From the outset, power was grouped on the basis of coalitions of full brothers, the most significant of whom were the “Sudeiri Seven,” Abdul Aziz’s sons with his wife Hissah Al Sudeiri. With the assassination of King Faisal in 1975 by his nephew, the Sudeiri branch of the family became its dominant faction.
沙特王子的地位由母亲所属部族以及他和其他男性皇室成员的结盟关系决定。从外部看，权力集团缔结的基础是嫡亲兄弟之间的结盟，其中最著名的便是“苏德里七兄弟”（Sudeiri Seven），他们都是阿卜杜勒·阿齐兹及其妻子西萨·苏德里（Hissah Al Sudeiri）所生。1975年，费萨尔（Faisal）国王被其侄子所刺杀，此后苏德里支系成为沙特王室的主宰者。苏德里兄弟中的老大法赫德（Fahd）执政23年，为沙特王国之最。