The History of Saudi Arabia

(Paperback, New edition)

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Description

This comprehensive history of Saudi Arabia provides coverage of its emergence in 1745 through to the 1990s. It presents the evolution of the social and political structures of Saudi society, the Wahhabi movement (Muwahhidun - believers in one God) for a reform of Islam, the impact of the "oil factor", and Saudi Arabia's place in the modern world. The book is based on: Arab texts, including many original Arab chronicles, by both protagonists and antagonists of the Saudi dynasty and the Wahhabis; accounts by European travellers, diplomats, scholars and intelligence officers from the 18th to the 20th centuries; the documents and publications of the British administration in India; 20th-century Arabic sources, including official Saudi publications and also accounts by participants in the formative events described; works by prominent East European academics that have previously been unavailable in English; US publications; and Russian sources, including material from the Russian archives.

Reviews

A Choice Outstanding Academic Book 'If you read or own just one book on Saudi Arabia, make sure it is this one.' Middle East Quarterly 'Combines a wealth of fascinating detail with rigorous and penetrating analysis.' Bernard Lewis 'An outstanding book: a study of the Saudi state rich in historical documentation. Comprehensive and measured.' Fred Halliday 'It will become required reading for all those interested in the country's shaping and development over the past two centuries.' Tim Niblock

Author Bio

Alexei Vassiliev was the Middle East correspondent for Pravda for ten years. He is Director of the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He is editor of Central Asia: Political and Economic Challenges in the Post-Soviet Era, also published by Saqi Books.