those vast solitudes of burning
sand and choking thirst, where the rash invader was lured to sudden
death in a whirl of stabbing spears. The Arabs recognized no master,
wandering at will with their flocks and camels, or settled here and
there in green oases hidden in the desert's heart. And in the desert
they retained their primitive political and religious virtues. The
nomad Bedouin lived under the sway of patriarchal "sheiks"; the settled
dwellers in the oases usually acknowledged the authority of some leading
family. But these rulers possessed the slenderest authority, narrowly
circumscribed by well-established custom and a jealous public opinion
which they transgressed at their peril. The Turks, to be sure, had
managed to acquire a precarious authority over the holy cities and the
Red Sea littoral, but the Nejd, the vast interior, was free. And, in
religion, as in politics, the desert Arabs kept the faith of their
fathers. Scornfully rejecting the corruptions of decadent Islam, they
held fast to the simple theology of primitive Islam, so congenial to
their Arab natures.

Into this atmosphere of an older and better age, Abd-el-Wahab was born.
Displaying from the first a studious and religious bent, he soon
acquired a reputation for learning and sanctity. Making the Meccan
pilgrimage while still a young man, he studied at Medina and travelled
as far as Persia, returning ultimately to the Nejd. He returned burning
with holy wrath at what he had seen, and determined to preach a puritan
reformation. For years he wandered up and down Arabia, and at last he
converted Mahommed, head of the great clan of Saud, the most powerful
chieftain in all the Nejd. This gave Abd-el-Wahab both moral prestige
and material strength, and he made the most of his opportunities.
Gradually, the desert Arabs were welded into a politico-religious unity
like that effected by the Prophet. Abd-el-Wahab was, in truth, a
faithful counterpart of the first caliphs, Abu Bekr and Omar. When he
died in 1787 his disciple, Saud, proved a worthy successor. The new
Wahabi state was a close counterpart of the Meccan caliphate. Though
possessing great military power, Saud always considered himself
responsible to public opinion and never encroached upon the legitimate
freedom of his subjects. Government, though stern, was able and just.
The Wahabi judges were competent and honest. Robbery, became almost
unknown, so well was the public peace maintained. Education