Ibn Saud, who was in the Hijaz, faced rebellion and disorder on all sides. His first problem was to reach Riyadh through territory now hostile to him. He moved with caution, making detours to minimize the dangers and to ensure adequate water for his army. Eventually, he reached Riyadh but once again it seemed possible that all the years of building his Kingdom might still be undone. The Ajman were in revolt over the death of their chief; the Mutair were flushed with their success at the well of Al-Gaiah, in the heartland of the Nejd; the loyalty of the bedouin tribesmen was uncertain.
But, by now, Ibn Saud had the advantage of modern technology in the form of machine-guns, motorized military vehicles and even radios with which he could coordinate the movements of his forces.
At a practical level, it was fair to say that the days of the camel-riding desert raiders were numbered. But this final confrontation had a much greater significance. It was about the future of the Arabian Peninsula; it was about whether the land that had given birth to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, could find a way forward, without compromising its faith, into the modern world, or whether it must remain trapped in the past as the rest of the world moved on. Ibn Saud saw clearly that Islam was for all time, and that it was just as relevant to the modern world as it had been to all the centuries that had passed since the message of God was revealed.
The Ikhwan had not grasped this truth but, as they railed against the evils of modern technology while proudly clutching their rifles, they had clearly lost the argument.