Abdulaziz's path to founding Saudi Arabia – in pictures
Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (C) recaptured the Al Saud's ancestral capital Riyadh in 1902. He went on to expand the realm and became the first king of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932. Photo: Royal Geographical Society
Abdulaziz - who was known as Ibn Saud in the West - was notoriously tall and physically strong and widely thought of as a charismatic leader. Here he is pictured during a visit to Basrah in 1916. SPA
A photo of the Masmak Fort in Riyadh from 1934. The fort was the site where Abdulaziz and his men famously overcame the defenders to recapture Riyadh from the Al Rashid in 1902. Photo: Gerald de Gaury / Royal Geographical Society via Getty Images
Abdulaziz's men on the march. As Sultan of Najd, Abdulaziz encouraged the creation of a fierce fighting force known as the Ikhwan. The Ikhwan proved effective in defeating rival tribes and families to consolidate Saudi rule in central Arabia. Universal Images Group via Getty Images.
Abdulaziz's army on march near Habl, 1911, photographed by the British military official Captain Shakespear. Captain Shakespear died during a skirmish between Abdulaziz's forces and rivals in 1915. Photo: Royal Geographical Society
The Islamic holy city of Makkah in 1910. The Saudis captured the Hejaz region, including Makkah, after a short war with the rival Hashemite family in 1924-1926. Today it remains part of Saudi Arabia. Photo: Library of Congress
Madinah as seen from Mount Sela' from the north-west, 1913. Photo: Library of Congress
King Abdulaziz with Kuwaiti ruler Sheikh Ahmad al Sabah to his right and his son Saud to the left, who later succeeded him as king, in Saudi Arabia, 1934. Photo: Gerald de Gaury / Royal Geographical Society via Getty Images
King Abdulaziz famously met with American president Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1945 onboard a warship in Egypt. It was the furthest Abdulaziz travelled from his home. Hulton Archive / Getty Images
King Abdulaziz is greeted by American soldiers in 1945.
