Ibn Saud

About

Also known as King Abdulaziz, he conquered neighboring lands to form the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, over which he ruled for more than twenty years. During his reign, petroleum was discovered in his country; thus, the Middle Eastern oil empire began. 

Before Fame

During his teenage years, he was forced out of Saudi Arabia by members of the Al Rashid dynasty; consequently, he lived briefly in Qatar and Bahrain and spent close to ten years in Kuwait.

Trivia

At the end of World War II, he met with both American President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

Family Life

The son of Second Saudi State ruler Abdul Rahman bin Faisal Al Saud, Ibn Saud had twenty-two wives and fathered nearly seventy children.

Associated With

During Ibn Saud's rise to power, the British government sent T.E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") to Saudi Arabia to oppose Ottoman rule.