Krishna
The book was written way back when Khalid was the King. So, Fahd, Abdullah and Salman’s reigns are not even discussed, leave alone the current prince MBS.
A very candid and nice history that reads like a straightforward story. It was definitely a pleasant surprise.
Descriptions of how Abdul Aziz proved his ‘virility’ by deflowering a girl (after instantly marrying her) even after being hurt in battle. This inspired everyone to become more enthusiastic and win the battle. Then there is the multiple versions of how, with but a few companions and with almost no hopes of winning, he makes what should have been a foolhardy rush on Riyadh (from Kuwait where the Al Sauds fled to after being defeated by the Al Rasheeds) and how he recaptured it by killing the governor.
We learn of their slow conquest of surrounding areas. We learn that Abdul Aziz was not accepted as a ruler since his father(who abdicated in his favour) was alive and he needed the influence of Abdul Wahab and his followers to claim legitimacy. The fanatic followers of Wahab were the forces (who did not fear death and therefore ferocious) in getting the various tribes subdued under one rule. The Al Rasheeds were ambushed (even that a new technique in Arabia) near the southern fringes and the Al Sauds established their dominance in all areas around Riyadh. The battle is interesting on how Abdulaziz spent almost the entire ammunition he had in one big battle. If the Rasheeds, instead of fully withdrawing, had attacked again, the Sauds would have been exposed like sitting ducks, caught without ammunition! Luck was with the Al Sauds. What is even more interesting is that the Rasheeds also are a branch of the original Al Saud clan!
The surnames change with the times. If there is a powerful person, then the clan changes the name to refer to him – eg, one branch of Al Sauds became Al Faisals.
Meanwhile, Abdulaziz courted the major power of the day, the English, as an ally in getting the kingdom together. They ignore him. Meanwhile, he ambushes Rasheeds and kills the leader, thereby becoming the supreme leader in that area. Even the Turks, in decline with the current paranoid Caliph-Sultan Abdul Hamid II, gave up on Arabia.
The only rival left in that area is Shareef Hashim, who dubiously traces his lineage to Adam and Eve. Abdul Aziz is no Napoleon but seems to have the luck of the devil. He is also complex, posing as a macho man but sensitive and caring to his many wives and concubines in his harem, according to the author.
We also learn about the initial hesitation about cameras and photos as this ‘produces an image’ and ‘images are bad” in their religious interpretation because that is the ‘slippery slope to heathen idolatry’. Later, with the popularity of pictures spreading, they justified it by saying that this is simply like a ‘mirror that keeps the image it reflects’. Since mirrors were not considered bad in the religion, camera was really alright.
The other surprise is the representative of the UK in the early days, ‘Captain William Shakespeare’. Yes, he is related to the famous bard we all know. UK decided that with the influence of Abdul Aziz spreading in Arabia they can no longer fully ignore him and Captain Shakespeare reported that he is honest, refined and trustworthy. Abdul Aziz was generous to a fault (which almost bankrupted the kingdom even in later days when it was flush with oil money).
In a battle with Rasheeds, Abdul Aziz and his army of bedouins is decimated mainly with the bedouins switching sides half way during the battle and he retreats, but Shakespeare, who despite repeated requests before the battle from Abdul Aziz to not join him in the place of battle, gets killed.
Enter Lawrence (TE Lawrence or ‘Lawrence of Arabia’) in Jeddah, which was not under Abdul Aziz domain then. He is described – to the surprise of many who have seen the famous Hollywood version) as ‘a short man with mousy hair’. He is the man who wrote the widely respected masterpiece Seven Pillars of Wisdom and also showed a penchant for having his buttocks spanked. Also he supported the Hashimite Mecca rules who were foes of Abdul Aziz (who eventually lost to him) and Lawrence never even met the Sa’udi Emir. Interesting.
And Britain, through MacMahon (Yes, the same man who devised the India Tibet border or McMahon line) made contradictory promises to everyone for short time gain, only to be caught out and lose its credibility at the war’s end. Abdul Aziz is openly cynical to Philby, who is his friend and disloyal to his own (British) government.
In another offshoot, we learn about the Brothers, who are followers of Wahab and want to spread puritanical faith everywhere. They are unafraid to die in battle and are ferocious fighters. Abdul Aziz enlists their help and in return allows them to spread their faith, founding the Mutawwain cult that exists till today. They convert others, become larger and then threaten the Rasheeds who are based in Hail, while Abdul Aziz rules over Riyadh and its surrounding areas.
The British major drives away an Australian oil prospector paving the way for American domination of oil extraction in Saudi Arabia.
Then comes the King of Hijaz, Sharif Hussein ibn Ali, who is boorish and does not understand English ‘recommendations’ as orders. On top of this he was exhibiting schizophrenic symptoms, often violent.
The capture of Hijaz and the massacre that followed was a blot on the Abdul Aziz’s reputation but the Mecca capture proceeded better. The defence of Jeddah by Shareef Ali with ‘armoured tanks’ that were sheets of metal wrapped around lorries and the ridiculous aircraft and refugee Russian “pilots” is humorous to read.
Slowly, Abdul Aziz gains entry into Jeddah, their trust and also gets Medina. He is aggrieved that the port of Aqaba, with British connivance, was given over to Jordan.
When the Ikhwan run riot, railing against Mahmal, a sacred silk covering of the Kaaba being ceremoniously brought from Egypt every year, he puts them in place. Abdullah, his brother kept warning Abdul Aziz not to indulge the Ikhwan but to no avail.
But when Abdul Aziz is caught in his own duplicity of pretending to oppose Ikhwan but profit from their conquests and the British breathing down his neck after their rampage in Iraq, he acts and crushes them all, ending the rebellion for good.
Harry St John Philby adores Abdul Aziz and gives the oil exploration rights to the Americans. He is now Abdullah Philby, having converted. (Yes, the father of Kim Philby, the biggest Russian spy ever in the UK. That story is told well in Treason in the Blood, which we have reviewed earlier here)
When the Americans bid high for prospecting for oil, Abdul Aziz was thrilled to accept because he did not believe that there was any mineral wealth under his kingdom and he boasted that he got ‘money for nothing’.
More fun facts : How John St Kilby conspired against his own nation in favour of Americans; how Americans were uninterested in anything but the oil extraction until the first oil scare of the forties during and after WWII and how they outsmarted the British in establishing a hold on the Saudis; how Roosevelt promised to reconsider the creation of Israel in the middle east in deference to the views of Arabs as explained by Abdul Aziz and how he died merely months later and Truman tore up the agreement without even a consideration or talking to Abdul Aziz; how Abdul Aziz wanted to take forty goats aboard Roosevelt’s ship as ‘a real Arab cannot eat frozen food’ and how he was persuaded to just stick to three goats for the week of deliberations; how his people slept everywhere on the ship and started fires to cook right next to huge ammunition dumps.
Great fun to read. Also fun is how Faisal and Saud, the sons, sneaked behind Abdul Aziz’s back to watch ‘infidel pictures’ starring Lucille Ball in various stages of undress – at least in relation to Arab sensibilities that is.
And then there is the impact of the sudden money flowing in due to petroleum discovery and as Abdul Aziz got older, he spent even more prodigiously on loans that everyone was suddenly glad to give him and he had no concept of account keeping and was also sorry to see his family corrupted by wealth. The sad story of bedouins writing off their claim for their ancestral land to Sau’ds because there were fed well.
We read Abdul Aziz, the lion of Arabia, wither away and die, with no interest in most things and bewildered about the changes modernity has wrought his country.
Lots more tidbits here : Onassis plotting to take oil tanker business right from under American’s noses with King Saud’s collusion is interesting. How Saud overdid extravagance and also built a lot of things to help the poor; how he was first gungho about Nasser and his Egyptian dream of uniting the Arabs; how he funded Nasser even while Nasser was totally disdainful and also talking ill of the monarchs; how it was a shock to see Saudi frenzy when Nasser visited Jeddah – all are fascinating.
Even more fascinating is the growing rift between them as Nasser without consultation or even information nationalized Suez, provoking the Suez crisis and the near bankruptcy of the rich Kingdom. How the socialist and republican fervour of Nasser created (allegedly with Egyptian covert help) rebellions all over including Saudi and how the inept handling of the secret disruption of the emerging Syrian Egyptian unification was exposed and ridiculed in the press.
Fortunately, the US decided to come back to Saudi’s side and they gratefully acknowledged.
Also of great interest is the total disagreement between Saud and Faisal, and Abdul Aziz reconciling them on his deathbed, only for the pact to be broken by the autocratic ways of Saud with no consultation with the (now) crown prince Faisal.
As a sideline, Onassis, a tanker company owner, had a rival and a brother in law in Stavros Niachos. Stavros worked actively to derail the Onassis influence in Saudi (and presumably in other places). I wonder if Sydney Sheldon’s reference to two influential ship owners who are rivals and brothers in law in Memories of Midnight !
Saud also asked St John Philby not to criticize the government and when he refused, not realizing that his staunch protector, Abdul Aziz, is no longer alive, he was exiled!
Finally, the dangerous geopolitics and bankruptcy forced the princes to make Saud give effective rule to ‘the crown prince’ Faisal, who brings Saudi Arabia back to fiscal stability. He also controls the chaotic looting of the treasury by all the princes and provides fixed allowances to the royals which they are expected to live on. No more money on demand for them.
The story goes through how Sa’ud claimed back his authority and how finally he was forced to abdicate formally, how Khalid was chosen as the next in line bypassing Mohammed who himself realized that he is not ‘king material’ and how every reform (Radio, Television, phone) were all resisted on Islamic grounds and how Faisal brilliantly played his cards. Faisal comes across as a brilliant administrator and tactician who pulled his country kicking and screaming all the way into (relative) modernity. The attack by even some in the royal family of the TV station and how it was thwarted by the police with the full blessing of Faisal is beautifully portrayed.
And what a description of how things went wrong for Nasser, how his vision of a socilaist Arabia fizzled out, how he encouraged Saud to collect an army and how it was exposed and how after the six day disastrous war with Israel he had to go begging for the favour of Faisal and expel Saud in conciliation; how Sadat was more religious; how the next war got Israel to occupy Jerusalem; how Faisal was convinced that the Russians and Jews were in collusion to destroy Islam (because Marx was a Jew) etc are well told. How he realized that the US was paying only lip service and how he threatened oil blockage which both Israel and the US rejected as an empty threat and how they were shocked when OPEC controls plunged the world into high inflation – all of these are brilliantly discussed.
The Oil Embargo of the seventies is described in crystal clear detail, how Arabs were continuously humiliated in the American support to Israel by both Kissinger and Nixon until Faisal and Sadat teamed up and Faisal declared the embargo, bringing western economies to their knees.
He gives full credit for Faisal for being the best kind Saudi had known until then, but he was totally dismayed by how the wealth started corrupting the youth. Money was coming so much that they now needed to invest. He then tells how he was mowed down by the defeated fanatics who tried to storm Jeddah.
The reign of Khalid and his brother (Crown Prince at the time the book was written) Fahad are well written and are full of character portraits and realistic examples. It is absolutely amazing how the realpolitik of the Middle East is woven seamlessly into the narration. A great book to read if you want to learn the history of the place.
More realpolitik of how US presidents kept giving Israel all the help and when Sadat made a peace pact with Israel under pressure from the American President how a scandalized Fahad (Crown prince then and later, King) finally was forced to sever all ties with Egypt, shocking US which thought it had Saudi Arabia stitched up as an obedient lapdog.
Therein lies both the positive and the negative of the book. The book talks about a region that not many are truly interested in. It talks frankly about what happened – none of this will be known to people who lived in Saudi Arabia due to the full censorship there. And the book is very sympathetic to the Saudi dilemma without flinching about the odd customs and beliefs held there. If you are truly interested in the realpolitik of the region through the fifties to the eighties (when the book was written) you can hardly find a better read.
It wanders in explaining minor events like the shockwave created by The Death of the Princess and how that film formatted dramatizations to look like real interviews and even added innuendos as real events, it talks about Saudi investments, and Adnan Khashoggi’s rise and flashy lifestyle that was his downfall. Lots of material there, some important and some trivial.
He covers the capture of the Mecca mosque by a group of people who declare themselves as the Magdi and the followers and their defeat at the hands of the Saudi government. He covers the history and the disgruntlement of the people from Dhahran who are Shias in a largely Sunni, fundamental Wahabi country who tried to copy the Iranian revolution and were ruthlessly suppressed.
The ‘future’ he speculates about is now and so makes hilarious reading. He says that Russia may capture the whole of middle east. He wonders if oil will still be in use in ‘2000’. But again, it is the by product of trying to predict a future that you would not foresee momentous events like the collapse of Soviet Union.
But that cannot be laid at the author’s door. Any crystal ball gazer is bound to get most things wrong.
All in all a surprisingly even handed and candid story. If you are interested in the (old) history of the country, you can do a lot worse than learning it from this book.
7/10
– – Krishna