Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques

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Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques (Arabic: خادم الحرمين الشريفين), a historical term, was a pious title taken by some Caliphs and now by modern Saudi kings.

[edit] Saudi monarchy

It is most known today as the title taken by the King of Saudi Arabia in his role as protector of the two holiest cities of Islam, Mecca and Madinah, which had traditionally been the role of the Caliph (but soon the caliphate was to lose political control over the Arabian peninsula), later falling to the Grand Sharif of Mecca.

The first Saudi king to assume the title was Fahd bin Abdul Aziz in 1986. The current king, Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, has taken the same title after the death of King Fahd in 2005. King Fahd replaced the term "His Majesty" with "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" because it was said that only God is All Majestic, therefore the term "His Majesty [The King]" was replaced with this term.