as the world's pre-eminent Arab state stems mainly from the 1973 oil embargo. What outsiders perceived as a sudden occurrence, however, had in fact been evolving gradually over a period of several years. Indeed, the kingdom, under the leader- ship of King Faisal (r. 1964-75), had been playing a growing role in Arab summit gatherings since the disastrous June 1967 war against Israel.
By the end of 1967, the Saudis had patched up differences with Egypt that had led the two nations to lock horns...