The Saudi expansion in Arabia was not as Islamically pure as the scholars may have believed, however, for in fact the emergent Saudi state enjoyed the financial and military support of the British Empire. While much attention has been paid by historians to the British role in promoting the “Arab revolt” of the Sharīf Ḥusayn in the Ḥijāz, the British support for ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz was of more lasting consequence.
