War and change in the middle east (the mandate system)

Ottoman support in WW1

• Supported central powers (young turks in charge)

• wanted to reinforce relationship with germany (half moon camp)

• threatened by russia (allied) encroaching on terr., and being allied with armenians in OE (both orthodox christian)

half moon camp

• mosque built at german POW camp

• propoganda → showed tolerence and encoureged ottomans (muslim) to side with central powers

armenian genocide

• 1915-1919

• armenians blamed for OE loss in Sarikamish battle

  • Thought armenians were helping russia

• yts removed and excecuted over 1 million Armenians

Gallapoli campaign

• churchill v attaturk (allied britian vs central power OE)

• GB attacked OE with goal of gaining constantinople and knocking OE out of war

• OE victory, GB embarrass, caused a shift from violent to diplomatic tactics (allied diplomacy)

Hussein/Mcmahon Correspondance

• between henry Mcmahon (GB) and Sharif Hussein (arab)

• Hussein to lead arab revolt against OE, GB would in return support an arab independent state in the middle east

• Hussein (arab) resentful of young turks → agrees

• 1916

Sykes Picot agreement

• 1916

• secret agreement between GB + FR

• agree to divide OE land amongst selves

  • in search of natural resources (oil, etc in OE/Egypt/India)

• undermined H/M, made public by russia (opposite side of war)

balfour decleration

• 1917

• declared a jewish homeland in israel to zionists

• GB had previously promised the land to arab stat (H/M)

• reasons for GB to do this → wanted to get US involved in war, wanted to persuade russian jews to not support russian war effort, wanted more proximity to suez canal region

Arab revolt

• 1916

• arabs still revolt against OE even after s/p is released

• arabs saw YT (turk) controlled OE as a threat to islam and GB promised to later support independent arab state (islam could florish)

• British/arab armies worked together

Paris Peace conference

1919

• following ww1

• Faisal Hussein given only 20 mins to speak on behalf of arab world

• GB/FR set the agenda (most power), divide terr amongst selves

• treaty of versilles upholds sykes picot (divides OE to GB +FR)

• league of nations created

Article 22 of covenant of League of Nations

• establishes mandate system

• says GB and FR will prep countries for eventual independence

• ME countries would choose mandatory power

• GB has control of palestine

King crane commission

survey done by US to see who syria wants as leader

wanted faisal Hussein as king with no mandatory power

ignored

San remo agreement

1920

• terr. agreements

• said arabs werent ready to rule themselves

• reinforces establishment of mandate system set up in A22

Treaty of sevres

part of TOV

1920

OE given limited sovereignty as punishment for envolevement in the war

Severes up OE
Kurdistan and Armenia created

YT enraged by lack of land, start turkish war of independence in 1920

Treaty of Lausanne

1923

following turkish victory under attaturk in the turkish war of indpendence

attaturk removes sultan and rejects sevres treaty

no kurdistan or armenia

large population exchange as a result

• christians left turkey, muslims left greece and went to OE

British mandate of transjordan

• abdulluh was king

• limited religious conflict (92p sunni, 8p other)

• was initially part of palestine, but divided at the jordan river

  • anti jewish sentiment, (Jordan would be excluded from jewish homeland)

Iraq

British Mandate

very ethnically diverse

4 major ethnic groups

• kurds (sunni - non arab)

• sunni (empowered minority)

• shia (unempowered majority)

• yazidi (non muslim non arab)

Revolt of 1920 - Iraq

Shia revolt against british gov

Faisal Hussein installed as king- british yes man

mass demonstrations

GB interests in Iraq

oil, protection of other terr

• Iraq petrol company - owned iraqi oil for 75 years, payed small royalty

• Anglo-iraq treaty (1930) → iraq was to gain independence in 2 years, GB would maintain oil and military power

  • nominal independence as GB still had miliatry

French mandate - syria

• 65% sunni, happy with faisal hussein as leader

• faisal and his suppporters revolt against frencg power

  • faisal removed and sent to rule iraq

• Violent, divide and rule

• policy of balkanization → attempt to divide into smaller hostile substates

• attempted to get approval from minority groups (Created lebanon to appease chrsitains)

Syrian Revolt

• druze led

• 1925-27

• initially starts because of high taxes

• led by druze but many followed (unity against french)

• french maintain power

Lebanon - french mandate

• census taken in 1932 still used to distribute gov seats

• religous divides

• marionite christians → catholic, good relationship with french

  • only 30p of pop but dominate politics

• gov structure based on religion

  • president - marionite christian

  • Speaker of Parlement - shia

  • PM -sunni