When was arabia founded

Saudi Arabia breaks off diplomatic relations with Iran. King Salman names his son Mohammed bin Salman first in line to the throne. Saudi Arabia formed. King Khalid dies. Saudi attacks Iraq. Relations with US. Image source, AFP. His half-brother Abdullah, who had been the de facto ruler of the country for the past decade, assumed the throne.

Saudi Arabia brokered talks between the Afghan government and Taliban leaders in September In the talks, the first attempt to end the protracted armed conflict, the Taliban said it is severing ties to al-Qaeda. King Abdullah took bold steps to reshuffle his government in February , promoting reformers, firing controversial officials, including the conservative head of the religious police and the country's most senior judge, and appointing his first-ever female minister, for women's education.

Saudi Arabia was largely spared the popular uprisings that spread throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa in early , largely because King Abdullah remains popular among Saudis and the country's oil wealth provides a level stability not seen in countries such as Egypt. Nevertheless, unemployment among young Saudis is high, housing is in short supply, and there has been a push for broader civil liberties, particularly for women.

In September , King Abdullah granted women the right to vote and run for seats on the Shura council, which advises the King on policy issues. Women will not be allowed to vote until the next election cycle in Still, the decision is a significant victory for women in a country where they are not allowed to drive and must have a male chaperone with them in public at all times.

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that has not granted women suffrage. Saudi Arabia lifted the ban forbidding women from competing in the Olympic Games, and sent three athletes to London in In another advance for women's rights, 30 women took seats on the formerly all-male Shura council. It was an enormous step that met with opposition from conservative clerics.

In October , dozens of women got behind the wheel to protest the kingdom's ban on allowing women to drive. Police did little to stop the women from driving.

In the fall of , Saudi Arabia became increasingly frustrated with the U. First, Saudi Arabia, which supports the opposition in Syria, felt betrayed when President Obama backed off promises to aid the opposition. Saudi Arabia was further angered when Obama opted to pursue diplomacy over a military strike on Syria for its use of chemical weapons. In addition, Saudi Arabia felt threatened by the warming of relations between the U. It feared that closer ties between the U. Finally, Saudi Arabia expressed frustration at the continued failure to achieve a deal on the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

That anger played out at the United Nations. On Oct. The unprecedented move stunned both the UN and U. In September , Saudi Arabia joined the U. Houthi rebels gained considerable ground in Yemen in and The rebels then moved further south, engaging in battles with government troops.

In an attempt to stop the Houthis from advancing further, Saudi Arabia led a coalition of Arab states in an offensive on Houthi targets in Yemen in late March More than Saudi jets were involved in the airstrikes. A Saudi-led airstrike hit a camp for displaced civilians on March 30, killing as many as 40 people. The operation, called Decisive Storm, continued well into April but failed to stop the Houthis' advance. The fighting claimed hundreds of civilian lives, displaced as many as ,, and destroyed neighborhoods.

An embargo of food and medicine, which the Saudis enforced, created a humanitarian crisis. Tadawul the Saudi stock market index finished with a massive Market capitalization was up Matthew Simmons has suggested that Saudi Arabia is greatly exaggerating its reserves and may soon show production declines. Saudi Arabia will be launching six "economic cities" e. King Abdullah Economic City which are planned to be completed by These six new industrialized cities are intended to diversify the economy of Saudi Arabia, and are expected to increase the per capita income.

Education Education is free at all levels. The school system is composed of elementary, intermediate, and secondary schools. A large part of the curriculum at all levels is devoted to Islam, and, at the secondary level, students are able to follow either a religious or a technical track.

Girls are able to attend school, but fewer girls attend than boys. This disproportion is reflected in the rate of literacy, which exceeds 85 percent among males and is about 70 percent among females.

In the international arena, King Fahd worked actively to resolve regional and global crises. As Crown Prince in , he proposed an eight-point plan to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict and give the Palestinians an independent state. The plan was considered one of the first attempts to find a just and lasting settlement that took into consideration the needs of both the Arabs and Israel.

It was unanimously adopted by the Arab League at a summit in Fez, Morocco in King Fahd also dedicated years of diplomacy to resolving the civil war in Lebanon. He hosted a meeting of Lebanese members of parliament in Taif, Saudi Arabia in The meeting resulted in a national reconciliation accord signed in Taif that ended the fighting and opened the way for reconstruction with help from Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. The King played a key role in putting together the international coalition that drove Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.

King Fahd was also concerned with humanitarian issues. Under his rule, Saudi Arabia provided emergency humanitarian assistance to numerous countries, including Somalia, Bosnia and Afghanistan, as well as countries suffering from natural disasters, such as earthquakes Turkey in , Iran in and the tsunami that struck Southeast Asia in December King Abdullah was born in Riyadh in , and received his early education at the royal court. Influenced by his father King Abdulaziz, he developed a profound respect for religion, history and Arab heritage.

His years spent living in the desert with Bedouin tribes taught him their values of honor, simplicity, generosity and bravery, and instilled in him the desire to assist in the development of his people. As Crown Prince, he traveled widely in the Kingdom and inaugurated a number of projects throughout the country. Since then, he has made a number of visits to the United States, including his most recent on June 29, when he met with President Barak Obama at the White House.

Peace in the Middle East and the plight of the Palestinians are of particular concern to King Abdullah. King Abdullah has been unwavering in his condemnation of terrorism. At the International Counterterrorism Conference in Riyadh in February, , he called for greater international cooperation to fight this global problem.

Crown Prince Salman also served as Minister of Defense. Since , Prince Salman has chaired various humanitarian and service committees that provide relief from natural and man-made disasters. He is a recipient of several honorary degrees and academic awards, including an honorary doctorate from the Islamic University of Madinah, the Prince Salman academic award, and the Kant Medal by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities in appreciation of his contributions to the field of science.

About Saudi Arabia. History Saudi Arabia traces its roots back to the earliest civilizations of the Arabian Peninsula. The Modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia The young Abdulaziz was determined to regain his patrimony from the Al-Rashid family, which had taken over Riyadh and established a governor and garrison there.

King Abdulaziz The legendary King Abdulaziz was a remarkable leader of imagination and vision who set Saudi Arabia on the road to modernization.