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Ibn Saud: King by Conquest

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In 1939, a young American paleontologist, Nestor Sander, met and shook hands with one of the most remarkable, and perhaps least acknowledged, national leaders of the twentieth century, Abdul Aziz ibn Abdur Rahman as Saud, the king of Saudi Arabia. For the next fifty years, as Mr. Sander pursued a distinguished career in petroleum paleontology, he remained so impressed by that encounter that he immersed himself in the history of the Desert King. He studied the nine biographies of Ibn Saud in English as well as the two other accounts in French and was struck by certain inconsistencies among them. This result is this fine book, Ibn Saud: King by Conquest.

Divided into three parts, the author blends the precision of scientific survey and analysis with the delightful humanism of a wise, well-traveled man of letters. The first section is a stirring account of the King's rise to power concluding with the Yemen War in 1934. The second section, The Saudi State, begins with the Standard Oil of California concession in 1933 and goes on to detail the impact that oil wealth made on the nation in Ibn Saud's lifetime. In the third part, The Man, Nestor Sander writes a qualitative and honest appreciation of King Abdul Aziz that is both disciplined and personal.

Lavished with archival portraits of many of the main characters of the period, a generous addendum of biographies that range from Captain Shakespear to Mubarak ibn Subah as Subah, the founder of modern Kuwait, and perhaps the most comprehensive set of maps that any reader could ever desire, including a 15 by 18 inch color map inset into the end paper, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in the King and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - then or now.

The study of history divides itself in numerous "schools," and one of the divisions is between the "Big Man" (and almost invariably, they were men) school, and the one that examines the social and technological factors which change the lives of the masses of people, and which downplays the significance of the actions of any one individual. Only the true adherents in each school would dismiss aspects of the other. Clearly the author has written a "Big Man" history, on Ibn Saud, who should be placed with Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Lenin, Mao Tse-Tung, and others who actions have altered the course of history. The author does not speculate on how the world would be a different place if Ibn Saud had been killed in attempting to regain his patrimony by retaking Riyadh in 1902. But it is hard to imagine "social forces" throwing up another man who had the grit, determination, diplomatic and political skills to unify the always fractious tribes in the vast majority of the Arabian Peninsula.

Nestor Sander is not a professional scholar, and probably the better for it. His profession was geology, and he worked primarily in the oil industry, traveling the world, including Saudi Arabia. He has the "real world" experience that helps overcome some of the foibles and fads extant in the "Ivory Tower." Deep in retirement, when most men are content to putter, as it were, on the golf course, he fulfilled an ambition dating from 1939, when he shook Ibn Saud's hand, and wanted to learn more about who he actually was. He has read virtually all that has been written on the man, in three languages, English, French and German; reading the bibliography is humbling. I regret that a brief biography of Sander's was not included in the book.

Sander attempts to reconcile the various accounts of Ibn Saud's life, judiciously balancing the known bias of the authors, and has produced a very workable biography, written in a no-nonsense, staccato style. Of particular interest to me were the early days of the Al Saud family, and his own life prior to 1902, including the time he spent with the Murrah; information and accounts not readily available elsewhere. Sander divides his biography into three parts: one that recounts mainly the military campaigns, and diplomatic maneuvering that led to the creation of the Kingdom; a second which examines his function as a government, and far more so than even Louis XIV, he was indeed the state; and the third examines what was known of him as a man: flaws, foibles, genius and essential humanity.

Insights, well there were a delightful few. During my time in Saudi Arabia I had to deal with a few Saudis who would invariably try to do four things at once: conduct a conversation in the office, one on the telephone, read the paper and sign some documents. Invariably it would take three times as long as if they had done each task sequentially. Obviously they were trying to emulate Ibn Saud, who could apparently multi-task efficiently (p. 103). Also, the vignette concerning the meeting between Ibn Saud and Churchill, in which the later confused the former with Husain - the ultimate diplomatic faux pas.

I do disagree with the author's brief account of the always contentious issue of the creation of Israel, on page 123.

In addition to the main biography, there is a valuable, substantial addenda which includes briefer bios on some of the main characters in Ibn Saud's life, including: Mubarak ibn Suab as Sabah (the Emir of Kuwait), Sir Percy Cox, Husain ibn Ali (his archrival, the Sharif of Mecca), William Shakespear, Harry St. John Philby, Faisal ibn Abdul Aziz (tellingly, perhaps, not Saud) and Abdullah Suleiman (the Finance Minister), as well as sections on the tribes of Arabia, and the very early Saud family history. There are also numerous photographs of the principals, and maps.

There are over 60 "Middle East Study Centers" at American universities. This should be an essential work in their programs, aiding in the understanding of one of the more important countries in the region, the very heartland of both oil and Islam. And for the numerous Saudi students studying in the United States, as well as other countries - this book provides an excellent account of the individual driving force behind the creation of your country. Almost certainly, it is the very best biography of Ibn Saud that we will ever have.

The difference from the hard cover book is the absence of color and a hard cover. But the text and illustrations, including a freestanding map are all here. This book is more than a retelling of Ibn Saud's life. It provides information on the history of his family and describes his contemporaries , both friend and enemy; explains many details of customs in the desert; points out his great ability as a statesman and ends with a discussion of his character, his foibles and his great faith in God. I think it is well-worth $20 and shipping charges.

I was drawn to this book because I know the author and his life story. He has produced a well-written, very detailed account of Saudi history. If you want to understand the current Near East situation read this book. Not only is the chronology carefully observed, the in-depth analysis of the important individuals is revealing. Many books have been written about these subjects by Arab authors as well as others of several countries. I believe this one is the one to read.

To understand today's events and situations, it is important to discover their origins in history. Not ancient history, but the events which transpired just before our present time.

Why, for example, is there someone named Osama bin Laden who plots attacks against the West, and who are these Islamic militants who have declared a jihad on the Western Civilization? Why do people from the region of Arabia have such a proclivity for hijacking airplanes and blowing things up? (The vast majority of the September 11, 2001 hijackers were Saudis.) The answers are in this book, which is not as important as a biography of this potentate of an obscure and backward region of sand and oil, as it is as the story of the area's people and their traditions.

Here we learn that for many centuries the main occupation of rival tribes was raiding each other's camps and stealing their camels. This blood sport was considered as normal as the Ohio State - Michigan rivalry is today. A major source of income for the region was hijacking and looting caravans which traveled up to Syria and down to the ocean.

As Ibn Saud gained power over lesser chieftains, he was prescient enough to realize that his conquest would amount to naught if he presided over a kingdom which was in a state of constant internal war, so, being a pious man himself, he organized the marauding bands of thieves, and converted them to the fundamentalist teachings of Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab an-Najdi (1703-1792). The united brigands, now called the Ikhwan and numbering 150,000, were licensed to murder and pillage, but only on infidels or those who were deemed not sufficiently pious, and this Wahhabi tradition of jihad thus continues to this day.

The book's closing chapters comprise a series of character studies of those involved in the formation of Ibn Saud's kingdom. I found the most interesting of these to be that of Harry St.John Philby, father of the notorious Kim Philby who was a Soviet mole in both the CIA and MI6. What motivated him to do such a thing? From this book it's easy to see that the apple does not fall far from the tree.

"Ibn Saud: King by Conquest" is full of such fascinating tidbits, and the quality of writing is uniformly superb throughout the book.