Saudi royal family - Definition and Overview

The House of Saud refers to the royal family of Saudi Arabia. While the modern nation of Saudi Arabia was established in 1932, the House of Saud has been around for much longer. Prior to Ibn Saud, this family ruled the Nejd and often came into conflict with the Ottoman Empire and the Rashidis. The House of Saud is also linked with Wahhabism through the marriage of the son of Muhammad ibn Saud with the daughter of Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab in 1744.

The history of the House of Saud has been marked by a desire to unify the Arabian Peninsula and to spread a more pure and simple view of Islam embodied by Wahhabism. As such, the House of Saud has gone through three phases: the First Saudi State, the Second Saudi State, and the modern nation of Saudi Arabia.

It should be noted that Saudi Arabia is the only country on Earth named after a family: the adjective "Saudi" indicates something belonging to the House of Saud.

Heads of the House of Saud

First Saudi State

• Muhammad bin Saud
• Abdul Aziz bin Muhammad bin Saud
• Saud bin Abdul Aziz bin Muhammad al Saud
• Abdullah bin Saud

Second Saudi State

• Turki bin Abdullah
• Faisal bin Turki
• Abdul Rahman bin Faisal

Saudi Arabia

King Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman al-Saud

King Saud bin Abdul Aziz,

King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz

King Khalid bin Abdul Aziz

King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz

External link

• A PDF file showing the structure of the House from globalsecurity.org (requires Adobe Acrobat) (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/gulf/images/sa01_06b.pdf)