The Index

摘要

After nearly a century of civil war, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia was established in 1932 by King Abdul Aziz Al-Saud with the unification of his conquered territories. Its 13 provinces have been ruled ever since by the Al-Saud dynasty, in which each leader is succeeded by his sons. The land that is now Saudi Arabia has been inhabited for thousands of years - the holy city of Mecca was founded in the fifth century and is believed by Muslims to be the place of the Prophet Muhammed's birth in 570AD. The current head of state, since 2005, is King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud. The capital of Saudi Arabia is Riyadh.