ABSTRACT
During the first half of the twentieth century, Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud unified and pacified the peoples of the Arabian peninsula and turned their energies toward the creation of wealth and a modern state. Saud grew up under the protection of the Kuwaiti people in an environment of intrigue and revenge, magnified by the growing interests of various powers, local and European, in Arabia. As a youth, he had the training appropriate for the potential leader of an important Arabian family of the time, including horseback riding, marksmanship, and certain aspects of agriculture. Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud guided Arabia's people as a benevolent tribal leader but infused his own administration with modern ideas and methods, producing a powerful base on which post-World War II Saudi Arabia could grow as a modern state. Saud's mixture of progressive and conservative values had many consequences, the most important of which centered on Arabia's vital export of oil to Europe and the United States.
