DIR ‘IYYAH & THE FIRST SAUDI STATE (1997) turayf riyadh arabia history
Two and a half centuries ago, the first Saudi state arose in the heart of Arabia. It dominated the Peninsula and its holy places from 1745 to 1818. Then it was crushed by the mighty Ottomans. He traces the rise of the capital Dir’iyyah, whose crumbling ruins lie scattered in the desert north of Riyadh.