1744 Founding of the first Saudi state, in Dariyah, Nejd, Central Arabia
1803 Saudi armies conquer Mecca
1818 Turkish cannons flatten Dariyah
1824 Beginning of the second Saudi state
1891 Second Saudi state falls to the Rasheed family of Hail
1902 Abdul Aziz (aged around twenty-five) captures Riyadh to become sultan of Nejd
1913 Abdul Aziz annexes Qateef and Al-Hasa in the east
1921 Abdul Aziz conquers Hail, seat of the Rasheeds
1926 Abdul Aziz enters Jeddah to become king of the Hijaz and sultan of Nejd
1929 Battle of Sibillah. Abdul Aziz defeats rebel Ikhwan
1932 Proclamation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
1933 Oil prospecting begins in the Eastern Province
1938 First significant oil “strike” at well number seven, Dhahran
1945 Abdul Aziz meets U.S. President Roosevelt on the Great Bitter Lake, Egypt
1953 Death of King Abdul Aziz. Accession of King Saud bin Abdul Aziz
1964 Faisal bin Abdul Aziz replaces his brother Saud as king
1965 The creation of Medina’s Salafi Group, Al-Jamaa Al-Salafiya Al-Muhtasiba
1973 King Faisal announces a boycott on oil sales to the United States
1975 Faisal assassinated. Khaled bin Abdul Aziz becomes king
1979 Iranian Revolution. Shah deposed
Juhayman seizes Mecca’s Grand Mosque
Intifada uprising by Shia protesters in the Eastern Province
The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan
1980 Saddam Hussein invades Iran, starting the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88
1982 Death of King Khaled. Fahd bin Abdul Aziz becomes king
1983 Bandar bin Sultan appointed ambassador to Washington
1984 Mohammed bin Fahd becomes governor of the Eastern Province
1985 Sultan bin Salman orbits earth in NASA Discovery flight
1986 Oil Minister Ahmad Zaki Yamani dismissed
1987 402 pilgrims die following Iranian political demonstration in Mecca
1988 Osama Bin Laden and “Arab Afghans” active in Afghanistan
1989 Last Soviet soldiers leave Afghanistan
1990 Saddam Hussein invades Kuwait
Women’s driving demonstration in Riyadh
1991 Gulf War. Iraqi forces ousted from Kuwait. Battle of Al-Khafji
1992 Following reform petitions, King Fahd establishes the Majlis Al-Shura
1993 Osama Bin Laden active in Sudan
1994 Bin Laden stripped of Saudi citizenship
1995 National Guard Center bombed in Riyadh
King Fahd suffers stroke. Crown Prince Abdullah assumes more power
1996 Al-Khobar Towers building bombed in Eastern Province
1998 Al-Qaeda bombs U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, East Africa
Taliban refuse to surrender Osama Bin Laden to Saudi Arabia
2000 Al-Qaeda bombs USS Cole in Aden
2001 Al-Qaeda 9/11 attacks on World Trade Center and Pentagon
2002 Fire in Mecca girls’ school kills fifteen
Abdullah Peace Plan offers Arab recognition to Israel
2003 Al-Qaeda attacks in Riyadh. BBC cameraman Simon Cumbers killed
Crown Prince Abdullah initiates first National Dialogue
2004 Third National Dialogue addresses women’s issues
2005 Death of King Fahd. Accession of Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz
Bandar bin Sultan resigns as Saudi ambassador in Washington
King Abdullah sets up domestic Human Rights Commissions
2006 King Abdullah visits Beijing
2007 Founding session of Allegiance Council to decide future succession
“Qateef girl” rape case
2008 King Abdullah initiates interfaith dialogue in Madrid, then New York
Oil price falls from $147 per barrel in July to $40 in December
2009 King Abdullah removes conservative religious figures from his government
Norah Al-Faiz named deputy minister of education
Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz named second deputy premier