Timeline: A chronology of key events: In Depth analsys..

1871 - The Ottomans take control of the province of Hasa.

1891 - The Al Saud family are exiled to Kuwait by the Rashidi family.

1902 - Abd-al-Aziz Bin-Abd-al-Rahman Bin-Faysal Bin-Turki Bin-Abdallah Bin-Muhammad Al Saud (often known as Ibn Saud) takes control of Riyadh bringing the Al Saud family back into Saudi Arabia.

1912 - The Ikhwan (Brotherhood) is founded based on Wahhabism; it grows quickly and provides key support for Abd-al-Aziz.

1913 - Hasa is taken from the Ottomans by Abd-al-Aziz.

1921 - Abd-al-Aziz takes the title Sultan of Najd.

1924 - Mecca regained.

1925 - Medina retaken.
Brotherhood trouble

1926 - Abd-al-Aziz is proclaimed King of the Hijaz in the Grand Mosque of Mecca.

1928-30 - The Ikhwan turn against Abd-al-Aziz due to the modernisation of the region and the increasing numbers of non-Muslims. They are defeated by Abd-al-Aziz.

1932 September - The areas controlled by Abd-al-Aziz are unified under the name Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Abd-al-Aziz is proclaimed King.

1933 - King Abd-al-Aziz's eldest son, Saud, is named Crown Prince.

1938 - Oil is discovered and production begins under the US-controlled Aramco (Arabian American Oil Company).

1953 November - King Abd-al-Aziz dies and is succeeded by the Crown Prince Saud Bin-Abd-al-Aziz Al Saud. The new King's brother, Faysal is named Crown Prince.
King Saud deposed

1960 - Saudi Arabia is a founding member of OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries).

1964 November - King Saud is deposed by his brother, the Crown Prince, Faysal Bin-Abd-al-Aziz Al Saud.

1970 - The OIC (Organization of the Islamic Conference) is founded in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia.

1972 - For the first time, Saudi Arabia gains control of a proportion (20 per cent) of Aramco lessening the control of the Americans over Saudi's oil.

1973 - Saudi Arabia leads an oil boycott against the Western countries that supported Israel in the October War against Egypt and Syria leading to the quadrupling of oil prices.
King Faysal assassinated

1975 March - King Faysal is assassinated by his nephew, Faysal Bin-Musaid Bin-Abd-al-Aziz; he is succeeded by his brother, Khalid Bin-Abd-al-Aziz Al Saud.

1979 - Saudi Arabia severs diplomatic relations with Egypt after it makes peace with Israel.

1979 - Extremists seize the Grand Mosque of Mecca; the government regains control after 10 days and those captured are executed.

1980 - Saudi Arabia takes full control of Aramco from the US.

1981 May - Saudi Arabia is a founder member of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council).
King Khalid dies

1982 June - King Khalid dies of a heart attack and is succeeded by his brother, Crown Prince Fahd Bin-Abd-al-Aziz Al Saud.

1986 November - King Fahd adds the title "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" to his name.

1987 - Saudi Arabia resumes diplomatic relations with Egypt, severed since 1979.

1990 - Saudi Arabia condemns the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and asks the US to intervene; it allows foreign troops, the Kuwaiti government and many of its citizens to stay in Saudi Arabia but expels citizens of Yemen and Jordan due to their governments' support of Iraq.
Saudi attacks Iraq

1991 - Saudi Arabia is involved in both air attacks on Iraq and in the land force that went on to liberate Kuwait.

1992 March - King Fahd announces the "Basic System of Government" emphasising the duties and responsiblities of a ruler. He proposes setting up a Consultative Council (majlis al-shura).

1993 September - King Fahd decrees the division of Saudi Arabia into thirteen administrative divisions.

1993 December - The Consultative Council is inaugurated. It is composed of a chairman and sixty members chosen by the King.

1994 - Islamic dissident Osama Bin Laden is stripped of his Saudi nationality.
King Fahd ill

1995 November - King Fahd has a stroke; the day to day running of the country is entrusted to Crown Prince Abdullah Bin-Abd-al-Aziz Al Saud.

1996 February - King Fahd resumes control of state affairs.

1996 June - A bomb explodes at the US military complex near Dhahran killing 19 and wounding over 300.

1997 July - King Fahd increases the members of the Consultative Council (majlis al-shura) from sixty to ninety.
1999 October - Twenty Saudi women attend a session of the Consultative Council for the first time.

2000 September - The London-based human rights group Amnesty International describes Saudi Arabia's treatment of women, particularly foreign domestic workers, as "untenable" by any legal or moral standard.

2001 March - Several British workers are arrested in Riyadh after a series of blasts in which a British and an American national are killed.

2001 April - Saudi Arabia and Iran sign a major security accord to combat terrorism, drug-trafficking and organised crime.
Relations with US

2001 11 September - Fifteen of the 19 hijackers involved in attacks on New York and Washington are Saudi nationals.

2001 December - King Fahd calls for the eradication of terrorism, saying it is prohibited by Islam; government takes the unprecedented step of issuing identity cards to women.

2002 February - A British man arrested in Riyadh after the March 2001 bombings claims the Saudi authorities tortured him and forced a confession. The man, Ron Jones, had been released after being allowed to retract his confession.

2002 May - New criminal justice system comes into force. Revised criminal code includes ban on torture and right of suspects to legal representation, but human rights campaigners allege that violations continue.

2002 August - Saudi investors reported to have withdrawn funds from the US in protest at a lawsuit filed by relatives of some September 11 victims alleging Saudi collusion with terror; Saudis allege defamation.

2002 October - Border crossing with Iraq reopens for the first time since Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

2002 November - Saudi foreign minister says his country will not allow the US to use its facilities to attack Iraq, even in a UN-sanctioned strike.

2003 April - US says it will pull out almost all its troops from Saudi Arabia, ending a military presence dating back to the 1991 Gulf war. Both countries stress that they will remain allies.

2003 May - Suicide bombers kill 35 people at housing compounds for Westerners in Riyadh hours before US Secretary of State Colin Powell flies in for planned visit.
Signs of dissent

2003 September - More than 300 Saudi intellectuals - women as well as men - sign petition calling for far-reaching political reforms.

2003 October - Government says elections for 14 municipal councils will be held within a year - the first elections of any kind since the founding of the kingdom.

2003 October - Police break up unprecedented rally in centre of Riyadh calling for political reform. More than 270 people are arrested.

2003 November - Suicide attack by suspected al-Qaeda militants on residential compound in Riyadh leaves 17 dead and scores injured.

2003 November - King grants wider powers to Consultative Council (majlis al-shura), enabling it to propose legislation without his permission.

2004 January - Kingdom says it is prepared to negotiate substantial reduction of Iraq's debt.

2004 February - Stampede at Hajj pilgrimage leaves 251 dead.

2004 April - Four police officers and a security officer killed in attacks near Riyadh. Car bomb at security forces' HQ in Riyadh kills four, wounds 148. Group linked to al-Qaeda claims responsibility.

2004 May - Attack at petrochemical site in Yanbu kills five foreigners. Attack and hostage-taking at oil company compound in Khobar; 22 people are killed.

2004 June - Three gun attacks in Riyadh within a week leave two Americans and a BBC cameraman dead. The same week, a US engineer is abducted and beheaded, his filmed death causing revulsion in America.
Security forces kill local al-Qaeda leader Abdul Aziz al-Muqrin shortly afterwards, but an amnesty for militants which follows has only limited effect despite a fall in militant activity.

2004 December - Attack on US consulate in Jeddah; five staff and four attackers are killed
Saudi Arabia is and remains one of the most tightly controlled societies in the world ..

"Saudi Arabia is and remains one of the most tightly controlled societies in the world. The House of Saud knows that it remains in power - as the Shah of Iran did - because of its security forces," said Mr Standish.
"Imagine a situation in the UK where you had 22 fatalities [from a militant attack]. You have to ask, 'How did it happen?'"

He raised the possibility that if the authorities do not quickly crush the militants, Saudi society may turn against the government and back the radicals.
"There is a real risk that people sensing a regime in crisis may throw in their lot with what they see as a more dynamic force, rather than an embattled monarchy."
(Oil prices shot up following a militant strike on a key installation in Saudi Arabia at the weekend of 29-30 May - the fifth attack in the kingdom in just over a year.

Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil exporter and instability in the kingdom would wreak havoc with energy supplies and the economy around the globe.
The militants, who killed at least 22 people, know that well.
The Saudis themselves explained the logic of the radicals - believed to be radical Islamists aligned with al-Qaeda - in the wake of Saturday's bloodshed.)

The World relies on Energy;Oil...What's the Alternative?

Modern society has a gargantuan appetite for energy! Industry requires a constant, reliable and, preferably, inexpensive supply of electrical energy in order to be able to produce the goods which developed nations demand. Technological innovations have accelerated the need for efficient energy transfer on a massive scale.

The growing worldwide demand for electricity has contributed to a number of environmental problems; GLOBAL WARMING is an issue explored elsewhere in this series of science and technology units. In addition, nations that are unable to meet their demand for energy through the conventional sources of coal, oil and natural gas, are increasingly exploring renewable sources as alternatives.

Oil prices have begun to climb again on fears that producer cartel Opec is set to cut back production to halt the recent price fall.
Reports of unrest at Shell plants in Nigeria also fuelled Monday's rebound.
US light sweet crude closed trading on Monday up 44 cents at $42.98 while Brent crude traded at $39.65 a barrel, up 29 cents on the day.
Warmer weather in North America and healthier US fuel stocks triggered a 14% drop in oil prices last week.

Opec members are set to meet on 10 December in Cairo.
The sudden fall in oil's value has concerned some Opec members.
Kuwaiti Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah told reporters on Saturday that there was too much oil available on the market.

"For our part, if this [price] slide will continue as has happened in the past 48 hours, I think we have to... cut all over-production," he said.

Very well done and thought provoking. Thanks for posting that.