Includes bibliographical references (p. 315-321) and index.

Preface -- Introduction -- ch. 1. A land transformed -- "Put your trust in God and sign!" -- Adapting to change -- Landscape and geology -- Water sources : ancient and modern -- The land the oilmen entered -- Najd : heartland of Saudi Arabia -- The eastern province -- The Hijaz and the holy cities -- ʻAsir and the southwest -- The north -- Nomadic tribes and diverse townspeople -- Forging a new state -- Related topics -- Najd -- King ʻAbd al-ʻAziz Historical Center -- Before the oil era -- Old Jiddah -- Architecture of ʻAsir and Tihamah -- Handicrafts -- The Bedouin -- ch. 2. Arabia before Islam -- The people of Arabia -- In the beginning -- The Neolithic revolution -- Bronze Age Arabia -- The 2nd millennium BC : camel domestication, nomads and settlers -- The first "Arabs" -- Kingdoms and caravan cities -- Najran -- Bir Hima -- The Hijaz and ʻAsir -- Al-ʻUla and Madain Salih -- Tayma -- Al-Jawf and Wadi al-Sirhan -- Qaryat al-Faw -- Southern Najd -- Gerrha -- Qatif -- Thaj -- Central and northern Najd -- The "age of ignorance" -- Religion during the Jahiliyah -- Related topics -- Neolithic tools -- Who is an Arab? -- Frankincense -- The Tayma stone --

ch. 3. The revelation and the Ummah -- Contributions to world civilization -- The life of the Prophet Muhammad -- The first revelation -- Persecution and the Hijrah -- The first Muslim community in Madinah -- Battles with Quraysh -- The first attempt to revisit Makkah -- The death of the Prophet -- The question of succession -- The unification of Arabia and expansion -- The partisans of ʻAli -- The Umayyads -- The ʻAbbasids -- The translation and transmission of science -- Related topics -- The prayer rug -- The five pillars of Islam -- The Hijri calendar and the two festivals -- The rightly guided caliphs -- The holy Quran -- Arabic writing -- Qasr ʻAmra -- How Islamic science reached Europe -- Arabic numerals -- The Arabic language -- Arabic literature -- ch. 4. Arabia since the revelation -- The heartland -- Arbia in ʻAbbasid times -- Arabia in Fatimid times -- Arabia in Ayyubid times -- The Karimi merchants -- Arabia in Mamluk times -- The coming of the Portuguese -- Arabia in Ottoman times -- Tribal activity -- Related topics -- The development of Islamic law -- The Dinar -- Two travelers -- Zheng He and the Ming voyages -- Ahmad ibn Majid -- Arabian coffee takes over the world -- Western knowledge of Islamic lands --

ch. 5. The emergence of the Saudi state, 1700-1932 -- A historic meeting -- The reform movement and the Muwahhidun -- The first Saudi state, 1744-1818 -- The siege and fall of al-Dirʻiyah -- The second Saudi state, 1824-91 -- Exile, 1891-1902 -- Riyadh recovered, January 1902 -- The unification of the kingdom, 1902-27 -- The Battle of al-Dilam, 1902 -- Al-Qasim, 1904-06 -- Consolidation, 1906-12 -- The Ikhwan : harnessing the nomadic tribes -- Expansion into al-Hasa, 1913 -- World War I, 1914-18 -- The Khurmah dispute, 1919 -- ʻAsir, Hayil and the northern border, 1919-22 -- Annexation of the Hijaz and international recognition, 1924-27 -- Crisis and final triumph -- Related topics -- Tribal settlers and nomads -- Early European visitors to the Hijaz -- Rulers of the House of Saʻud -- Early travelers to Riyadh -- The Maria Theresa Thaler -- Captain William Shakespear -- The pilgrimage under the new Saudi Order --

ch. 6. Tradition and modernization, 1932-present -- A 'modest' step -- World War II -- The postwar years -- King Saʻud -- International relations -- Social change -- King Faysal -- International relations -- King Faysal's last years -- King Khalid -- Development -- Internal tensions -- International relations -- King Fahd -- Development -- Foreign relations in the 1980s and ʼ90s -- Reforms of 1992-93 -- Provincial administration -- Stern challenges -- King ʻAbd Allah -- Challenges of the future -- Related topics -- Food -- Dress -- Money -- Music -- Expanding the Holy places -- Saudi women today -- ch. 7. Wildlife and conservation -- A unique ecology -- Deserts -- Oases -- The Arabian Gulf -- The Red Sea -- The Western Mountains -- Related topics -- Climate -- Falconry -- ch. 8. Tapping the treasure -- The worldʼs biggest business -- The golden corridor -- Ancient oil seeps -- The oil industry in the Middle East -- World War I -- The red line -- Bahrain -- The concession agreement -- Discovery! -- Entering the oil era -- Postwar expansion -- People and production -- New arrangements -- Becoming Saudi Aramco -- A new century -- Global reach -- Technological revolution -- How long can oil last? --

Related topics -- Crude oil -- Gasoline -- The search for oil and gas -- Masjid-i-Suleiman -- Charles R. Crane -- ʻAbd Allah al-Sulayman -- Mapping the future -- Geology of Arabia -- The Jabal School -- A pioneer outside the oil fields -- NYMEX trading -- History of the concession area -- Environmental accountability -- Oil and gas operations -- An expanding enterprise -- "Let the genie out of the bottle" -- Saudi Arabia and world energy -- The people of Saudi Aramco -- Charts & diagrams -- Government revenues -- Employees -- Oil operations -- Gas operations -- Oil consumption/production/reserves --

Maps -- Saudi Arabia today -- Geographic regions and ancient river systems -- Tribes of Arabia on the eve of unification (early 20th century) -- Sea trade routes (3rd and early 2nd millennia BC) -- First Arab tribes (early 1st millennium BC) -- Countries of the Arab League -- Pre-Islamic trade routes (100 Common Era) -- Nabataean Kingdom (100 BC-100 Common Era) -- Archeological sites of the Gerrha Period (300 BC-300 Common Era) -- Tribes at the time of the Prophet (570-632) -- Expansion of Islam (634-751) -- Major pilgrimage routes of Arabia in pre-modern times -- Indian Ocean-Pacific trade routes (c. 1000) -- Trade network (c. 1250) -- Extent of the first Saudi state (1808) -- Ibrahim Pasha's invasion route (1816-18) -- Unification of Saudi Arabia (1902-34) -- Saudi Arabia's provinces -- Saudi Arabian wildlife habitats -- The golden corridor -- Red line agreement -- Surface geology of the Arabian Peninsula -- The concession area (1933-86) -- Prospective areas (1986-present) -- Joint-venture gas exploration -- Saudi Aramco operations -- Saudi Aramco subsidiaries, affiliates, joint ventures and principal export routes -- Index -- Further reading -- Acknowledgments -- Photo credits.

Includes information on before the oil era, architecture of ʻAsir and Tihamah, handicrafts, the Bedouin, Neolithic tools, who is an Arab, frankincense, the Tayma stone, the prayer rug, the Five Pillars of Islam, the Hijri calendar and the two festivals, how Islamic science reached Europe, Arabic numerals, Arabic language, Arabic literature, the development of Islamic law, tribal settlers and nomads, rood, dress, money, music, Saudi women today, climate, falconry, crude oil, gasoline, the search for oil and gas, geology of Arabia, environmental accountability, Saudi Arabia and world energy, Makkah (Mecca), etc.

Gift to the Library from Muhammad A. Tahlawi.

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