360The 1720s: the First Saudi State is founded
In 1727, Imam Muhammad bin Saud founded the First Saudi State in Diriyah, a moment Saudi Arabia now celebrates as Founding Day on 22 February. Elsewhere, a financial bubble burst in London, Isaac Newton died, and Vitus Bering set out to explore the waters between Asia and America.
The most important event of the decade for the Arabian Peninsula came in 1727, corresponding to 1139 AH. Imam Muhammad bin Saud took leadership in Diriyah, on the banks of Wadi Hanifa near today's Riyadh, and founded the First Saudi State.
Diriyah grew into a centre of stability, trade and learning in central Arabia. Its historic At-Turaif district, built of mud brick, is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2022, a royal order named 22 February as Founding Day, a national holiday celebrating the Kingdom's roots that go back nearly three centuries.
In Europe, 1720 brought a famous financial crash. Shares in Britain's South Sea Company soared and then collapsed, ruining many investors. A similar scheme failed in France. The 'South Sea Bubble' became a lasting lesson about speculation.
Isaac Newton died in 1727 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. In 1728, the Danish-born explorer Vitus Bering, sailing for Russia, passed through the strait between Asia and North America that now bears his name. And in 1726, Jonathan Swift published Gulliver's Travels.
- 1720
- South Sea Bubble bursts
- 1726
- Gulliver's Travels published
- 1727
- Imam Muhammad bin Saud founds the First Saudi State
- 1728
- Bering sails through the Bering Strait
Sources: Saudipedia · UNESCO · Britannica.