and Marwah. Pilgrims walk between these hills, which are covered and connected by a hallway, seven times. This represents Hagar's search for water for herself and her son, Ishmael, in the desert. Water was revealed to her in the adjacent Well of Zamzam. Christianity and Judaism have Abraham's line going through his younger son, Isaac.

This is the hallway that connects the two hills.

Caring for all of these pilgrims is certainly a monumental task. While pilgrims typically stay in tents, luxurious hotels are also available. If three million people are on the pilgrimage, hundreds might become ill or injured every day. Remember that most of the imagery here was taken during the off-season.

At nearby Mina, the pilgrims throw stones at three pillars that represent the Devil. There are so many pilgrims that an additional level was built to access the pillars.

On Mount Arafat, which is surrounded by a level plain and where Muhammad made his final sermon, pilgrims recite the Qur'an. This image must definitely have been taken in the off-season because it is crowded during the Hajj. A version of the pilgrimage, called the Umrah, can be done anytime.

Medina is 340 km north of Mecca. Pilgrims may go there also, although it is not required. Muhammad was born in Mecca but much of his life, and recitation of the Qur'an, took place in Medina. After persecution in Mecca, his journey to Medina is known as the Hegira or Hijrah and is the beginning of the Islamic calendar.

The most important site in Medina is the Mosque of the Prophet, or Masjid An-Nabawi. This is where Muhammad's tomb is. These striped arches closely resemble those in the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba, which was built during the Umayyad Caliphate. The first Caliphate was the Rashidun, and it's capital was Medina. The Umayyad Caliphate was the second, and it's capital was Damascus.