September 23, 1932

Unification of Saudi Arabia

The name Kingdom of Saudi Arabia takes effect

The famous 23 September date marks when the new name took effect — not when the royal order behind it was written.

A name, effective on announcement

On 23 September 1932, the officially commemorated proclamation date, the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd and its Dependencies became the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under a royal order King Abdulaziz had already issued.

Royal Order No. 2716 changed both the state's name and Abdulaziz's title — to King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — effective from the public announcement.

The order itself is dated 17 Jumada I 1351 AH: Berkeley's catalogue and several scholarly sources convert that to 18 September, while the Saudi Foreign Ministry converts it to 19 September.

Eight articles that kept things running

The order preserved existing treaties, conventions, obligations, contracts, regulations and decrees rather than legally starting everything anew.

Existing governmental arrangements in Hejaz, Nejd and the dependencies were retained temporarily. Hejaz and Nejd had continued to be administered separately, so calling the earlier realm a completed merger overstates it.

The Council of Ministers was directed to formulate new governmental, constitutional and succession arrangements; Saudi Arabia's present Basic Law of Governance was not issued until 1992.

What the proclamation did not conclude

It did not settle every Saudi boundary. Najran and the frontier with Yemen remained subjects of conflict until the war and the Treaty of Taif in 1934.

The dynastic adjective "Saudi" associates the state with the House of Saud, but describing the country as the royal family's personal possession is a contested interpretation rather than the decree's stated meaning.

An older English publication maps the order's specified proclamation day — 21 Jumada I, the first day of Libra — to 22 September, where modern Saudi official sources map it to 23; the difference appears to be one of calendar conversion.

Sources

Researched 24 Aug 2026 8 sources not yet audited Traditional date

How this was checked

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Traditional date. This date is the conventional one, not one fixed by a contemporary record.

What the sources leave uncertain

Saudi official commemoration fixes the proclamation and National Day on 23 September 1932.
Royal Order No. 2716 is dated 17 Jumada I 1351 AH. Berkeley’s catalog and several scholarly sources convert that to 18 September, while the Saudi Foreign Ministry converts it to 19 September.
An older English publication maps the order’s specified proclamation day, 21 Jumada I or the first day of Libra, to 22 September, whereas modern Saudi official sources map it to 23 September. This appears to be a calendar-conversion discrepancy, so 23 September is retained as the official traditional date.