The rulers of the first Saudi state were four Imams who governed from Diriyah for ninety-four years, from 1727 until 1818, and brought most of the Arabian Peninsula under a single authority for the first time in centuries. Their rule followed a long stretch of political fragmentation that had settled over the region after the Abbasid decline. The line they founded still shapes the country today.
Who the rulers of the first Saudi state were
Power passed through one family in a direct line. Imam Mohammad Bin Saud founded the state, his eldest son Abdulaziz succeeded him, then his grandson Saud Bin Abdulaziz and finally Abdullah Bin Saud Bin Abdulaziz, the fourth and last Imam.
The family traces its lineage to Banu Hanifa, one of the Bakr Bin Wael tribes, connected to Nizar Ibn Ma’ad Ibn Adnan. Their ancestor Mani’ Al-Muraydi arrived in the fifteenth century from the east of the Arabian Peninsula and settled in Diriyah, which his descendants ruled after him.
Order of succession among the rulers of the first Saudi state
- Imam Mohammad Bin Saud, founder, ruled from 1727 to 1765
- Imam Abdulaziz Bin Mohammad Bin Saud, ruled from 1765 to 1803
- Imam Saud Bin Abdulaziz, ruled from 1803 to 1814
- Imam Abdullah Bin Saud Bin Abdulaziz, ruled from 1814 to 1818
Imam Mohammad Bin Saud and the founding years
Born in 1679, Imam Mohammad Bin Saud assumed power in 1727 and spent his reign consolidating stability, building alliances, and annexing neighbouring towns. He freed many towns from forces opposed to the new state and lost two sons, Faisal and Saud, in battle. After forty years in power he died in 1765.
Expansion under Imam Abdulaziz
His son Abdulaziz pushed the state’s borders from the Arabian Gulf to the Red Sea. He led the armies for twenty-five years from the start of the unification campaigns in 1746 and annexed Riyadh in 1773 without resistance. He turned back Ottoman campaigns, the Emirate of al-Hamid, the Sharifs of Hejaz and campaigns launched by the rulers of Najran, while bringing Najd, Al-Ahsa, Al-Qatif, Aseer, Najran, Jazan, and parts of Hejaz under the state. He was assassinated in 1803 while praying in at-Turaif Mosque in Diriyah.
Saud the Great and the state’s peak
Imam Saud Bin Abdulaziz, born in Diriyah in 1748, took power in 1803 and is remembered as Saud the Great. The state reached its widest extent and greatest strength in his time, reaching the southwest of Mesopotamia and the south of the Levant. Resources flourished, he draped the Kaaba twice, and he secured the roads to the Two Holy Mosques. He died on the night of Saturday, April 30, 1814.
Imam Abdullah and the fall of Diriyah
Imam Abdullah Bin Saud, great-grandson of the founder, took power in 1814 and faced the full weight of Ottoman retaliation. He pushed back several campaigns before an Ottoman army laid siege to Diriyah for roughly six months. Artillery and gunpowder destroyed the city in 1818, and its remaining residents were driven out. The Saudi line returned six years later, when Imam Turki Bin Abdullah founded the second state, a story told in our guide to the Imams who ruled the Second Saudi State.
Key takeaways
- Four Imams ruled the first Saudi state between 1727 and 1818.
- Diriyah served as the capital until its destruction in 1818.
- The state was the first Arab entity to span most of the Arabian Peninsula.
Frequently asked questions
How many rulers of the first Saudi state were there?
Four, all carrying the title of Imam.
Who founded the state?
Imam Mohammad Bin Saud, who assumed power in Diriyah and established the state in 1727.
Why did the state end?
Ottoman forces besieged Diriyah for about six months and destroyed it in 1818.
For primary documents and illustrations of the period, the King Abdulaziz Foundation (Darah) maintains the national historical archive.
