List of kings of Saudi Arabia
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The King of Saudi Arabia is Saudi Arabia's head of state and monarch. He serves as the head of the Saudi Monarchy and House of Saud.
Within Saudi Arabia the king is known by the title of The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques (خادم الحرمين الشريفين), which refers to Saudi Arabia's jurisdiction over the mosques of Masjid al Haram in Mecca and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina.
This is a list of kings of Saudi Arabia:
- King Abdul Aziz (Ibn Saud) (1902/1932-1953) (51/21)
- King Saud, son of King Abdul Aziz (1953-1964) (11), d. 1969
- King Faisal, son of King Abdul Aziz (1964-1975) (11)
- King Khalid, son of King Abdul Aziz (1975-1982) (7)
- King Fahd, son of King Abdul Aziz (1982-2005) (23)
- King Abdullah, son of King Abdul Aziz (2005-)
King Abdul Aziz began conquering today's Saudi Arabia in 1902, by restoring his family as emirs of Riyadh. He then proceeded to conquer first the Nejd (1922) and then the Hejaz (1925). He progressed from Sultan of Nejd, to King of Hejaz and Nejd, and finally to King of Saudi Arabia (1932).
The other kings have all been sons of his, and all likely immediate successors to the reigning King Abdullah are his sons as well. Sons of Ibn Saud are considered to have primary claim on the Kingship of Saudi Arabia. This makes the Saudi Monarchy quite distinct from Western monarchies, which usually feature large, clearly defined royal families and orders of succession. The kings after Faisal have named a "second Deputy Prime Minister" as the subsequent heir after the Crown Prince, who is also the "Deputy Prime Minister." The current Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia is Abdullah's half-brother, Prince Sultan, and it is intended that a family assembly choose heirs from their or the next generation at some time in the future, however at the current time, Abdullah has named no "second Deputy."
The King of Saudi Arabia is also considered the Head of the House of Saud and Prime Minister.
Saudi Arabia is ruled by Islamic law and purports to be an Islamic state; but many Muslims see a monarchy as being a non-Islamic system of government. This attitude stems in part from the Sunni emphasis on Muhammad's own injunction against hereditary rule, and rather in favor of selecting rulers based on who is most qualified. The caliphate, however, became a hereditary system after the time of the first four Sunni Caliphs Rashidun, and for this reason was dismantled. The ruling family itself is often perceived as unreligious due to rumours of decadent behaviour. This is part of a deeper underlying tension in Saudi Arabia between the strive for modernization and conservation of culture and values.
