in 1902 abdul aziz ibn saud, also known as abdul aziz al-saud, took over the city of riyadh from another family named al-rashid. he continued to win more areas, and on 8 january 1926, he became the king of hejaz and the sultan of nejd. on 20 may in 1927, the government of the united kingdom accepted him as the king of those areas ruled by him (the nejd and hejaz). his kingdom now became a sovereignty. the modern nation state of saudi arabia was established in 1932 as 'the kingdom of saudi arabia' declared by king abdul-aziz al-saud. petroleum oil was found in saudi arabia on 3 march in 1938, which made the country rich since the export of oil started to bring in a lot of money.