Saudi Arabia

From prehistoric times to the 6th century, residents of the area were mainly nomads who were influenced in culture and religion by the Roman and Persian Empire. Residents were Christian or adherents of older religions.

Mohammed was born in Mecca in 571. His successor Caliph Abu Bakr attacked the Byzantine (Roman) Empire in the early 7th century. From then on things went fast: together with the Arab armies, Islam spread rapidly across North Africa and the Middle East. Although centres of power quickly moved to major cities such as Cairo, Baghdad and Damascus, Mecca and Medina remained very important religious sites.

In the Middle Ages, most of the area around Mecca was populated by the Hashemites. They were directly related to Mohammed. At the beginning of the 16th century, the Ottoman Turks conquered the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. More to the east (around the city of Riyadh) a new kingdom emerged around 1750 with Mohammed bin Saud in power. Together with Mohammed ibn Abd al-Wahhaab, he founded a new state in which politics and religion were closely linked. In the centuries that followed, this state became increasingly influential.

The Ottoman Empire was one of the big losers from the First World War. The Middle East was largely in the hands of the British and the French. The Saudi dynasty had taken over almost the entire Arabian peninsula, including the holy cities. In 1932, the country was united under King Abdul Aziz al-Saud.

The discovery of large amounts of oil in 1938 profoundly changed the country’s economy. In addition, the regime’s power base was strengthened by the purchase of weapons financed from the oil revenues.

The country itself remains a very conservative and traditional country. The fundamentalists – Islamic Wahhabism remain strongly connected to power in the country. However, things are also changing in Saudi Arabia, albeit with small steps. For example, women have been allowed to drive for a few years now. In addition, the rules for applying for a visa have been greatly relaxed.