Saudi monarch Saud was born in Riyadh, but was forced into exile, growing up in Kuwait. In 1901, he captured Riyadh and within ten years, Saud controlled Central Arabia. In 1913, he expelled the Ottomans from Eastern Arabia, defeated his rival Hussein Ibn Ali and captured the cities of Jedda, Medina and Mecca in 1925.

Saud then proclaimed himself King of Hijaz and Najd, and renamed the kingdom Saudi Arabia. He granted American oil companies concessions that brought billions to the kingdom.

Books

Ibn Saud: The Desert Warrior Who Created the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia