His Excellency the General Supervisor of the King Abdulaziz Public Library, Mr. Faisal bin Abdulrahman bin Muammar, today inaugurated the “Origins of Arabian Horses” exhibition, organized by the library to commemorate Founding Day. The cultural event highlights the pivotal role of horses in the history of the Saudi state and their close connection to the stages of its establishment.

In his remarks during the opening, while presenting the original version of the “Origins of Arabian Horses” manuscript, His Excellency expressed the library’s pride in acquiring this manuscript, which has no known equivalent anywhere in the world and is considered one of the rarest manuscripts acquired by the library throughout its forty-year history.

He explained that the exhibition offers a documented intellectual reading of a pivotal period in the Kingdom’s history, highlighting how human strength, horses, and determination came together in building the state and consolidating the foundations of unity. He noted that the exhibition presents documented historical evidence confirming the depth and authenticity of this connection.

He added that the diversity of the exhibition’s sources, drawn from local, Arab, and international collections, reflects the library’s commitment, spanning more than four decades, to collecting and documenting everything related to horses and equestrianism. This unique body of knowledge strengthens the Kingdom’s role in preserving its heritage and presenting it to future generations through documented evidence.

The exhibition is being held at the library’s Khurais Road branch and will continue until the end of August 2026. It features extensive collections of rare historical holdings, including manuscripts, documents, photographs, Islamic miniatures, historical publications, and illustrated books.

Among its most prominent exhibits is the manuscript of Abbas Pasha I, whose preparation began in 1848. It is considered one of the most important references documenting the pedigrees, names, bloodlines, breeding establishments, and owners of Arabian horses. The exhibition also displays the gilded illustrated book Eastern Horses, published in 1821, which is regarded as one of the earliest Western studies of Arabian horses.

The exhibition also includes rare photographs taken by the British Princess Alice in 1938, as well as accounts by Ibn Bishr in his book Unwan al-Majd fi Tarikh Najd (Title of Glory in the History of Najd) concerning horses during the First and Second Saudi States. It also features the bibliographic encyclopedia Equestrianism, a number of artworks, Islamic coins, and short films documenting the significance of horses in the Arab and Saudi consciousness.

Through its documents, manuscripts, and historical photographs, “Origins of Arabian Horses” serves as a living testimony to the depth of the history of the Saudi state and the continuity of its successive eras, from the First Saudi State through the unification of the Kingdom, in an exhibition that connects the past with the present under the theme of Founding Day.