Historically, the Saudi Arabian National Guard is rooted in a group known as the Ikhwan, a Wahabi religious force of hardened and conservative tribal fighters. The Ikhwan played a key role in putting King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud on the throne of the newly established Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Initially, this group was deeply loyal to the king . The Ikhwan, however, had their own vision for the kingdom and inevitably clashed with the royal family. While Ibn Saud was focused on building Saudi Arabia into a modern nation state, the Ikhwan wanted to expand upon their recent conquests by invading the territory of perceived non-believers in the British protectorates of Transjordan, Iraq and Kuwait.