History of the Wahabis from Their Origin Until the End of 1809

This first-hand account of the Wahabi conquest of the Arabian peninsula was published by the Frenchman Louis Alexander Olivier de Corancez in 1810. He gives a unique contemporary account of the spread of this puritan sect, lead by Ibn Saud, which laid the foundations for Saudi Arabia. Including campaigns against Egypt and Syria, political negotiations with the Turkish empire, and piracy against English ships, this was one of the most turbulent periods of Arabian history, and one of the most crucial for modern students of the region. Translated for the first time into English, this long-neglected book ranges widely through issues which remain relevant, and controversial, for many people in the Middle East today. His reflections on the nature of the Wahabis' form of patriarchal rule and the tensions between religious factions make this a pertinent and provocative book which allows the author to take his place in the first rank of European observers of the Middle East.