Saudi Arabia Genealogy

Guide to Saudi Arabia ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

Country Information
Saudi Arabia is a country in the Middle East bordered by Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen. It was formerly under the control of the Ottoman Empire. The official language is Arabic.

The Prophet Muhammad was born in 571 AD in Mecca. He united the pastoral nomadic tribes of the region and in later years, it expanded into the Islamic Empire. In the 16th Century, the Ottoman Empire ruled over the region (Hejaz, Asir, and Al Ahsa) naming in Ottoman Hejaz. The Ottomans ruled till the end of WWI, where the British aided the local Arab tribes in defeating the weakening Ottoman authority. In 1932, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded by Ibn Saud, who fought to unite all four regions of Saudi Arabia, Hijaz, Najd, Eastern Arabia, and Southern Arabia. The kingdom is currently ruled by his descendants.

Saudi Arabia Map
Genealogy records are kept on the local level in Saudi Arabia.

Provinces
Genealogy records are kept on the local level in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia contains 13 Provinces (mintaqat, singular - mintaqah):

FamilySearch Resources
Below are FamilySearch resources that can assist you in researching your family.
 * Facebook Communities - Facebook groups discussing genealogy research