Faisal bin Abdul Aziz, the third king of Saudi Arabia, was born in a mud house in a small desert village and died as one of the most powerful men on the planet. His reign marked the Kingdom's transition, in barely two generations, from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. Devout and cautious, Faisal brought gradual change to his nation without eroding its traditions and Islamic value system. Saudis recall his reign as a golden age - when an infrastructure was built, welfare services established and hardliners in the religious establishment were kept in check. American support for Israel led Faisal to institute the 1973 oil embargo, bringing an end to the era of cheap energy and dramatically transforming Saudi society. His death left a void, one which his successors have filled with an overdose of religion. Saudi Arabia and the world are still suffering the consequences.

The late King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz was born in Riyadh in 1905/6, several years after his father Abdulaziz Ibn Saud had recaptured it from Ibn Rashid. In 1964 he became king of Saudi Arabia, famous for harbouring twenty five percent of the world's oil reserves and hailed as the most powerful Arab ruler in centuries. In 1975, his nephew shot him in