Chronology:

• Mecca, Medina from 620s c.e.
• 1517 - Ottoman conquest of Hijaz
• 1550 - Ottoman authority in Hasa
• 1670 - Banu Khalid rebel vs Ottomans in Hasa
• 1744 - Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab arrives in Dir'iyyah - alliance with Muhammad ibn Sa'ud
• 1902 - Ibn Sa'ud captures Riyadh
• 1906 - Ibn Sa'ud captures Qasim
• 1913 - Ibn Sa'ud captures Hasa
• 1915 - Britain acknowledges Ibn Sa'ud as ruler of Najd and Hasa
• 1916 - Sha'rif  Husayn declares himself King of the Arabs
• 1926 - Ibn Sa'ud declares himself King of Hijaz and Sultan of Najd
• 1932 - Ibn Sa'ud announces Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
• 1933 - Ibn Sa'ud signs oil concession
• 1945 - Ibn Sa'ud meets FDR, Churchill
• 1953 - Ibn Sa'ud dies - Sa'ud becomes king
• 1964 - Sa'ud abdicates - Faysal becomes king
• 1975 - Faysal assassinated by his nephew; Khalid becomes king
• 1979 - Siege of Mecca mosque
• 1980 - Shi'a riot in east
• 1982 - Khalid dies - Fahd becomes king
• 1990 - Saddam Husayn invades Kuwait

State formation:

• Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan - WWI, British and French - no history of independent states
• Iran - struggle vs. Britain and Russia in early 20th c. - long independent state history
• Egypt - 1920s -
• Turkey - 1920s - Ataturk
• Israel - from 1917 (Balfour) and 1948 - war of independence
• Kurds and Palestinians - no state up to now
• Saudi Arabia - a different route

Modern Saudi State: begun in interior under leadership of the Al Sa'ud clan
     in 1932 - Hijaz, 'Asir, Hasa, Najd
    Brought diverse people and vast territories under its authority - from long campaign of conquest.
    Ibn Sa'ud ['Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Abd al-Rahman Al Sa'ud]


Ottoman - Egyptian invasion 1818
Ottoman occupation of Hasa and 'Asir in 1871
in WWI - Sharif Husayn of Hijaz - supported British
               Ibn Rashid in Ha'il - supported Ottomans
                Ibn Sa'ud in Riyadh - supported British

After WWI - throne of Sharif Husayn sacrificed; Ibn Sa'ud took over Hijaz - in 1925
1932 - declares himself king - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia      
    "accommodation between traditional and new"
First Sa'udi-Wahhabi emirate (1744 - 1818) - justification for future expansions
1902 - Ibn Sa'ud used mutawwa'a (religious ritual specialists) and the ikhwan - tribal military force - dedicated to jihad - both inside vs. non-supporters and outside vs. infidels.
1744-1818 - Muhammad ibn Sa'ud + Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab (d. 1792)
Wahhab -

• importance of monotheism
• denunciation of all forms of mediation between God and believers - against saints, spirit worship, ancestor veneration, tombs
• obligation to pay zakat
• obligation to respond to calls for jihad vs. those who did not follow his principles
• must purify Islam of all innovations (bid'a) 
• strict application of shari'a law
  

The "pact" between the two:

"Muhammad ibn Sa'ud greeted Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab and said, 'This oasis is yours, do not fear your enemies.  By the name of God, if all Najd was summoned to throw you out, we will never agree to expel you.'  Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab replied, 'You are the settlement's chief and wise man.  I want you to grant me an oath that you will perform jihad against the unbelievers.  In return you will be imam, leader of the Muslim community and I will be leader in religious matters.'

from The Brilliance of the meteor in the life of Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, ed. A. Abu Hakima, Beirut, 1967.  [Lam' al-shihab fi sirat al-shaykh muhammad ibn 'abd al-wabbab]