Ikhwan

The Ikhwan were a religious-military movement of settled tribal communities that supported Saudi expansion in the early twentieth century. They combined strict religious reform with armed campaigns under the Saudi rulers.

Hijra settlements: Settlements established for nomadic Bedouin communities, especially in Arabia, to promote religious instruction and a settled way of life. These settlements reorganized tribal communities and became the movement’s recruiting and training bases.
Najd: A large inland region of the Arabian Peninsula, centered on the plateau that is now central Saudi Arabia. Najd was the Ikhwan’s home region and the base of Saudi expansion.
Faisal al-Dawish: A Mutair tribal leader and prominent Ikhwan commander who later led resistance against Abdulaziz Ibn Saud. His career traces the shift from loyal commander to rebel leader.
Battle of Sabilla: A 1929 battle in which Ibn Saud’s forces defeated Ikhwan rebels in central Arabia. The defeat broke the armed rebellion and reasserted the king’s authority.
Wahhabism: A Sunni Islamic reform movement associated with Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab that calls for strict monotheism and opposition to practices it deems religious innovations. Its teachings supplied the Ikhwan’s religious program and justification for campaigns.
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab: An eighteenth-century Muslim scholar whose reform movement became closely allied with the House of Saud. His teachings shaped the religious tradition adopted by the Ikhwan.
Sultan bin Bajad: A Utaybah tribal leader and Ikhwan commander who joined the 1929 revolt against Ibn Saud. He was one of the principal leaders of the Ikhwan uprising.
Ikhwan Revolt: The 1927–1930 rebellion by Ikhwan leaders against Abdulaziz Ibn Saud’s policies and central authority. The revolt grew from disputes over state control, border policy, and relations with neighboring powers.
Abdulaziz Ibn Saud: The founder of modern Saudi Arabia, who ruled from 1902 until 1953 and expanded his authority across the Arabian Peninsula. He organized and directed the Ikhwan as a force for territorial expansion.
First Saudi State: An eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century state formed through the alliance between the House of Saud and Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab’s movement. Its religious-political alliance foreshadowed the partnership underpinning the Ikhwan era.

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