Some knowledge of the history leading to the formation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and, in particular, of the cultural background, is essential to an understanding of the principles which have guided the Kingdom's development. Here, in brief, is the story of the Saudi Arabian royal family, of its triumphs and setbacks, and how, through the political and military genius of King Abdul Aziz (Ibn Saud), the tribes of most of the Arabian Peninsula were eventually welded together to form a single nation within a Kingdom founded upon Islam.
