The Saudi Centennial Medal of the modem state of . Conflict continued between the A1 Saud and the A1 Rashid and only ended in 1906 with the death of the A1 Rashid leader, Ibn Rashid, Owain Raw-Rees in battle. Further successes included in 1913 the occupation of Hothuf and Hasa in the east, in 1920 The preeminence of the current ruling family of Saudi Arabia, the A1 Saud, dates back to the middle of the Eighteenth Century with the establishment of the Saudi state. The subsequent expansion into outlying regions - nominally those of the Ottoman Empire - resulted in military action by the Ottomans and the Saudi defeat in battle in 1818. The setback was short lived and by 1823 the A1 Saud had reestablished themselves, and despite continued Ottoman pressure thrived until 1891 when fell to the rival A1 Figure 2: Masmak Fort. Rashid dynasty. By the beginning of the Twentieth Century the A1 Saud were in exile in Kuwait and it was Asir in the south-east, and in 1921 and 1922 Hail and the from Kuwait that Aziz Ibn Rahman, the son of the head northern regions. In the west Jeddah and the Hijaz came of the , set forth to regain control of their under A1 Saud control between late 1924 and 1926. In historical lands. 1927, Abdul Aziz was proclaimed King of the Hijaz and Nejd and its dependencies, with Riyadh and Mecca as dual capitals and, in 1932, the country was proclaimed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Expansion continued with the occupation in the southeast of the Tihama in 1932 and also, after a brief conflict with the Yemen, Najran in 1934.

To commemorate the retaking of Riyadh on 5 Shawaal 1419 (corresponding with January 22, 1999) in accordance with the Hijjri or lunar Islamic calendar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia celebrated the Hijjri centennial of this key event. The current ruler of Saudi Arabia, King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz A1 Saud inaugurated the centennial celebrations on January 22, 1999 by opening the King Abdul Aziz Historical Centre, completed at an estimated cost of Sandi Riyals 680 million (US$180 million). Later he unveiled a commemorative plaque at the Masmak Fort itself. This was followed by a speech and later he honored the descendants of those who had accompanied Abdul Aziz in the recapture of the Riyadh. Such descendants included the sons and grandsons to whom the King Figure 1: Abdul Aziz. presented special commemorative medals. A monument with the names of the 63 companions of Abdul Aziz now On 5 Shawwal, 1319H (corresponding with January 15, stands next to the Masmak Fort (The names were listed 1902) Abdul Aziz (Figure 1), along with a small band in full in theArab News of January 23 1999.) In addition of loyal followers reestablished the A1 Sand family as to these event, a large number of other events took place the rulers of central Arabia by recapturing the Masmak in the Kingdom during the year and these ranged in format Fort in Riyadh (Figure 2). This military success was to from an air show organized by the armed forces to become the starting point from which Abdul Aziz displays and lectures by the National Commission for consolidated and built upon and led to the establishment Wildlife Conservation and Development.

Vol. 54, No. 2 23 One of the highlights of the air show was the fly past of and was selected from a number of short listed designs a fully restored private aircraft of King Abdul Aziz, a in a competition run by the Centennial Organizing DC-3 Dakota, which had been given to the King by US Committee for such an emblem. President Franklin Roosevelt in 1946. In recognition of this event King Faud decorated the pilot, US national As part of these celebrations on February 24th the King, Charles Pierce, with the Order of Abdulaziz, Second as supreme commander of the Saudi Armed Forces, Class (neck badge). Charles Pierce, the original pilot of ordered that a special Centennial Medal be instituted. the Dakota, had come out of retirement especially for This was awarded to all officers, soldiers and students in this occasion. all sectors of the military actively serving on 5 Shawwaal 1419 (January 22, 1999). This included members of the Ministry of Defence and Aviation, the National Guard, the Ministry of the Interior, the Presidency of the General Intelligence Administration, the Mujahadeen Service and to all accredited military personnel at Diplomatic Missions overseas.

The medal is of lacquered base metal in the shape of a bell, 36mm x 33mm, with embellished borders. On the obverse (Figure 4) is the centennial logo on a white background. The reverse is blank (Figure 5). Suspension is from a horizontal loop affixed to the top of the medal. The ribbon is 38mm wide consisting of green with an 8mm white stripe inset 5mm from each edge, and each white strip is bisected by 1.5ram yellow (outermost) and 1.5mm brown stripes. The colors of the ribbon echo the color scheme of the centennial logo. The medal is awarded in a green rectangular box (Figure 6), 14.5mm x 7.3mm, bearing the centennial logo in gold on the lid and is also accompanied by a ribbon bar bearing a small K.S.A. 100 YEARS gilt representation of the logo.

In addition to this medal the centennial logo was also incorporated onto new currency denominations, the two hundred and the twenty riyal notes, issued by the Saudi Figure 3: The Centennial logo. Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA). Also issued was a new coin of 100 halalas (100 halalas equals 1 riyal). The Centennial was marked by the design of a logo, Two commemorative gold medals of 30 and 8 grams were which was used in conjunction with all events linked also struck. The obverse of these commemorative medals with the Centennial. This logo (Figure 3) consists of a feature a portrait of King Abdul Aziz surrounded by the brown outline of the Masmak Fort superimposed on that inscription "In Commemoration of the Centennial of the is a gold upright sword, hilt uppermost surmounted by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - King Abdul Aziz Ibn seven green palm fronds. (A date palm above two crossed Abdulrahman A1 Saud" and the reverse features the swords is the national emblem of Saudi Arabia.) The centennial logo. blade of the sword also doubles for the figure "1" in Arabic and to the fight two dots being the figures "00," Bibliography thus the number 100. The blade also doubles as the Arabic letter alifor "A" as the central letter of the word a ’am or Arab News, January 22, 23 and 23, 1999. "one hundred." To the right and left the dates "1319H" Saudi Gazette, January 25, 1999. and "1419H." Below this design are the inscriptions: "Saudi Arabia’s Centennial," "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" and "Unified and built" ARAMCO World, January / February 1999. Saudi Arabia, News Archives: January and February, 1999. in Arabic and" K.S.A 100 years" in English. Saudi Commerce & Economic Review, No. 58, February 1999. www.sana.gov.sa This logo was designed by Saudi artist Ali A1 Ruzaiza

24 JOMSA Figure 4: Obverse of the medal. Figure 5: Reverse of the medal.

Figure 6: Top of the medal case.

Vol. 54, No. 2 25