The History of Saudi Arabia Bowen, Wayne H.

Modern Saudi Arabia is a nation struggling to adopt its eighteenth-century political and religious system to the demands of the new millennium. Governed by an absolute monarchy, the Saudi state confronts the multiple challenges of globalization with a cautiousness that has characterized its modern history. Unlike in most previous centuries, when events in the peninsula were of little note outside the Islamic world, Arabia is presently a state of critical importance. With the largest share of the world's proven petroleum reserves, a dominant role in OPEC, key political and geographic terrain in the Middle East, the international prominence that comes with controlling the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, and a major role in promoting fundamentalist Wahhabi Islam, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is arguably more significant and relevant to the world than at any time in its history, at least since the lifetime of the Prophet Mohammed during the sixth and seventh centuries. This book examines the history of Saudi Arabia and its attempts to transform to the new world while maintaining its past.

DOI: 10.1336/0313340129 Mouse over the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) to learn more about this book or related books published by Greenwood Publishing Group. Visit the Greenwood Publishing Group page for this title: http://www.greenwood.com/catalog/GR4012.aspx

The History of Saudi Arabia Series: The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations Hardback, 176 pages, $45.00 Copyright ©2007, Greenwood Press ISBN: 0-313-34012-9 DOI: 10.1336/0313340129

Powered by Content Directions, Inc. (CDI) and the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) View additional CDI examples     Want to Add This Link to Your Site?