Ibn Saud grew to manhood first through living the harsh traditional life of the desert nomad, a life that had changed little since the days of Abraham, and then, through a careful study during his adolescence in Kuwait, of the ways of the great imperial powers such as Great Britain and the Ottoman Empire. Thus equipped, and endowed with immense physical courage, between 1902 and 1930 he fought and won, often with weapons and tactics not unlike those employed by the ancient Assyrians, a series of astonishing military victories over a succession of enemies much more powerful than himself. Over the same period, he transformed himself from a minor sheikh into a revered king and elder statesman, courted by world leaders such as Churchill and Roosevelt.