IIRC Herbert confirmed that Ibn Saud and the Saudi dynasty was the initial inspiration for Dune. Its not like an analogy but a lot of the setup is inspired by the Saudis. From there Herbert starts to expound his own political theories which were also derived from learning Arabian history.
Gave up in the middle of book three so I can't say much more.
Atreidis : Saudi : Green
Harkonnen : Hasemites : Red
Fremen : Bedouins
Arrakkis : Arabia
Spice : Oil
That's all the boringly obvious comparisons but there's a lot more with the actual rise of Ibn Saud that aligns.
IIRC Herbert confirmed that Ibn Saud and the Saudi dynasty was the initial inspiration for Dune. Its not like an analogy but a lot of the setup is inspired by the Saudis. From there Herbert starts to expound his own political theories which were also derived from learning Arabian history.
Gave up in the middle of book three so I can't say much more.
That's all the boringly obvious comparisons but there's a lot more with the actual rise of Ibn Saud that aligns.
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