Ka cika wannan magana: An ambaci sunan "Riyadh" a birnin a shekara ta 1590, wanda wani marubucin tarihin Larabawa na farko ya rubuta. A shekara ta 1737, Deham Ibn Dawwas, wanda ya fito daga makwabta Manfuha, ya zauna kuma ya karɓi iko da garin. Deham ya gina bango a kewayen birni, kuma sanannen sanannen sunan "Riyadh" daga wannan lokacin ne, wanda ake tunanin yana nufin garuruwan da ke gabashin da suka gabata wanda Ibn Dawwas ya gina bango. A shekara ta 1744, Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab ya kulla kawance da Sarkin Dir'iyah, Muhammad bin Saud, kuma a shekara ta 1774, sun kwace Riyadh daga Deham. Duk da haka jihar su, yanzu da aka sani da "Jihar Saudiyya ta Farko", ta rushe a 1818. Turki ibn Abdullah ya kafa "Jihar Saudiyya ta biyu" a farkon karni na 19 kuma ya sanya Riyadh babban birninta a 1825. Duk da haka, mulkinsa a kan birnin ya rushe ta hanyar haɗin gwiwar Ottoman-Rashidi. A ƙarshe, a farkon karni na 20, 'Abdulaziz ibn Saud, wanda aka sani a yamma kawai a matsayin Ibn Saud, ya dawo da masarautar kakanninsa na Najd a 1902 kuma ya ƙarfafa mulkinsa ta hanyar 1926 tare da karshe
Fashin Hejaz na Saudiyya. Bayan wannan ya sanya sunan masarautarsa Saudi Arabiya a watan Satumbar 1932 tare da Riyadh a matsayin babban birni.