At least 11 Saudi Arabian princes and dozens of senior officials and prominent businessmen have been arrested following the establishment of a new anti-corruption commission led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Uncertainty following the crackdown contributed to a surge in oil prices, which reached a two-year high over subsequent days.
King Salman promoted Prince Mohammed, 32, to crown prince in June, in a dramatic shake-up of the established succession order that cleared the young royal’s path to the throne.
Prince Mohammed has been extending an iron grip across the increasingly assertive Arab kingdom, overseeing its war against Iran-allied rebels in Yemen and planning a radical restructuring of the economy to diversify it away from oil.
The crown prince has also used his increasing power to launch agenda-setting social reforms, such as granting women the right to drive and pledging to end religious extremism while curbing the religious police’s powers.
King Salman last revised the Saudi line of succession in 2015, when he replaced crown prince Prince Muqrin, his half-brother, with Mohammed bin Nayef. At the same time, the king had elevated his son, Mohammed bin Salman, to deputy crown prince.
Explore the House of Saud’s family tree in the interactive graphic below:
Sorry, this interactive graphic was first published in 2012 and was not designed to display correctly on your device. You may be able to view it on a device with a larger screen, such as a tablet, laptop or desktop computer.
Sources: Simon Henderson, Washington Institute, Robert Lacey: Inside the Kingdom, Embassy of Saudi Arabia, FT Research
This is an updated version of an interactive graphic first published in 2012 and previously updated in 2015 and June 2017. Additional development by Robin Kwong, David Blood, Martin Stabe, Steve Bernard and Aleksandra Wisniewska.