On a moonless night one hundred years ago, a unique individual led a group of some 40 men on a daring mission that would have a profound impact on the future course of the history of the Arabian Peninsula. With his followers, Abdul Aziz Ibn Abdul Rahman Al-Saud planned to attack a heavily fortified garrison in Riyadh and reclaim the patrimony of his forebearers. Facing great odds, he chose to undertake the mission under the cover of darkness, seeking to surprise the large Ibn Rashid force armed with Turkish cannons that controlled the town.

Abdul Aziz spent the majority of the predawn hours in prayer and meditation after scaling the town walls. With the coming of light, he led his small force in a surprise attack on the Masmak Fortress at the heart of the settlement as the Rashidi governor was entering the main gate. In fierce hand to hand combat, Abdul Aziz and his followers managed to enter the fortress and take possession of the strategic structure. By noon of Shawwal 5, 1319 of the Hijrah calendar (whichs corresponds to January 16, 1902), he had received the allegiance of the people of Riyadh and was leading them in prayer.

If Abdul Aziz's bold undertaking had failed....Hail, Riyadh, and a large segment of the central part of the peninsula would have remained under the unpopular rule of Al-Rasid, the land would have remained fragmented, controlled by warring tribes and local rulers.

The taking of the Masmak was a momentous event, one that would alter the course of the peninsula's history. At the time this did not seem significant, in Hail the Rashidi ruler dismissed it's importance, but the taking of the Mismak along with Riyadh provided Abdul Aziz a base from which to implement his bold vision for the future.

The events that led up to Abdul Aziz's recapture of Riyadh were set in motion long before that moonless night a century ago, even long before his birth. In 1744, Abdul Aziz's ancestor Emir Muhammad Ibn Saud, the ruler of Dariyah and the central Najd region, joined forces with Shaikh Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab, a Muslim scholar and reformer, to restore the pure teachings of Islam to the Muslim community. Within 40 years of the formation of that fateful alliance, the First Saudi State attracted the support of numerous tribes by the purity of Islam it upheld and the simplicity of it's ruling style and control extended over the entire Najd, the central plateau of the peninsula. By the early years of the 19th century, it ruled over most of the peninsula, which included the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.

The Ottoman Empire, alarmed by the growing popularity of Saudi rule, sent a large and well equipped force out of Eygpt in 1818. This brought devastation to Najd and Dariyah, but shortly after the invader's departure the Saudi leaders transferred their capital to nearby Riyadh. Once again they extended their rule throughout the Najd. By the 1870's, the Al-Rashid family of Hail, with Ottoman financial and material support, launched a major effort to overthrow Saudi rule. In 1891, the Saudi rule Abdul Rahman Ibn Faisal was forced to abandon his struggle in the face of great odds.

After a short stay in Bahrain, Abdul Rahman and his followers (including his young son Abdul Aziz), spent some time with the Al-Murrah tribesmen who lived in the Rub Al-Khali (Empty Quarter). They then travelled to Kuwait at the invitation of Shaikh Mubarak Al-Sabah.

It was from Kuwait that with his father's permission and blessing Abdul Aziz set out to recapture Riyadh, the original seat of his family's rule. Relying on the skills he had learned from the bedouin, Abdul Aziz and his warriors went deep into the desert, avoiding human contact to ensure the secrecy of their mission. They spent the holy month of Ramadan in fasting and prayer in the remote oasis of Jabrin. At the conclusion of Ramadan, they set out in the direction of Riyadh, reaching the town in the evening of January 15th.

The recapture of Riyadh was not the end of Abdul Aziz's bold adventure, but the start of a historic quest that would absorb all his energies for the next half century. Using Riyadh as a base, Abdul Aziz would work tirelessly for the next 30 years, acting as both statesman and warrior and using his extensive skills to persuade, mediate and encourage the fractious tribes to set aside their differences and unite. In 1932 he formed the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

King Abdul Aziz gave the nation the gifts of justice and stability, elements vital to its future growth and development.