, and the second-largest in the Arab World
. It is bordered by Jordan
, and Iraq
on the north and northeast, Kuwait
, Qatar
and the United Arab Emirates
on the east, Oman
on the southeast, and Yemen
on the south.The Red Sea
lies to its west, and the Persian Gulf
lies to the northeast.
1926 Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud becomes the King of Hejaz and renames it Saudi Arabia.
1927 Treaty of Jedda: the United Kingdom recognizes the sovereignty of King Ibn Saud in the Kingdoms of Hejaz and Nejd, which later merge to become the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
1932 The Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd is renamed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
1938 Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia.
1945 President Franklin D. Roosevelt meets with King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia aboard the USS ''Quincy'', officially starting the U.S.-Saudi diplomatic relationship.
1948 Following the demise of the British Mandate of Palestine, Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia invade the territory partitioned for the Arab state by the British Mandate of Palestine thus starting the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
1964 King Saud of Saudi Arabia is deposed by a family coup, and replaced by his half-brother King Faisal.
1973 Black September storms the Saudi embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, resulting in the assassination of three Western hostages.
1979 Grand Mosque Seizure: About 200 Sunni Muslims revolt in Saudi Arabia at the site of the Kaaba in Mecca during the pilgrimage and take about 6000 hostages. The Saudi government receives help from French special forces to put down the uprising.
1980 Saudia Flight 163, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar burns after making an emergency landing at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killing 301 people.