Arab Revolt and The Last Caliphate – 1916-1924

Background

• The British policy had been to support the territorial integrity of the Ottoman Empire
  • Russia was the main imperial rival in the late 19th century
  • Many of the Ottoman territories boarded the Russian Empire
• The Ottomans controlled key geo-strategic territories
  • The eastern Mediterranean Sea
  • The Black Sea
  • The Bosphorus strait
• Britain, France and Germany all looked for some form of alliance with the Ottomans at various points
• The “Eastern Question” was how to deal with the ailing Ottoman Empire if it falls
• In 1908, the Young Turk Revolution took place
  • The Ottomans were on the verge of economical collapse by that points
  • This led to the restoration of the Ottoman parliament by Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
• In 1911, the Ottomans lost Libya (the last North African territory) to the Italians.
• In 1912–13 they lost the Balkan Wars:
  • Result was newly independent states of Montenegro, Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria
• In 1913, Kuwait – supported by the Britain – declared independence from the Ottomans

World War I

• June 28, 1914, a Serbian nationalist assassinated the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire
• A month later, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia
• Because of a system of alliances, most of Europe soon was up in arms
• In August 1914, Germany entered into a secret pact with the Ottomans
  • Ottoman officials earlier wanted to form Alliance with the British and French
  • Britain and France did not see value in partnering with an ailing empire
  • Germany was planning a railway from Berlin to Baghdad and was keen to have the Ottomans in their side
• New sultan, Mehmet V, wanted to remain neutral and refused to sign the alliance.
  • However, after the Young Turk Revolution, the sultan had lost much of his political power
  • The German-Ottoman alliance was ratified by senior government officials (including minister of war, Enver Pasha)
• In October 29, 1914: the Ottomans entered the war
• The major campaigns in the Middle East were in
  • Sinai, Palestine, Mesopotamia, the Caucasus, Persia, and Gallipoli
• Due to the vast territory of the Ottoman Empire, Many ethnic groups were in their armies
  •  Turks, Arabs, Berbers, Persians, Kurds, Chechens, Central Asian Turcomen and European Circassians
• On November 1914, Sultan Mehmet – Caliph at the time – declared Jihad
  • Germans wanted to ferment a Jihad against Britain
  • British were afraid this could spread to India where they had vast interest
    • See the novel: Greenmantle 
• Many Muslims did not heed this call as Mehmet was not universally beloved
• Nationalism tuned to be bigger factor than faith at this point

The Arab Revolt

• Hussein bin Ali – Custodian of Mecca and Medina – was growing tired of serving the Ottomans
• In June 1916, competing political and religious claims made him declare war on the Ottoman Empire and the Sultan
• Britain and France backed Hussein who saw an opportunity to become the king of all Arabs.
• The port of Aqaba fell to the British due to this Arab Revolt and their military liaison   T. E. Lawrence.
  • This helped Britain resupply its forces in the region and march eventually into Palestine and Syria
• The port became a staging post for Hussein and his  Bedouin allies during the war.
  • The attacks on the Hegaz railway prevented the large Ottoman garrison in the Peninsula to mobilize quickly
• On October 3, 1918, the Arab army takes Damascus ending 400 years of Ottoman rule
• Britain and France entered into a secret deal    known as the SykesPicot Agreement.
  • The agreement would divide up the Arab lands between them
  • Hussein will not have an Arab state as he was promised
• Total Ottoman dead was around 5,000,000 (25% of population)
  • Total Empire population was estimated to be 21,000,000 
  • Britain dead was 2% of population
  • France dead was 4% of population
  • The most lose of life within the Ottoman Empire was what is known as the Armenian Genocide
• Nationalism was the spark that ignited the first World War
  • Nationalism continued to play major role in the 20th century
  • Arab nationalism and Arabness started to take hold and became major political power till 1967
  • Religious consideration and tension came later as a result of western influence and interference
• The first World War showed how local conflicts could go global

Fall of the Ottomans

• The Ottoman era started in 1299
• In 1517, the Ottoman Sultan became the Caliph
• Summary of the Caliphates
  • 632 – 661:  Rashidun Caliphate lasted 29 years in Medina
  • 661 – 750:  Umayyad Caliphate lasted 90 years in Damascus
  • 750 – 1258: Abbasid Caliphate lasted about 500 years in Baghdad
  • 1261 – 1517: Abbasid Caliphate was only in name and mostly based in Cairo under the Mamluks
  • 1517 – 1924: Ottoman Caliphate
• On June 28, 1919  Treaty of Versailles was signed
  • The treaty assigned fault to Germany, took away some of its territories and limited their military
  • Germany was also assigned a huge bill for reparation
  • Some believe this treaty was the catalyst to World War II and the rise of Hitler
• The mandate system was introduced by the League of Nations
  • The League of Nations was dominated by the Allies
  • Britain and France were given full authority to deal with the Ottoman territories
• 1920: Treaty of Sevres deals with the break up of the Ottoman Empire
  • This meant also breaking up the Turkish heartland
  • Mustafa Kamal (Ataturk) and Turkish nationalists rejected the treaty
  • A war of independence started
• November 1922, the  Ottoman Empire was abolished   
• Summer 1923, the Allies and Ataturk signed the Treaty of   Lausanne
• On October 29, 1923, the Republic of Turkey came into being.
• On March 3, 1924, Ataturk signed the decree that abolished the position of caliph
  •  Abdulmecid had to be out of Turkey before dawn.
  • All male descendants of the Osmans had 24 hours to leave
  • Female family members had a week.
  • Their passports were stamped to prohibit them from ever returning.
  • No Osman was to take up residence in a Muslim-majority country

Sources:    “Turning Points in Middle Eastern History” by professor Eamonn Gearon of Johns Hopkins University (TheGreatCourses.com) Lecture 35 and 36